Katherine Vaz

Katherine Vaz
Vaz in 2007
Vaz in 2007
Born (1955-08-26) August 26, 1955 (age 69)
Castro Valley, California, US
OccupationWriter
GenreNovels, short stories, non-fiction, children’s literature
Spouses
​
(m. 2015)​

Katherine Vaz (born August 26, 1955) is a Portuguese-American writer. A Briggs-Copeland Fellow in Fiction at Harvard University (2003–2009), a 2006–2007 Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study,[1] and the Fall, 2012 Harman Fellow at Baruch College in New York,[2] she is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Above the Salt, a People Magazine Book of the Week and a Top Book of November, a Top Three Pick by Good Morning, America, and a Most Anticipated Book for Fall, 2023 by Zibby’s Books and Goodreads.[3]

Vaz's novel Saudade (St. Martin’s Press, 1994) is the first contemporary novel about Portuguese-Americans from a major New York publisher. It was optioned by Marlee Matlin/Solo One Productions and selected in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers series.[4]

Her novel, Mariana, (HarperCollins, 1997), was selected by the Library of Congress as one of the Top 30 International Books of 1998 and has been translated into six languages.[1] Mariana has been optioned for screen development with Harrison Productions.[5]

Vaz's first short story collection Fado & Other Stories received the 1997 Drue Heinz Literature Prize[6] and her second collection, Our Lady of the Artichokes, won the 2007 Prairie Schooner Book Prize.[7]

Vaz is a recipient of a Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1993) [8] and the Davis Humanities Institute Fellowship (1999). She has been named by the Luso-Americano as one of the Top 50 Luso-Americanos of the twentieth century [9] and is the first Portuguese-American to have her work recorded for the Library of Congress, housed in the Hispanic Division. The Portuguese-American Women’s Association (PAWA) named her 2003 Woman of the Year.[10] She was appointed to the six-person U.S. Presidential Delegation to open the American Pavilion at the World’s Fair/Expo 98 in Lisbon.[11] She lives in New York City and the Springs area of East Hampton with Christopher Cerf, whom she married in July 2015.[12]

  1. ^ a b "Radcliffe Institute Fellows - Katherine Vaz". Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  2. ^ "The Sidney Harman Writer-In-Residence Program". Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  3. ^ Hubbard, Kim (October 30, 2023). "People's Picks: The Best New Books". People Magazine: 32.
  4. ^ "Rediscover the bright new literary lights of years past with this retrospective of previous Discover Great New Writers selections". Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  5. ^ "The Center for Fiction Presents Katherine Vaz on Above the Salt". Center for Fiction. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Browse". Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  7. ^ "Prairie Schooner | Stories, Poems, Essays, and Reviews since 1926". Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  8. ^ "National Endowment for the Arts" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  9. ^ "Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture".
  10. ^ "None".
  11. ^ "2006–2007 Radcliffe Institute Fellows - Katherine Vaz". Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  12. ^ Nir, Sarah Maslin (2015-07-10). "Katherine Vaz and Christopher Cerf: Kermit Will Attend". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2021-05-16.