Quiara Alegria Hudes

Quiara Alegria Hudes is an American playwright, lyricist and essayist. Born in Philadelphia to a Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother, she earned a BA in music composition from Yale University and a MFA in playwriting from Brown University. Hudes is best known for writing the book for the musical In the Heights (2007). The show went on to win the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical and has been adapted into a film (2020).

Hudes' play Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue, was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and premiered off-Broadway in 2006. In 2012, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful. Other works include, Yemaya's Belly (2003), 26 Miles (2009), Lulu's Golden Shoes (2015), and Daphne's Dive (2016).