Anika Fajardo

Fiction Writer, Creative Nonfiction Writer

Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota US
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Author's Bio

Anika Fajardo was born in Colombia and raised in Minnesota. Her debut novel is The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore (Gallery Books/S&S, 2025). She is also the author of  Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family (University of Minnesota Press, 2019), which was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award; the middle-grade novel, What If a Fish (Simon & Schuster, 2020), which was awarded a Minnesota Book Award; and Meet Me Halfway (Simon & Schuster, 2022), which is a nominee for the 2025-26 Maud Hart Lovelace Award. Her essays and stories have appeared in various anthologies including Brief Encounters: A Collection of Contemporary Nonfiction and We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World. A writer and teacher, she lives with her family in Minneapolis. 

Literary agent: 
Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

Publications & Prizes

Creative Nonfiction

Anthologies:
Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity (Simon & Schuster, 2024)
,
We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World (University of Minnesota Press, 2021)
,
Sky Blue Water: Great Stories for Young Readers (University of Minnesota Press, 2016)
,
Brief Encounters: A Collection of Contemporary Nonfiction (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015)
,
Oh Baby! True Stories About Conception, Adoption, Surrogacy, Pregnancy, Labor, and Love (In Fact Books, 2015)
Book:
Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family (University of Minnesota Press, 2019)
Journals: ,
Colere
,
Los Angeles Review of Books
, ,
The Dos Passos Review

Fiction

Books:
The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore (Simon & Schuster, 2025)
,
Meet Me Halfway (Simon & Schuster, 2022)
,
What If a Fish (Simon & Schuster, 2020)
Prizes won: 

Minesota Book Award

Wisconsin Library Association

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
American, Latino/Latina/Latinx
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, Children, Schools, Teachers, Teenagers, Women
Born in: 
Colombia
Raised in: 
MN
Minnesota
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jul 03, 2025