Malia Márquez, born in New Mexico and raised in New England, holds a BFA in Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art & Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. She is the author of the novels City of Smoke and Sea (Red Hen Press ‘25) and This Fierce Blood (Acre Books, ‘21) and her fiction, essays, and translations have appeared in Poetry, Literary Hub, The Georgia Review, and more. She has taught at the UCLAx Writers’ Program, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and elsewhere. She lives in Los Angeles.
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