Caro De Robertis

Caro De Robertis (born 1975) is an Uruguayan–American author and professor of creative writing at San Francisco State University. They are the author of six novels and a nonfiction book, and the editor of an award-winning anthology, Radical Hope (2017), which include essays by such writers as Junot Díaz and Jane Smiley.^[2] They are also well known for their translational work, frequently translating Spanish pieces.

Caro De Robertis
De Robertis at the 2024 Texas Book Festival.
Born	Carolina De Robertis[1] 1975 (age 49–50) England
Occupation	Author
Language	English, Spanish
Citizenship	American
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BA) Mills College at Northeastern University (MFA)
Notable works	The Invisible Mountain (2010) Perla (2013) The Gods of Tango (2015) Radical Hope (2017)
Notable awards	Rhegium Julii Debut Prize (2010) Stonewall Book Award (2016)
Website
carolinaderobertis.com

Early life

Caro De Robertis was born in England in 1975 to Uruguayan parents.^[3] Their father, Edward De Robertis, is a renowned embryologist. At the time of their birth, Edward was studying postdoctoral training at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology under Sir John Gurdon after completing his undergraduate and graduate studies in Uruguay and Argentina,^[4] whereas their grandfather, Eduardo De Robertis, was an Argentine physician and biologist.^[5][6] De Robertis is of paternal Italian descent, with their great–grandfather (Eduardo's father) hailing from Prepezzano [it], a hamlet in Giffoni Sei Casali, located in the province of Salerno of the Campania region.^[7]

During their childhood, De Robertis moved across the world on several occasions following Edward's scientific career, starting in England, then moving to Basel, until finally settling in the United States, first in Los Angeles and eventually to Oakland.^[8][9]

At the age of 19, De Robertis came out as bisexual, which they have described as the beginning of the process of their parents disowning them, which was complete by the time they were 25.^[10] Describing their relationship with their parents, they said, "They actually dug in their heels and tried to turn my siblings against my first child when I was pregnant with the first child. I use that example to say, it's not true that everybody comes around."^[10]

De Robertis received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from University of California, Los Angeles in 1996. They worked as a rape counselor and were very active in the Bay Area's LGBTQ+ community for ten years in their 20s.^[11] They received a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Mills College in 2007.^[12]

Career

De Robertis released their first book, The Invisible Mountain, in 2009. The novel was an international best-seller, and was translated into 17 languages,^[13] including Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, French, Hebrew, and Chinese. It was selected as a best book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Booklist. It was finalist for a California Book Award, an International Latino Book Award, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award.

De Robertis' 2019 novel, Cantoras, is set in 1970s Uruguay. Its five protagonists are lesbians.^[14] The book was selected as a New York Times Editors' Choice.^[15] It won a Stonewall Book Award and a Reading Women Award, and was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction and Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction.^[16][17] In 2021, their novel The President and the Frog was published. The character of the President in the book is heavily influenced by José Mujica, the former President of Uruguay. Writing in The Nation, Lily Meyer said that the book, "asks its readers to think seriously about the weight of taking political action, then suggests that they take it."^[14]

In 2022, De Robertis became the 41st recipient of the Dos Passos Prize, awarded annually to an American author who American "experiments with form, explores a range of voices and deserves more recognition."^[18]

A non-fiction book, So Many Stars, was released in May 2025.

Personal life

De Robertis currently resides with their two children in Oakland, California. They identify as queer and genderqueer.^[10] Describing their sexuality on the LGBTQ&A podcast, De Robertis said, "The more words the better. So I'm a dyke, I'm a lesbian... It's all good." De Robertis uses they/them pronouns.^[19]

Works

Novels

• The Invisible Mountain (2009)
• Perla (2012)
• The Gods of Tango (2015)
• Cantoras (2019)
• The President and the Frog (2021)
• The Palace of Eros (2024)

Non-fiction

• So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color (2025)

Essays

• "42 Poorly Kept Secrets About Montevideo" (2006) for the Indiana Review
• "Translating a Pablo Neruda Mystery" (2012) for Publishers Weekly
• "We Need the Real, Racist Atticus Finch" (2015) for the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
• "Why We Must Listen to Women" (2017) for the East Bay Express

Short fiction

• "The Askers" (2009) for the Virginia Quarterly Review
• "On the Brink of Words" (2009) for the 580 Split
• "For Orlando" (2016) for the San Francisco Chronicle
• "The Tango Police" (2017) for CNET's Technically Literate Series

Edited works

• Radical Hope (2017)

Translated works

• "Trans: A Love Story" by Gabriela Wiener (2007)
• Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra (2008)
• "I Never Went to Blanes" by Diego Trelles Paz (2010)
• The Neruda Case by Roberto Ampuero (2012)
• "Tripych" by Raquel Lubartowski (2017)

Honors and awards

Honors and scholarships

• 2012 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts^[20]

Literary Awards

Year	Title	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2010	The Invisible Mountain	California Book Award	First Fiction	Finalist	[21]
		First Novelist Award	—	Finalist	[22]
		Rhegium Julii Prize	Debut	Won
2016	The Gods of Tango	Stonewall Book Award	Barbara Gittings Literature Award	Won
2019	Cantoras	Kirkus Prize	Fiction	Finalist	[23]
		Reading Women Award	Fiction	Won	[24]
2020		Lambda Literary Awards	Lesbian Fiction	Finalist	[25]
		Stonewall Book Award	Barbara Gittings Literature Award	Won
2022	The President and the Frog	PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction	—	Finalist	[26]
		PEN/Jean Stein Book Award	—	Longlisted	[27]
	—	Dos Passos Prize	—	Won	[28]