Photo: Photo by Christopher Peterson / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Junot Díaz is the rare writer whose credentials, the Guggenheim, the MacArthur, the MIT professorship, almost get in the way of the real point. Born in Santo Domingo and raised in New Jersey from age six, he writes the immigrant condition from the inside, with a voice that switches registers and refuses to soften the hard parts. What I admire is not the prizes but the nerve: he grabs you by the collar and makes the in-between of two languages and two countries feel viscerally true. Writers who can do that are scarce, and I expect his work to outlast the trophies.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Junot Díaz
- Name (Japanese)
- ジュノ・ディアズ
- Reading
- じゅの・でぃあず
- Born
- December 31, 1968 (age 57)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Monkey
- Origin
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / university teacher / science fiction writer / novelist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Old Bridge High School
- University
- Cornell University
Awards & achievements
- 1999 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2012 MacArthur Fellows Program
- Rome Prize
- 2002 PEN/Malamud Award
- 2008 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
- 2009 O. Henry Award
- 2019 Américas Award
- 1998 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Junot Díaz born?
Born December 31, 1968 (age 57).
Where is Junot Díaz from?
Junot Díaz is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
What does Junot Díaz do?
Junot Díaz works as writer, university teacher, science fiction writer, novelist.
Writer — see all → · University teacher — see all → · More people from Dominican Republic →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.