The Immigrant Experience Speakers

America is a nation of immigrants. These author speakers use their personal journeys, lyrical writing, and thorough reporting to bring crucial perspectives on the immigration experience to the podium.

Jean Guerrero

Award-winning multimedia reporter and author of the memoir, Crux

Ocean Vuong

Poet and author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Javier Zamora

Memoirist, poet, and author of Solito, and a winner of the 2023 American Book Award.

More The Immigrant Experience Speakers

Francisco Cantú

Author of the bestselling memoir The Line Becomes a River and former US Border Patrol Agent

Junot Díaz

Author of New York Times bestsellers The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and This is How You Lose Her; winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Ping Fu

Co-Founder of Geomagic, author of Bend, Not Break, Executive chairman of Gelsight

Yaa Gyasi

Author of Homegoing and Transcendent Kingdom, and recipient of the National Book Foundation's 'Under 35' award

Cathy Park Hong

Award-winning poet and New York Times-bestselling author of Minor Feelings

Rachel Khong

Award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin and Real Americans

Jean Kwok

Award-winning author of Girl in Translation

Chang-rae Lee

New York Times-bestselling author of The Surrendered and Native Speaker

Jason De León

Anthropologist, professor, and author of The Land of Open Graves and Soldiers and Kings

Megha Majumdar

Former Editor in Chief at Catapult and author of A Burning

Hisham Matar

Author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning memoir The Return

Dinaw Mengestu

Named one of The New Yorker "20 Under 40" writers to watch and author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and How to Read the Air

Beth Nguyen

Author of Pioneer Girl, Stealing Buddha's Dinner and Short Girls

Eduardo Porter

Economics reporter at The New York Times and author of American Poison

Najla Said

Actress, playwright and author of the memoir Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family

Marjane Satrapi

Academy Award-nominated director, cartoonist, and author of Persepolis

Gary Shteyngart

New York Times-bestselling author of Little Failure, Super Sad True Love Story, Absurdistan, and Our County Friends

Sabaa Tahir

National Book Award winner and #1 New York Times-bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes and All My Rage

Nicola Yoon

#1 New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist

Charles Yu

National Book Award-winning author of Interior Chinatown

Michelle Zauner

Frontwoman of Japanese Breakfast and author of New York Times bestselling Crying in H Mart

C Pam Zhang

Debut novelist of How Much of These Hills is Gold and National Book Foundation 2020 5 Under 35 Honoree