Publication Date: May 12, 2026
A uniquely styled memoir that blends fiction and nonfiction to illuminate the love, faith, and artistry of two American writers.
In December 1998, novelist Oscar Hijuelos and writer/editor Lori Marie Carlson were married in the Riverside Church in New York City. One love story, one Pulitzer Prize, and one untimely death later, Lori is left to unveil the creativity and faith that were at the center of their marriage.
In a narrative of recollections inspired by the setting of a Lutheran cathedral library, Lori delves into the archaeology of their union. Her memories are coupled with excerpts from Oscar’s unpublished opus, Blue Antiquity, which he was writing at the time of his passing in 2013. Blue Antiquity is Oscar’s distillation of a lifetime of pondering human passion, familial love, personal identity, death, and eternity.
A Writing Marriage is a literary one-off in style and story that memorializes down-to-earth love and its endurance set against a background of bright lights and certain blessings.
The widow of a Pulitzer Prize winner reminisces on her marriage using their shared love of writing.
Author Lori Carlson-Hijuelos delivers her memoir in A Writing Marriage, which includes excerpts from her late husband’s unpublished work.
Within 152 pages, the author shares what shaped her marriage to Oscar. Their shared appreciation for literature and Spanish brought them together, only to be separated by death.
Through the memories recounted by the author, readers get a glimpse of the partnership between two talented people, yet it is only a mere taste of the possibilities. The excerpts of Oscar’s book featuring Mercado, while interesting, detract from the heart of the story. The real beauty lies in a woman’s heartfelt remembrance of her partner.
A Writing Marriage offers a tribute to the author’s late husband and soulmate.
Lori Marie Carlson is the author of two novels, two landmark bilingual poetry anthologies, and many other young adult and children’s books. Oscar Hijuelos is a first-generation Cuban American and the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He has written six novels, the most recent of which is A Simple Habana Melody. They live in New York City.
