Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

Infobox Writer
name = Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

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|thumb|Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
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birthdate = February 28, 1969
birthplace = Albuquerque, New Mexico
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occupation = Novelist, Journalist
nationality = American
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genre = Chick Lit, Young Adult
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spouse = Patrick Jason Rodriguez
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children = Alexander
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website = http://www.alisavaldesrodriguez.com

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (b. February 28, 1969 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American writer known for her novels in the Chick Lit genre.

Early life

Valdes-Rodriguez was born into a middle-class family in Albuquerque, New Mexico.citation |periodical=Time |title=Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1093632,00.html |first=Carolina A. |last=Miranda |date=13 August 2005 |accessdate=2008-10-10 ] Her father, Nelson Valdés, is a retired sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and emigrated from Cuba in the early 1960s.citation |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9402EED61E3AF937A15757C0A9659C8B63 |title=A Novel's Latinas Defy Clichés |periodical=New York Times |first=Dinitia |last=Smith |accessdate=2008-10-10 |date=24 April 2003 ] Her mother, Maxine Conant, is a seventh-generation New Mexican, and a poet and novelist.

Valdes-Rodriguez spent her childhood primarily in New Mexico, but also lived briefly in Glasgow, Scotland and New Orleans. Upon her graduation from Del Norte High School in Albuquerque she attended Berklee College of Music in Boston where she majored in jazz performance on the tenor saxophone.

Journalism career

While a student at Berklee, Valdes-Rodriguez began writing freelance music reviews for the Boston Globe. After graduating from Berklee in 1992, she took an unpaid internship at the Village Voice, before going back to school to earn a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 1994.

In 1994, she was hired as a staff writer for Living/Arts section of the "Boston Globe" newspaper. In 1999 she was hired as a staff writer for the Calendar section of the "Los Angeles Times" where she was the first American reporter to cover Latin music industry as a full-time beat.

Valdes-Rodriguez was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing, and won the SUNMAG contest for best newspaper essayist in 1998. Her articles have appeared in dozens of newspapers, and she has written cover stories for Glamour Magazine and Redbook.

In 2001, Valdes-Rodriguez emailed a 3400-word resignation letter to her superiors at the Los Angeles Times. The letter was widely circulated on the Internet. citation |url=http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=172&IssueNum=10 |periodical=LA CityBeat |title=Fall and Rise |first=Catherine |last=Seipp |date=14 August 2003 |accessdate=2008-10-10 ] In the letter she accused the newspaper of racism and discrimination, especially in its synonymous use of the word "latino" with "Spanish-speaker", a practice she equated to genocide.

She went on to serve as the features editor for the Albuquerque Tribune, and as the managing editor for Latino Perspectives magazine for one issue.

Literary career

Her first novel, "The Dirty Girls Social Club," was purchased by St. Martin's Press a little more than a year after she left the Los Angeles Times. She was paid an advance of $475,000. In a profile of the writer, entitled "The Latina Terry McMillan?", Chicago Tribune reporter Patrick T. Reardon wrote: "What made [the book] especially hot was the belief among publishers that Valdes-Rodriguez could be the long-sought 'Latina Terry McMillan' -- a writer whose work would jump-start Hispanic book buying in the U.S. and create a new profitable publishing niche..." "The Dirty Girls Social Club" garnered media attention and went on to become a New York Times bestseller and a Book Sense 76 top pick. [http://www.booksense.com/bspicks/summerpb/index.jsp Booksense Pick List 2003]

Valdes-Rodriguez has since written four novels: "Playing With Boys" in 2004 and "Make Him Look Good" in 2006; a Young Adult novel, "Haters", in 2006; and "Dirty Girls on Top," a sequel to "The Dirty Girls Social Club," in 2008.

In 2005, "Time" dubbed Valdes-Rodriguez "The Godmother of Chica Lit" and named her one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States. Hispanic Business Magazine has twice named her among the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America. In 2006, the Hispanic Congressional Caucus awarded Valdes-Rodriguez with a Latina Leadership award, and she participated in the National Book Festival at the Library of Congress. She also received the Theatre of Hearts "Youth First" award in Los Angeles in 2004.citation |url=http://www.theatreofhearts.org/coolart.htm |title=Theatre of Hearts Award List |accessdate=2008-10-10 ]

Film career

Before its publication in 2003, the film rights to "The Dirty Girls Social Club" were optioned by Columbia Pictures with Jennifer Lopez and Laura Ziskin as producers, but the option expired without going into production. The Lifetime Television network then began to develop the book as a television seriescitation |title=Beyond chica lit |periodical=The Orange County Register |url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/life/life/article_638283.php |date=18 August 2005 |accessdate=2008-10-10 |first=Justino |last=Águila ] , but the project did not progress beyond development. Valdes-Rodriguez is partnered with Nely Galán's Cienfuegos Films company, to make an independent film based upon the novel, with Valdes-Rodriguez, Galan and Debra Martin Chase as executive producers, and Valdes-Rodriguez as creator and screenwriter.citation |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i5bde4427b281320f323809bec2c304d1 |title=It's 'Girls' night out at movies |periodical=The Hollywood Reporter |accessdate=2008-10-10 ]

Personal life

In 1998, she married Patrick Jason Rodriguez. Their son, Alexander, was born in 2001. In a 2008 interview with "AfterEllen.com", she spoke about being bisexual and married.citation |periodical=AfterEllen.com |url=http://www.afterellen.com/people/2008/9/alisavaldesrodriguez |title=Interview With Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez |first=Teresa |last=Ortega |date=25 September 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-10 ]

In September 2008, Valdes-Rodriguez revealed on her blog that she lives with bipolar disorder. She says she treats the disease through "holistic means." [ [http://alisavaldesrodriguez.blogspot.com/2008/09/farewell-to-david-foster-wallace.html Farewell to David Foster Wallace] , Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Sept. 14, 2008]

Bibliography

;Novels
*"The Dirty Girls Social Club" (2003)
*"Playing with Boys" (2004)
*"Make Him Look Good" (2006)
* "Haters" (2006)
*"Dirty Girls on Top" (2008)
*"The Husband Habit" (coming 2009) ;Anthologies
*"Girls Night In" (2004)
*"Girls Night Out" (2006)
*"Maybe Baby" (2006)
*"Boston Noir" (coming 2009)

References

External links

* [http://www.alisavaldesrodriguez.com Alisa Valdes Official Site]
* [http://alisavaldesrodriguez.blogspot.com/2008/08/for-record.html Author's blog statement on unsubstantiated resignation rumors and wikipedia]

See also

*List of Cuban American writers
*List of Famous Cuban-Americans.