Junot Díaz is the author of Drown (1996), a collection of short stories, and the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007). Díaz was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on December 31, 1968. He has two brothers and two sisters. Growing up, Díaz and his siblings lived in Santo Domingo with their mother while Díaz’s father went to the United States to work. His father sent for his family when Díaz was seven and they moved to New Jersey.
Díaz reports that his grades in high school were awful. He did however spend a lot of time reading everything he could find in the library. He also wrote a Stephen King-esque novel that he says was “garbage.” Díaz worked various jobs before...
