Explore the life and career of Julia Alvarez, one of the most influential Latina writers of her generation. Since bursting onto the American literary scene in 1991 with her autobiographical novel, “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents,” the widely acclaimed book that sold 250,000 copies, followed by “In the Time of the Butterflies” (1994), which raised global awareness about three sisters assassinated by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, Alvarez has blazed a trail for Latina authors to break into the literary mainstream. As one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful writers, Alvarez’s work spans multiple genres and audiences, including three books of nonfiction, three collections of poetry, 11 books for children and young adults, and seven literary novels.