Immigrant Literature

The Penn Libraries actively collects literature by and about immigrants and the immigrant experience in the United States and abroad. This collection effort recognizes, on the one hand, the crucial role immigrants continue to play in shaping this country and, on the other, the academic interest in their experiences.

As a nation of immigrants, the United States has a long history of fiction featuring and/or thematizing immigrants and immigration. The late twentieth century, however, marked a particular boom in immigrant fiction as authors representing a wider range of racial and cultural backgrounds were able to publish their works in greater numbers. The Penn Libraries’ collection reflects this boom and the persistent interest in these works.  

By curating works of immigrant fiction, we continue to support scholarly research and ensure that the stories and contributions of immigrants are accessible, enriching our understanding of their impact on society.

There are many ways to access immigrant fiction through the Penn Libraries Catalog. These are two places to start:

1. Perform a Catalog search using keywords that most interest you, and add the Boolean term "AND" (in all caps) to increase the relevancy of your results. For instance:

• “Dominican American” AND fiction
• “Dominican American” AND family 
• Chicana* AND fiction
• Jamaica AND diaspora

2. The following subject-term searches will lead you to large selections of relevant works:

• Immigrants--Fiction.
• Immigrants.
• Refugees--Fiction. 
• Dominican Americans--Fiction.
• Mexican-American Border Region--Fiction.
• Nigerians--England--Fiction.