Natalia Sylvester is the Pura Belpré- and Schneider Family-honor winning author of the young adult novel BREATHE AND COUNT BACK FROM TEN, and the award-winning author of the young adult novel RUNNING and the adult novels EVERYONE KNOWS YOU GO HOME and CHASING THE SUN. Her first picture book, A MALETA FULL OF TREASURES, illustrated by Juana Medina, is out now from Penguin Random House. A middle grade novel, NO WAY NEVER SISTERS, co-written with Chantel Acevedo, is forthcoming in 2026 from Simon & Schuster.

Natalia's non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times, Bustle, Catapult, Electric Literature, Latina magazine, and McSweeney's Publishing. Her essays have been anthologized in collections such as A MAP IS ONLY ONE STORY and A MEASURE OF BELONGING: WRITERS OF COLOR ON THE NEW AMERICAN SOUTH.

Born in Lima, Peru, Natalia came to the US at age four and grew up in Florida and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. She received a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami, was a 2021 Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and was formerly a faculty member at the Mile-High MFA program at Regis University. She now lives in South Florida.​

​

Download CV