Malia Márquez is a writer with roots in the Southwest and New England. She holds a BFA in 3D Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. Her work in translation has appeared in Poetry magazine, and her short fiction and essays have been featured or are forthcoming in Literary Hub, The Georgia Review, and other journals and anthologies. She is the author of City of Smoke and Sea (Red Hen Press, 2025) and This Fierce Blood (Acre Books, 2021). Márquez lives in the greater Chicago area, where she is at work on her next novel.
Photo credit: Diana Feil
New & Forthcoming:
“Press Play” (short story), The Georgia Review~Summer 2025
“You Want to Be a Better Writer? Observe Chicken Behavior” (essay), Literary Hub, 5/25
Judy Richardson on Civil Rights: Then— and Now (profile), Antioch Common Thread, 5/25
City of Smoke and Sea (novel), Red Hen Press, 4/25
Published & Awards:
“The Space Between You” (essay, anthology), Becoming Real, Pact Press, 10/24
Winner of Red Hen Press Women’s Prose Prize, City of Smoke and Sea (novel), 2023
Fiction Finalist, This Fierce Blood, Housatonic Book Awards 2022
Silver Medal for Multicultural Fiction, This Fierce Blood, Independent Publishers Book Awards (IPPY) 2022
“Journey” (poetry translation), Poetry, 2022
“On Journey” (translation note), Poetry, 2022
“A House So Beautiful” (short story), Coffin Bell Journal, 2021; nominated for Best of the Net, 2021
This Fierce Blood (novel), Acre Books, 2021
"What Happens to the Heart" (music review/ flash fiction), Hobart, 2020
"A House So Beautiful" (short story), Shortlisted, Staunch Short Story Prize, 2020