Viola Canales (b. April 21, 1957 ) is an American writer originally from McAllen, Texas.[1] She has published a short story collection, Orange Candy Slices and Other Secret Tales (2001),[2] and a novel, The Tequila Worm (2005)[3] for which she won the Pura Belpré Award in 2006.[4]
Canales attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin, Harvard College, and Harvard Law School.[5] She has been a captain in the US Army, a litigator, and an official in the Clinton Administration.[5]
Her partner is Pamela S. Karlan.