Marie Arana

Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipient, 2009

The Alumnae Award recognizes a woman who has brought honor to Northwestern University through outstanding professional contributions in her field and who has attained national recognition. Established in 1976, the Alumnae Award has been presented every year to an alumna who has had a significant impact in her field of endeavor. Educators, journalists, doctors, scientists, and artists are included among The Alumnae’s roster of awardees.

Marie is the inaugural Library Director of the Library of Congress, director of the National Book Festival, the John W. Kluge Center’s Chair of the Cultures of the Countries of the South, and a Writer at Large for the Washington Post. For many years, she was editor-in-chief of the Washington Post’s literary section, Book World. She has also written for the New York Times, National Geographic, International Herald Tribune, Spain’s El Pais, and Peru’s El Comercio, among many other publications.  Author of fiction and nonfiction her biography of Simon Bolivar won the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize.