Lilly Gonzalez is the executive director of the San Antonio Book Festival. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, in the under-developed colonias of Pharr, Texas, Lilly is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her first love was books and she has been reading ever since. Prior to moving to San Antonio, she spent 14 years living in Chicago, where she worked in public affairs at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She earned both her MFA in creative writing and BS in journalism from Northwestern University. Her favorite book is Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros.