Marcela Fuentes

Marcela Fuentes is a fiction writer and essayist. Her acclaimed debut novel, Malas, won the Sergio Troncoso Award for Best First Book of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters, the 2024 Western Heritage Award for Outstanding Western Novel, the WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction, the 2025 REFORMA National Book Award, and a 2025 American Book Award. Malas was shortlisted for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award and longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Malas received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, The Washington Post, and The New York Times; was featured in People, Elle, and Texas Monthly; and was selected as Good Morning America Book Club’s pick for June 2024. Marcela lives in Dallas, Texas, with her dog, Francisco.