Julia Alvarez, Krystal Quiles author biography, plus links to books by Julia Alvarez, Krystal Quiles.

Julia Alvarez, Krystal Quiles

Krystal Quiles is an artist and illustrator who splits her creative time Philadelphia and New York City. A graduate of Pratt Institute, Krystal has worked in the editorial world and has illustrated children's books, including The Coquíes Still Sing / Los Coquíes Aún Cantan, for which she received a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor. In the Time of Butterflies is her debut adapted graphic novel.

Julia Alvarez left the Dominican Republic for the United States in 1960 at the age of ten. She is the author of six novels, three books of nonfiction, three collections of poetry, and eleven books for children and young adults. She has taught and mentored writers in schools and communities across America and, until her retirement in 2016, was a writer in residence at Middlebury College. Her work has garnered wide recognition, including a Latina Leader Award in Literature from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, the Woman of the Year by Latina magazine, and inclusion in the New York Public Library's program "The Hand of the Poet: Original Manuscripts by 100 Masters, from John Donne to Julia Alvarez." In the Time of the Butterflies, with over one million copies in print, was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for its national Big Read program, and in 2013 President Obama awarded Alvarez the National Medal of Arts in recognition of her extraordinary storytelling. In 2024, she was profiled in the American Masters documentary, "Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined," on PBS.

This biography was last updated on 09/01/2026.

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