Daniel Olivas, a second-generation Angeleno, is a playwright and the author of 10 books including, most recently, How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories (University of Nevada Press, 2022), and Crossing the Border: Collected Poems (Pact Press, 2017). He is the editor of the anthology Latinos in Lotusland (Bilingual Press, 2008), and co-editor of The Coiled Serpent: Poets Arising from the Cultural Quakes and Shifts of Los Angeles (Tía Chucha Press, 2016). His first full-length play, Waiting for Godínez, was selected for the Playwrights’ Arena Summer Reading Series, and The Road Theatre’s 12th Annual Summer Playwrights Festival, and was a Semi-Finalist for the American Blues Theater’s Blue Ink Playwriting Award. Widely anthologized, he has also written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Alta Journal, Jewish Journal, Los Angeles Review of Books, La Bloga, and many other print and online publications. By day, Olivas is an attorney in the Public Rights Division of the California Department of Justice. He and his wife make their home in Southern California, and they have an adult son.
Daniel A. Olivas
Articles
Puzzles to Be Solved: A Conversation with Myriam Gurba
Daniel Olivas talks with Myriam Gurba about her new book “Creep: Accusations and Confessions.”
Five Questions for Alex Segura Regarding His YA Novel “Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow”
Daniel A. Olivas speaks with Alex Segura about his new YA novel “Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow.”
Coping with Injustice: A Conversation with Yxta Maya Murray
Daniel A. Olivas speaks with Yxta Maya Murray about her new novel “God Went Like That.”
Three Questions for Gabino Iglesias Regarding His Novel “The Devil Takes You Home”
Daniel A. Olivas speaks with Gabino Iglesias about his new novel “The Devil Takes You Home.”
Three Questions for Lizz Huerta Regarding Her Debut Novel “The Lost Dreamer”
Daniel A. Olivas talks with Lizz Huerta about her debut novel “The Lost Dreamer.”
Four Questions for Frederick Luis Aldama Regarding His Bilingual Children’s Book, “Con Papá / With Papá”
Daniel A. Olivas talks with Frederick Luis Aldama about his new children’s book, “Con Papá / With Papá.”
Four Questions for Xochitl Gonzalez Regarding Her Debut Novel, “Olga Dies Dreaming”
Xochitl Gonzalez speaks with Daniel Olivas about her debut novel, exploring Nuyorican identity, and the gentrification of Brooklyn.
Three Questions for Maceo Montoya Regarding His Illustrated Novel, “Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces”
Daniel Olivas interviews Maceo Montoya about his newly published illustrated novel, “Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces.”
Five Questions for V. Castro Regarding Her Novel, “The Queen of the Cicadas”
Daniel Olivas asks Latinx horror writer V. Castro about her debut novel, “The Queen of the Cicadas.”
Three Questions for Kathleen Alcalá Regarding Her Novel, “Spirits of the Ordinary”
Daniel A. Olivas speaks with Kathleen Alcalá on the republication of her first novel, “Spirits of the Ordinary: A Tale of Casas Grandes.”
Three Questions for Cherríe Moraga Regarding Her Memoir, “Native Country of the Heart”
Daniel A. Olivas interviews Cherríe Moraga about her most recent memoir.
Four Questions for Luis Alfaro Regarding His “Greek Trilogy”
Daniel Olivas asks Luis Alfaro four burning questions on his newly published trilogy of Greek plays.
Three Questions for Yxta Maya Murray Regarding Her New Short Story Collection “The World Doesn’t Work That Way, but It Could”
The law professor turned author on her new collection and the banality of evil under Trump.
Three Questions for Frederick Luis Aldama Regarding His New Children’s Book, “The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie”
Daniel Olivas talks to writer Frederick Luis Aldama about his latest children’s book, “The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie.”
Two Questions for Rudolfo Anaya
An homage to the Father of Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya
Three Questions for Rigoberto González Regarding His Memoir, “What Drowns the Flowers in Your Mouth”
Rigoberto González talks about “What Drowns the Flowers in Your Mouth.”
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