Stella Pope Duarte

Stella Pope Duarte began her literary career in 1995 after she had a dream in which her deceased father related to her that her destiny was to become a writer. Her first collection of short stories, Fragile Night, (Bilingual Review Press, 1997) won a creative writing fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and was named a candidate for the prestigious, Pen West Fiction Award. In 2001 Ms. Duarte was awarded a second creative writing fellowship for her current novel, Let Their...See more

Stella Pope Duarte began her literary career in 1995 after she had a dream in which her deceased father related to her that her destiny was to become a writer. Her first collection of short stories, Fragile Night, (Bilingual Review Press, 1997) won a creative writing fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and was named a candidate for the prestigious, Pen West Fiction Award. In 2001 Ms. Duarte was awarded a second creative writing fellowship for her current novel, Let Their Spirits Dance. (HarperCollins, 2002). HarperCollins has described Duarte as a "major, new literary voice in America." Ms. Duarte's work has won awards and honors nationwide, including a nomination for the Pushcart Prize in Literature. Let Their Spirits Dance is on the Book Sense List, and was awarded the AZ Highways Fiction Award for 2003, and nominated as a ONEBOOKAz in 2004. Ms. Duarte won the 2003 "Excellence in Latino Arts & Culture," Award, presented by Valle del Sol. In 2004, she received the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Award for an excerpt from her current work in progress, The Women of Juárez. , and in 2005 she was awarded the "Outstanding Alumni of the Year," by the American Association of Community Colleges. She is a highly sought-after inspirational speaker for audiences of all ages, on topics related to her work, as well as on issues related to: women's rights, culture, diversity, leadership, education, literacy, Chicano/Latino history, writing, and storytelling. Ms. Duarte was born and raised in la Sonorita barrio in South Phoenix. See less