Héctor is the Los Angeles–born author of six books, including the novels The Tattooed Soldier and The Barbarian Nurseries. His nonfiction Deep Down Dark was a New York Times bestseller, and his books have been translated into 15 languages. In 2023 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. He earned his MFA from UC Irvine, where he is currently a professor. His most recent book is Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino.”