[1] She is the author of the book of essays Sidewalks and the novel Faces in the Crowd, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction.

Luiselli's books have been translated into more than 20 languages, with her work appearing in publications including, The New York Times, Granta, McSweeney's, and The New Yorker.

After earning a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Luiselli moved to New York City to dance.

[1] Her nonfiction work Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions (2017) is based on her experiences volunteering as an interpreter for young Central American migrants seeking legal status in the United States.

Luiselli started a literacy program for girls in a detention center in upstate New York that focuses on creative writing.

[14] Luiselli is passionate about researching and writing about mass incarceration in the United States, with a focus on detention centers.

She is working on a performance piece with the poet Natalie Diaz related to mass incarceration and violence against women.

[14] Luiselli supports a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions, including publishers and literary festivals.

[16] Sidewalks is Luiselli's debut book of essays, in which she explores themes of motion, travel, transition, and reflection.