Barbara De la Cuesta

Barbara de la Cuesta is an award-winning American novelist, poet, and playwright whose work explores cross-cultural experiences, identity, and the quiet complexities of everyday life. With a professional background in journalism and education, her career has spanned the Americas—from reporting and teaching in Venezuela and Colombia to educating students in New Jersey and at Ocean County College.

Barbara is the author of several acclaimed works of fiction, including the Gival Press Fiction Award-winning The Spanish Teacher and the Driftless Novella Prize-winning Rosa. Her extensive bibliography also includes The Gold Mine; Henrietta Rose; Carl, Willi, and Blanche; Adam’s Chair; The Mists; and poetry collections such as Rosamundo and On the River This Morning.

Holding an MA in English Literature from Vanderbilt University and a Master’s in Creative Nonfiction from Lesley University, Barbara has seen her poetry and short stories featured in numerous journals, including California Quarterly and The Texas Review. Her contributions to the arts have been recognized with fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Massachusetts Artists’ Foundation, and the Geraldine Dodge Foundation, along with residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Millay Colony, and Ragdale.

Beyond the printed page, Barbara has seen two of her plays produced Off-Off Broadway and served as a visiting playwright at Syracuse Stage. Today, she continues to write, teach, and share stories shaped by a life lived across languages, borders, and cultures.