Before his first publication, Ernesto Quiñonez was hailed by the Village Voice as a "writer on the verge." His debut novel, Bodega Dreams, (Vintage, 2000), was chosen as a Barnes & Nobles Discover Great New Writers, Borders Original Voices, the New York Public Library's 25 Books to Remember, as well as a Los Angeles Times and New York Times Notable books of the year, all in 2000. The following year he made Entertainment Weekly's IT List and later received fellowships from the Wesleyan Writers Conference, Breadloaf Writer's Conference, and the University of Indiana . In 2003 he was chosen as a visiting screenwriter by the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in Sundance UT. His follow up novel, Chango's Fire is forthcoming by HarperCollins, 2004. Ernesto Quiñonez lives in New York City.