Viola Canales


Viola Canales is an American writer, professor, and former attorney. She has published a short story collection, Orange Candy Slices and Other Secret Tales, and a novel, The Tequila Worm for which she won the Pura Belpré Award in 2006. She has also written a bilingual collection of poems, The Little Devil and the Rose: Lotería Poems / El diablito y la rosa: Poemas de la lotería.

Education

Originally from McAllen, Texas., Canales received a scholarship to attend St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas when she was 15. She graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1986, and earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1989.

Career

During her undergraduate years at Harvard College, she left twice to work for different organizations. She first worked for United Farm Workers as a community organizer and served in the United States Army at Fort Benning. She was also stationed in West Germany and served as a tactical director who oversaw the Patriot and Hawk missile systems. He reached the rank of captain. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Canales worked at O'Melveny & Myers. She also served as Civil Service Commissioner in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 1994, Canales was appointed regional administrator for the Small Business Administration during the Clinton Administration. She is currently a lecturer at Stanford Law School, where she teaches courses that combine law and fiction writing.

Personal life

Her partner is Pamela Karlan, a professor of law at Stanford Law School and former U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Voting Rights in the United States Department of Justice Civil Division.

List of Awards

The Tequila Worm