Authors

Argentina

GONZALO GARCÉS (Buenos Aires, 33 years old)

Gonzalo Garces read Philosophy at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and Modern Languagues in La Sorbone."Diciembre", his first novel, was published in Argentina in 1997.In 2000 he won the prize Bilioteca Breve with his second novel, "Los impacientes"; regarding his second novel,the newspaper La Vanguardia wrote "Finally a novel that knows how to reflect the rising and fall of an era.".In 2003, he published "El Futuro".

He is been working for the last few years in a new novel, whilst collaborating with several magazines,not without controversy; his articles had appeared in Ñ (Argentina), El Mercurio (Chile), Qué Pasa (Chile), Reforma (México), Gatopardo (Colombia), Letras Libres (España) and Brecha (Uruguay).

Argentina

Pedro Mairal (Argentina, 37 years old)

Pedro Mairal studied a degree in ‘Letras’ (‘Humanities’) at USAL (‘University of el Salvador’) where he was an assistant lecturer of English Literature. His novel ‘Una noche con Sabrina Love’ was awarded the ‘Premio Clarín’ (‘Clarín Prize’) in 1998 with a panel of judges comprising Roa Bastos, Bioy Casares and Cabrera Infante. ‘Una noche con Sabrina Love’ was adapted to the screen in the year 2000. He has also published a volume of short stories, ‘Hoy Temprano’ (2001), and two poetry books, ‘Tigre como los pájaros’ (1996) and ‘Consumidor final’ (2003). His second novel, ‘El año del desierto’ was published in 2005. His work has been translated and published in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Germany. He currently lives in Buenos Aires. His personal webpage is at: www.pedromairal.blogspot.com

Argentina

ANDRÉS NEUMAN (Argentina, 30 years old)

Andrés Neuman was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1977 and he lives in Granada (Spain), where he had a degree in Spanish Philology and has worked as a teacher of Spanish American literature. When he was only 22, his first novel “Bariloche” (Anagrama, 1999) was First Finalist in the Herralde Prize and was selected as one of the best ten novels of the year by El Cultural, literary supplement of the national daily paper El Mundo. He has also published the novels “La vida en las ventanas” (Life in the Windows, Espasa, 2002, First Finalist in the Primavera Prize) and “Una vez Argentina” (Once Argentina, Anagrama, 2003). He is author of the books of short stories “El que espera” (He Who Waits, Anagrama, 2000), “El último minuto” (The Last Minute, Espasa, 2001, soon reprinted by Páginas de Espuma) and “Alumbramiento” (Childbirth, Páginas de Espuma, 2006); of several books of poems like “El jugador de billar” (The Pool Player, Pre-Textos, 2000), “El tobogán” (The Toboggan, 2002, Hiperión Prize) or “La canción del antílope” (The Antelope’s Song, Pre-Textos, 2003); and of the book of aphorisms and literary essays “El equilibrista” (The tightrope walker, Acantilado, 2005). Neuman has been included in anthologies of new poetry and short stories published in Spain, Argentina, Mexico, France, Italy, Portugal or Bulgaria. He has co-ordinated the project “Pequeñas Resistencias” (Small Resistances, Páginas de Espuma 2002-2005), a four-volumes anthology of the new short story written in Spanish all around the world.

His books have received the following commentaries: «He has a gift. No good reader will fail to perceive in these pages something that can only be found in great literature, that which is written by true poets. The literature of the twenty-first century will belong to Neuman and to a handful of his blood brothers» (Robert Bolaño); «A masterful lesson in a narrative that is committed to the world’s suffering and to artistic control» (J. E. Ayala-Dip, El País); «A highly intelligent writer who is in control of a precise, sparkling language. Powerful, personal energy» (M. García-Posada, ABC); «Beautiful and vibrating, full of poetry and tenderness. A complete success» (A. Basanta, El Cultural); «He will become a key figure. He is simultaneously part of the Argentine and Spanish traditions, and is destined to give rise to a unique career» (V. L. Mora, Diario Córdoba); «He brings to mind the splendour of the great masters» (R. Brasca, La Nación, Argentina).

