Vanessa Garcia is a Cuban-American multidisciplinary writer -- screenwriter, playwright, novelist, and journalist/essayist. She’s wrtten for Sesame Street, where she’s been nominated for an Emmy (Monster Meditation), and won two Telly Awards (Tamir On the Street). She’s also worked on Caillou and Behind the Beats (a French animated show about the history of music and how it’s all connected), and other shows like Dora the Explorer (reboot).
She’s the author of the novel, White Light, which was Kirkus Starred, acclaimed by the likes of Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, Mary Gordon and others. It also won an International Latino Book Award and was one of NPRs best books of 2015. Her first Picture Book for children, What the Bread Says, launched October 1, 2022 and won Purple Dragonfly Awards in four categories. Theatrically, she’s the author of The Amparo Experience, an immersive hit that People en Español called “Miami’s Hottest Ticket.” Other plays include: Sweet Goats & Blueberry Señoritas, which she co-wrote with Obama’s Inaugural poet, Richard Blanco; #Graced, which premiered at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami; and Jenna & Whale, which she co-wrote with Pulitzer Prize winning writer, Jake Cline and premieres Summer 2023 at the Ground Floor Theatre in Austin, Texas.
Her journalism, essays and thought pieces have appeared in The LA Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, National Review, ESPN, The Hill, Catapult, Narrativel.ly, and numerous other publications. She holds a PhD from the University of California Irvine in Creative Nonfiction. Her dissertation focused on Cuba. www.vanessagarcia.org Instagram: @vanessagarciawriter