Ana Castillo was born and raised in Chicago. Ana is a celebrated poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She lives in Chicago with her son, Marcel Ramón Herrera, born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1983, and is one of the most talked about Chicana writers today.

Her first novel Mixquiahuala Letters won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. She has also been recognized with the Carl Sandburg Award.

Castillo's work is included in several anthologies such as MASCARAS (1997); Tributes: American Writers on American Writers (1997); and MultiAmerica: Essays on Cultural Wars and Cultural Peace (1997). Her novel Peel My Love like an Onion (1999), tells the story of Carmen "La Coja" Santos, who despite her crippled leg dances flamenco.

Her latest work is a collection of poetry, I Ask the Impossible. She has also written a children's book My Daughter, My Son, The Eagle, The Dove. A Spanish language version of the collection of essays she edited on Guadalupe-Tonantzin, Goddess of the Americas/La Diosa De Las Américas : Writings on the Virgin of Guadalupe, was published in August 2000.

Her other awards include a Carl Sandburg Award, a Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in fiction and poetry. She was also awarded a 1998 Sor Juana Achievement Award by the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum in Chicago.

Castillo is constantly in demand for speaking and reading engagements across the country as well as around the world. She has been invited to speak in Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and several other countries in Europe and the Caribbean. The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum has twice hosted book launches for her.

In April 2000, Castillo was honored with other notable Chicagoans, with a reception to launch a city history mural on the 103rd floor of the world famous Skydeck of the Sears tower. She is featured along with Terkel, Brooks and Carl Sandberg in a section that honors writers from the city.

Currently, Castillo teaches in the English Department at DePaul University in Chicago. She has also recently completed another novel and is preparing to release another volume of poetry.