Elena M. Martínez (Ph.D., New York University) is Professor of Spanish and Latin American literature at Baruch College (City University of New York), where she has served as Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature since 2001. From 1994-1999, she was a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies of the CUNY Graduate Center. At Baruch College, she has also chaired the Latin American and Caribbean program and faculty committee since 1996.

A specialist in Latin American literature, Martínez has authored three books: El discurso dialógico en La era imaginaria (Madrid: Betania, 1991), Onetti: estrategias textuales y operaciones del lector (Madrid: Verbum, 1992), and Lesbian Voices from Latin America: Breaking Ground (New York: Garland, 1996). Her articles have appeared in such literary journals as Inti: Revista de Literatura Hispánica, Revista Iberoamericana, Confluencia: Revista Hispánica de Cultura y Literatura, Chasqui: Revista de Literatura Latinoamericana, and Michigan Quarterly Review, among others. She has contributed chapters to several books and encyclopedias of Latin American literature. Her essays have appeared in Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History (Routledge, 2001), Spanish Writers on Gay and Lesbian Themes. A Bio-Critical Sourcebook (Greenwood Press), and Gay and Lesbian Themes in Latin American Literature (Greenwood Press). Martínez has published numerous book reviews on Latin American, Caribbean and Gay and Lesbian literature in literary journals in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. The Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día has published her essays and reviews in their Sunday Literary section. Professor Martínez has reviewed manuscripts for several leading presses including University of Texas Press, Center for Latin American Studies Press of Arizona University and Garland publishers. She serves on the editorial board of Chasqui: Revista de Literatura Latinoamericana and on the board of Letras Hisp@anas (CUNY). Currently, Elena Martínez is at work on several essays on Cuban writers in the United States.