Gregory Orfalea

Gregory Orfalea was born and raised in Los Angeles. He is the author or editor of eleven books, including a seminal biography of Junípero Serra, the Franciscan founder of California, Journey to the Sun (Scribner). Angeleno Days, his collection of memoirs, won the Arab American Book Award and was a finalist for the PEN USA Prize for Creative Nonfiction. His short fiction has been collected in The Man Who Guarded the Bomb. His essays have appeared in, among others, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, Commonweal, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. He has taught literature and writing at the Claremont Colleges, Georgetown University, and Westmont College. Based in Santa Barbara, Orfalea annually participates in the deep-sea swims of the Reef and Run event.