Cleyvis Natera is the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel Neruda on the Park. She studied literature and creative writing at Skidmore College and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University. Her fiction, essays, and criticisms have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, URSA Story, TIME, Alien Nation: 36 True Tales of Immigration, Gagosian Quarterly, The Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus, The Washington Post, Memorious, The Kenyon Review, Aster(ix) and Kweli Journal, among other publications. Her writing has been supported through awards, fellowships, and artist residencies by PEN America, Rowland Writers Retreat, Hermitage Artist Retreat, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Disquiet International Literary Program, Voices of our Nation Arts Foundation (VONA) and Juniper Summer Writing Institute. She teaches Creative Writing in New York City at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She lives with her husband and two young children in Montclair, NJ.
- New York University, May 2005, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
- Skidmore College, May 1999, Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology with a concentration in Creative Writing
- Natera, Cleyvis. “Sugar.” Kenyon Review Volume XLIV Number 4 (2022): 127-133.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “Fog.” URSA July 2022 https://ursastory.com/fog/.
- Natera, Cleyvis. Neruda on the Park: A Novel. New York: Ballantine-Penguin Random House, May 2022.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “The Inheritance of Bone.” Alien Nation: 36 True Tales of Immigration. Ed. Sofija Stefanovic. New York: HarperVia, 2021. 7-14.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “Compass.” Gagosian Quarterly Spring 2021: 70-78.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “Challenges to the Cult of Masculinity: A Review of Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas.” Time Magazine 12 January 2021. https://time.com/5928689/concrete-rose-reviewangie-thomas/.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “Curandera.” Kenyon Review XLII.4 (2020): 49-52.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “The Echo of Loss.” Us Against Alzheimer’s: Stories of Family, Love and Faith. Ed. Marita Golden. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2019. 158-168.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “Played or How I Failed at Becoming a Chapiadora.” Kweli 30 November 2019. http://www.kwelijournal.org/fiction/2019/11/15/played-or-how-i-failed-at-becoming-achapiadora-by-cleyvis-natera.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “When I was a teen, and English wouldn’t stick, Toni Morrison taught me to read.” The Washington Post 7 August 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/07/when-i-was-teen-english-wouldnt-sticktoni-morrison-taught-me-read/.
- Natera, Cleyvis. “Go Home: Excerpt from Neruda on the Park.” Inheritance. Ed. Angie Cruz. Pittsburgh: Aster(ix) Journal, Summer 2019. 92-102.
- 2023 New American Voices Award, Judge – March – September 2023
- 2023 Neustadt Prize, Juror – January – October 2023
- PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship, Juror – Spring 2023
- Rowland Writers Retreat, Artist in Residence (Aurora, NY) – Feb 2023
- Hermitage Artist Retreat, Artist in Residence (Englewood, FL) – 2022- 2024
- PeriPlus Fellowship, Mentor – January 2022 – December 2023
- Peter Taylor Fellowship in Fiction, Kenyon Review Workshop – July 2022
- Skidmore College’s Sara Bennet Prize for Fiction & Denise Marcil Prize for Fiction, Judge – Spring 2022
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Fiction Fellow (Amherst, VA) – December 2021
- Peter Taylor Fellowship in Fiction, Kenyon Review Workshop – June 2021
- PEN AMERICA Writing for Justice, Judge– Summer 2021
- PEN America Writing for Justice, Fellow – September 2019 – July 2020
- Sustainable Arts Foundation, Finalist – July 2020
- Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Carol Houck Smith Returning Contributor Award in Fiction – August 2019
- Disquiet International Writers Conference, Merit Scholar – June 2019
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Fiction Fellow (le Moulin à Nef, France) – Winter 2018
- Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Fiction Contributor – August 2018
- Juniper Writer’s Institute, Merit Scholar – June 2018
- Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation (VONA), Fiction Fellow, Scholarship Recipient – Summer 2012
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Fiction Fellow (Amherst, VA) – Winter 2010, Spring 2015
- Fulbright Creative Writing Award, Finalist – Summer 2007
- New York University, Merit Scholar – September 2002 through May 2005
- Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Member
- PEN America, Member