Daisy Hernández

Daisy Hernández is the author of "The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease," which won the 2022 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and was selected for the National Book Foundation’s Science + Literature Program. She also wrote the award-winning memoir "A Cup of Water Under My Bed" and coedited the influential anthology "Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism." Her work spans nonfiction genres, including memoir, investigative journalism, and feminist discourse, often exploring themes of race, public health, and queer identity in North and Latin America.

Born to a Cuban father and Colombian mother, Hernández grew up in New Jersey and draws from her multicultural background to inform her writing. Her essays and reporting have appeared in prominent outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and NPR. A former editor of ColorLines magazine, she combines rigorous research with personal narrative, shedding light on systemic inequities and marginalized communities.

Hernández currently serves as an Associate Professor in the English Department at Northwestern University, where she continues to write and teach creative writing. Her works have established her as a vital voice in contemporary discussions on feminism, immigration, and public health disparities.