Elaine Castillo

Laine Castillo is an American writer known for her novels and essays. Her Filipino heritage also influences her writing.

She was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Castillo attended the University of California, Berkeley. There, she won the Roselyn Schneider Eisner Prize for prose three times.

In 2009, she moved to London. She earned an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London. Castillo has been nominated for the Pat Kavanagh Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a Gatewood Prize.

Her first novel, America Is Not the Heart (2018), explores the lives of Filipino immigrants in the Bay Area. The novel draws from Castillo's own experiences. Castillo is openly bisexual. She focuses on bisexual women in her work.

America Is Not the Heart received acclaim from critics. Ligaya Mishan and Maris Kreizman highlighted its ambition and evocative writing. The novel references Carlos Bulosan's America Is in the Heart. It depicts working-class, queer women in the Bay Area. Castillo cites Junot Díaz, Jamaica Kincaid, and Jessica Hagedorn as influences. She wrote the novel while living in London, drawing on her immigrant and diasporic experiences.

How to Read Now: Essays (2022) is Castillo's latest work. It examines the politics and ethics of reading. Castillo challenges conventional views on reading. She advocates for a more engaged and critical approach. The essays cover various topics, including settler colonialism and popular culture. Castillo calls for a reading culture that acknowledges complex truths and fosters solidarity.

Laine Castillo still lives in London.

Photo credit: IG @_elainecastillo