Bio

Ana Veciana-Suarez is an author and syndicated columnist for the Miami Herald.  She comes from a Cuban background and bases much of her writing on her past experiences.  Her column focuses on family, education, women’s and social issues.  Veciana-Suarez has also written novels such as The Chin Kiss King, nominated for the IMPAC award in 1998, as well as Birthday Parties in Heaven, Thoughts on Love, Life, Grief and Other Matters of the Heart.  Her novels have been translated into Spanish, Dutch, and German.

In her writing, Veciana-Suarez sheds light on several different issues associated with the human experience, from the life and struggle of immigrants to working in the United States.  Her latest novel, Flight to Freedom, is a part of Orchard Book’s First Person Fiction series, which depicts immigrant life.  Veciana-Suarez, who is herself an immigrant, portrays the fictional life of Yara who emigrates with her family from Havana to Miami in 1967 as a result of the oppressive leadership of Fidel Castro.  In this novel, Veciana-Suarez writes a touching, inspirational story of Yara’s struggle to adapt to life in a new country.

Veciana-Suarez currently lives in Miami, Florida with her husband and five children.