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Historical fiction or fiction inspired by real events often runs the risk of yielding to the temptation of aggrandising one’s subject, of over-valorising the kernel of truth for the sake of effect and novelty, of the triumph of a first discovery. Like Arrowby in Iris Murdoch’s...

— Bookanista, Sep 8 2017

Who could be a better literary companion than a Spanish princess who grew up in exile, endured a loveless marriage, and crossed the seas to the United States (to publish her scandalous autobiography, of course)? The defiant, adventurous spirit of Eulalia gleams throughout this...

— Elle, Aug 21 2017

When Amalia becomes wet nurse to Spain’s infant Princess Eulalia, her own newborn son, Tomas, in tow, she does not know the far-reaching ramifications of the position. It is a time of revolution, and though Amalia returns home after her two-year tenure, shortly thereafter the...

— Booklist, Aug 1 2017

Acevedo’s third novel is a retelling of the life of the Spanish princess Eulalia, born four years before the revolution that removed her mother, Queen Isabella II, from the Spanish throne. After an upbringing in the Spanish court and in exile, Eulalia traveled first to Cuba...

— The Millions, Jul 11 2017

This uniquely powerful and startlingly beautiful novel showcases the enthralling voice of elderly Maria Serena, a former “reader” in a cigar factory, who entertains her fellow refugees waiting out a hurricane with tales of Cuba’s revolutionary past.

— Booklist, Jan 19 2016

It took Chantel Acevedo years to admit that she had become a writer. “Even when I saw my first novel in the window of a bookstore, I was paralyzed. I felt like I had imposter syndrome,” the author says, who is now celebrating the release of her acclaimed fourth novel, The...

— The New Tropic, Nov 13 2015

This November, for the 32nd year in a row, readers and writers of all stripes will descend upon Miami, Florida for what has become one of the most epic literary festivals in the world: Miami Book Fair International. If that sounds like hyperbole, consider this: the number...

— Literary Hub, Nov 13 2015

The Distant Marvels Chantel Acevedo Europa Editions Steeped in the history and culture of Cuba, this novel is a story within a story. Set in 1963, during the danger of Hurricane Flora, the book focuses on seven evacuated women. The most prominent among them...

— World Literature Today, Oct 28 2015

In 1963, a storm approaches Cuba, and an elderly woman named María Sirena knows that it is coming. She sees the “ferocious churn of the sky, like a black mouth opening and closing.” This mouth-storm tells stories—but bigger than stories. The storm is “bigger than all...

— The Brooklyn Rail, Oct 5 2015

The winner will be announced at the ALA Midwinter conference on January 10, 2016. For a full list of nominees click here.

— American Library Association, Sep 23 2015

For the first USpeak Flash Fiction & Poetry Performance Series of the 2015/16 year, students and the community at large were in for a treat. Local writer and new University of Miami Creative Writing faculty member Chantel Acevedo is back after years away, and on Monday read from...

— The Miami New Times, Sep 1 2015

Chantel Acevedo’s fourth novel, The Distant Marvels (Europa Editions, 2015), opens as Hurricane Flora barrels toward the coast of Cuba. It is 1963 and our eight-three-year-old narrator, María Sirena, is not at all interested in evacuating, but rather, wants some to be left...

— Consequence Magazine, Jul 4 2015

Listen here.

— Blog Talk Radio, Jul 1 2015

— BooksAMillions’ Book Club, Jun 26 2015

— Jun 20 2015

— Jun 19 2015

NKWOOD Bookstore's Official Book Club's selection for this month is "The Distant Marvels" by Chantel Acevedo. Everyone is welcome to join the book club's meeting, but are asked to purchase the book in order to participate in the discussions. The book can be purchased on the link...

— INKWOOD's Official Book Club, Jun 15 2015

— Jun 10 2015