Bolivia

RODRIGO HASBÚN (Bolivia, 26 years old)

Rodrigo Hasbun won the ‘Premio Nacional de Literatura Santa Cruz de la Sierra’ (‘National Literature Aaward Santa Cruz de la Sierra’) in 2002 and was short listed for the ‘Concurso Franz Tamayo’ (‘Franz Tamayo Competition’) on two occasions. His work has been included in several anthologies and he is a regular contributor to important national culture supplements. His book of short stories ‘Cinco’ (Gente Común, 2006) enjoyed an excellent reception by both critics and the public. He is also a scriptwriter and his first novel will be released this year.

Brazil

JOÃO PAULO CUENCA (Brazil, 29 years old)

João Paulo Cuenca studied Economics, but his interest was literature from the beginning. He is a weekly columnist for the newspaper O Globo, has published ‘Corpo presente’ (Planeta, 2003) and taken part in the following anthologies: ‘Para ti para mim’ (Planeta, 2003), ‘Dentro de um livro’ (Casa da Palavra, 2005), ‘Contos sobre tela’ (Pinakotheke, 2005), ‘Paralelos’ (Agir, 2005) and ‘Prosas Cariocas’ (Casa da Palavra, 2004). His next novel will be released by the Editorial Ediouro/Agir publishing house in 2007.

Brazil

ADRIANA LISBOA (Brazil, 37 years old)

Adriana Lisboa has a doctorate in Comparative Literature from the UERJ (‘Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro’; ‘University of the State of Rio de Janeiro’) and also works as a translator. She has lived in France and currently resides in Denver where she is an academic reseacher. She received the ‘Premio José Saramago’ (‘José Saramago Prize’; 2003, Portugal) and was short listed for the ‘Premio Jabuti’ (‘Jabuti Prize’, 2004). Her most important works are ‘Os fios da memória’, ‘Sinfonía en Bronco’, ‘Um viejo de colombina’ and ‘Caligrafías’.

Brazil

SANTIAGO NAZARIÁN (Brazil, 30 years old)

Writer and translator Santiago Nazarian has published the novels ‘Olivio’, ‘Feriado de mim mesmo’, ‘A morte sem nome’ and ‘Mastigando humanos’. He writes for several newspapers and magazines such as Folha de SP, Rolling Stone and Joyce Pascowitch and won the ‘Premio Fundación Conrado Wessel de Literatura’ (‘Conrado Wessel Foundation Award’) with his novel ‘Olivio’ in 2003.

Brazil

VERÓNICA STIGGER (Brazil, 34 años)

Verónica Stigger studied Journalism, has a doctorate in Art Theory and Criticism from the USP (‘University of Sao Paulo’) and is an academic researcher. Born in Porto Alegre, she has been living in Sao Paulo since 2001. Her first book, ‘O trágico e outras comédias’ appeared in Portugal in 2003 and in Brazil the following year. Her second book, ‘Gran Cabaret Demenzial’ has just been published.

Chile

ÁLVARO BISAMA (Chile, 32 years old)

Writer and literary critic, Álvaro Bisama graduated as a Spanish teacher from the University of Playa Ancha and went on to obtain an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Chile. He was a book critic for the daily newspaper La Tercera and the magazine Qué pasa, as well as a contributor to different publications: The Clinic, Ciudad/Arquitectura and Rolling Stone, amongst others. He is presently a columnist for the supplement Revista de Libros of the newspaper El Mercurio de Santiago and teaches at the UPLA (University of Los Andes) and the Alberto Hurtado University. He has been awarded a grant by the ‘Consejo del Libro y la Lectura’ (‘Book and Reading Council’) and his work has been included in different critical and fiction anthologies. He has published the volumes of essays and articles ‘Zona cero’ (2003) and ‘Postales urbanas’ (2006) as well as the novel ‘Caja negra’ (Bruguera, 2006).

Chile

ALEJANDRO ZAMBRA (Chile, 31 years old)

Alejandro Zambra (Santiago de Chile, 1975) has published the poetry collections ‘Bahía Inútil’ (Stratis, 1998) and ‘Mudanza’ (Quid, 2003) and the novels ‘Bonsái’ (Anagrama, 2006) and ‘La vida privada de los árboles’ (Anagrama, 2007). He writes on literature in the Chilean newspapers The Clinic and El Mercurio.

Columbia

ANTONIO GARCÍA (Columbia, 35 years old)

Antonio García studied Literature and Social Communication at the ‘Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá’ (Javeriana University in Bogotá). Editorial consultant for Soho magazine, he has just been awarded the ‘premio Iniciativa Artística Rolex para Mentores y Discípulos’ (‘Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative’) through which he will work with Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa for a year. He has written ‘Su casa es mi casa’ and ‘Recursos Humanos’.

Columbia

JOHN JAIRO JUNIELES (Columbia, 37 years old)

Writer, journalist and scriptwriter, John Jairo Junieles studied Law and Public Affairs at the ‘Univeridad Externado de Colombia’ (‘Day University of Colombia’) and at Columbia University, New York as well as taking journalism courses at the ‘Fundación para un Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano’ (‘Foundation for New Latin american Journalism’). He has published: Hombres solos en la fila del cine (novel), Alfabeto del fantasma (anthology), Viajero con pasaje a tierra extraña (‘Premio Internacional de Poesía Ciudad de Alajuela’; ‘City of Alajuela International Poetry Prize’, Costa Rica, 2005), El temblor del kamikaze (short stories), Canciones de un barrio en la frontera (Poetry, ‘Premio Nacional de Literatura Ciudad de Bogota’, ‘City of Bogotá National Literature Prize’, 2002) and Temeré por mí al final de estas líneas (prose poetry). He was a journalist for the ‘Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena’ (‘Cartagena International Film Festival’) for seven years and is a contributor to the following publications: ‘Espéculo’ (Complutense University of Madrid), ‘Letralia’ (Venezuela), ‘Librusa’ (Miami), El Universal, and the magazine Noventaynueve (Cartagena).

Columbia

PILAR QUINTANA (Columbia, 35 years old)

Pilar Quintana studied Social Communication at the ‘Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá’ (Javeriana University in Bogotá) and worked as a television scriptwriter and advertising creative. In the year 2000 she abandoned office life and travelled around South America, the US, India, Nepal and Australia. In 2003 she returned to Colombia and published ‘Cosquillas en la Lengua’, her first novel, and has just published ‘Coleccionistas de polvos raros’.

Columbia

RICARDO SILVA (Columbia, 32 years old)

Ricardo Silva studied Literature at the ‘Javeriana University’ and took a Master’s degree in Film at the ‘Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona’ (‘Autonomous University of Barcelona’). He is the author of the play Podéis ir en paz (1998), the book of short stories ‘Sobre la tela de una araña’ (Arango, 1999), the fiction website (devised together with the now-passed away Germán Pardo García-Peña) www.ricardosilvaromero.com (2002), a collection of poems entitled ‘Terranía’ (Planeta, 2004), the biography ‘Woody Allen: incómodo en el mundo’ (Panamericana, 2004) and the novels ‘Relato de Navidad en La Gran Vía’ (Alfaguara, 2001), ‘Tic’ (Seix Barral, 2003), ‘Parece que va a llover’ (Seix Barral, 2005) and ‘El hombre de los mil nombres’ (Seix Barral, 2006). A film commentator for Semana and a columnist for SoHo, his stories have appeared in over twenty anthologies published in Colombia, Mexico and Spain. He has written for publications such as Arcadia, Gatopardo, El Malpensante, Babelia, Número and Piedepágina.

Columbia

ANTONIO UNGAR (Columbia, 30 years old)

Antonio Ungar has lived in the Colombian jungle, Manchester, Mexico D.F. and Barcelona. He currently lives in the Palestinian city of Jaffa. He has published the book of stories ‘Trece circus comunes’ (Norma, 1999) and ‘De ciertos animales tristes’ (Norma, 2000) and the novels ‘Zanahorias voladoras’ (Alfaguara, 2004) and ‘Las orejas del lobo’ (Ediciones B, 2006), the latter translated into French and German. His stories appear in nine anthologies in Spanish as well as others in Portuguese, German, Italian and English. He also writes articles for different Italian, Spanish and Latin American publications.

