Hector Tobar

Héctor Tobar is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist whose work explores the intersection of literary storytelling and investigative journalism. Tobar's writing focuses on the evolving relationship between Latin America, Latino immigrants, and the United States, contributing to ongoing conversations about immigration, identity, and multiculturalism. He holds an MFA in fiction from the University of California, Irvine, where he serves as a professor.

During his journalism career, Tobar worked as Mexico City bureau chief, Buenos Aires bureau chief, and national correspondent for Los Angeles Times. He has received multiple honors for his reporting, including a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news and the Inter-American Press Association Award for feature writing.

Tobar is the author of several books, including "Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of Thirty-Three Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle that Set Them Free." This narrative nonfiction work recounts the experiences of the miners trapped in the San José mine collapse near Copiapó, Chile, and was adapted into the film "The 33." The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and appeared on The New York Times bestseller list.

His other books include "The Barbarian Nurseries," "Translation Nation," and "The Tattooed Soldier." "The Barbarian Nurseries" was recognized as a New York Times Notable Book and received the California Book Award Gold Medal for fiction. Tobar's novel "The Last Great Road Bum" is a fictionalized account of Joe Sanderson's life. His works have been translated into 15 languages, and his fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories.

Tobar's book "Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of 'Latino'" examines the U.S. Latinx experience and received the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction. He has been awarded a Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard University and a Guggenheim Fellowship in fiction. Hispanic Business Magazine named him among the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States. In addition to his books, Tobar has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, and National Geographic. He is a professor of English and Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine.