Victor Edmundo Villasenor is an American author. His fiction and non-fiction literary works center on the Mexican American experience. His first published novel, Macho! (1973), was compared to the works of Steinbeck in the Los Angeles Times. His book Rain of Gold (1991), which tells the story of his family, became a bestseller on the New York Times Bestseller List. Villasenor's acclaimed works are often taught in American schools. He went on to write Thirteen Senses: A Memoir (2001), a continuation of Rain of Gold. His book Burro Genius: A Memoir (2004), which describes his life, became a national bestseller and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The author has received awards and endorsements, including an appointment to serve as the founding Steinbeck Chair at Hartnell College and the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, from February 2003 to March 2004.