Columbia

JUAN GABRIEL VÁSQUEZ (Columbia, 34 years old)

Juan Gabriel Vásquez is the author of the book of stories ‘Los amantes de Todos los Santos’ (Alfaguara, 2001) and two novels, ‘Los informantes’ (Alfaguara, 2004), which received unanimous praise from critics and is being translated in England, France and Holland, and ‘Historia secreta de Costaguana’ (Alfaguara, 2007) which has received the following praises: ‘a great novel’ (Rafael Conte, Babelia); ‘one of the great surprises of recent years’ (J.A. Masoliver Ródenas, La Vanguardia); ‘novels such as this one make one feel proud of this profession’ (Eusebi Lahoz, El Periódico); ‘one of those pleasures that only come around every so often’ (Marcelo Figueras, El Boomeran). His stories have appeared in anthologies from Germany, France, Spain and Colombia. Between 1996 and 1998 he lived in Paris and studied Latin American Literature at the Sorbonne and at the end of 1999, after a year in the Belgian Ardennes, he settled in Barcelona. He has translated works by John Hersey, Victor Hugo and E.M. Forster, amongst others, and his articles appear regularly in Spanish and Latin American publications.

Cuba

WENDY GUERRA (Cuba, 36 years old)

A graduate in ‘Dirección de Cine, Radio y Televisión’ (‘Film, Radio and Television Direction’) from the ‘Facultad de Medios de la Comunicación’ (‘Department of Media’) of the ISA (‘Instituto Superior de Arte’; ‘Higher Institute of Art’), Wendy Guerra has published ‘Todos se van’ (2007), the collection of poems ‘Platea a oscuras’ and the work ‘Posar desnuda en la Habana. Diario Apócrifo de Anaïs Nin’. She has been included in different compilations of Cuban literature both in- and outside of Cuba and is a contributor to the magazines Encuentro, La Gaceta de Cuba and Nexos as well as to specialised Fine Art publications. She has given talks on Cuban literature at universities and institutions in Europe and Latin America and has received grants in the US (‘Special Collections’ grant for writers and researchers from the University of California) and in France (Gilbert Brownstone Foundation). She currently resides in Havana (Cuba).

Cuba

RONALDO MENÉNDEZ (Cuba, 37 years old)

Ronaldo Menéndez has a degree in Art History and won the ‘Premio Casa de las Américas’ (‘Casa de las Américas Prize’, short story category) in 1997 and the ‘Premio Lengua de Trapo’ (‘Lengua de Trapo Prize’, novel category) in 1999. He is the author of the works: ‘Alguien se va lamiendo todo’ (short story, Ediciones Unión, Havana, 1996), ‘El derecho al pataleo de los ahorcados’ (Lengua de Trapo 1998), ‘La piel de Inesa’ (novel, Lengua de Trapo, 1999) and ‘De modo que esto es la muerte’ (short story, Lengua de Trapo, 2002). The publishing house Lengua de Trapo has just published his latest novel, ‘Las bestias’. He is currently living in Madrid and is a contributor to several publications as well as a literary editor and teacher at literary training centres.

Cuba

ENA LUCÍA PORTELA (Cuba, 34 years old)

Ena Lucía Portela has a degree in Classical Languages and Literature from the University of Havana and has written, ‘El pájaro: pincel y tinta china’ (novel, ‘Cirilo Villaverde Prize’ in 1997 from the UENAC –‘Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba’, the ‘Union of Cuban Writers and Artists’); ‘Una extraña entre las piedras’ (short stories, 1999); ‘El viejo, el asesino y yo’ (short story, winner of the ‘Premio Juan Rulfo Internacional’, ‘Juan Rulfo International Award’ in 1999); ‘La sombra del caminante’ (novel, 2001); ‘Cien botellas en una pared’ (novel, winner of the ‘Premio Jaén de Novela’, ‘Jaén Novel Prize’, in 2002 and the Deux Océans-Grinzane Cavour Prize in 2003, awarded by the French critics to the best Latin American book published in France over a two-year period) and ‘Alguna enfermedad muy grave’ (short stories, 2006). Her works have been translated into several languages and published in Cuba, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Poland and Holland. Her work (short stories, essays, testimonios, reviews and excerpts of novels) has appeared in various anthologies, magazines and other periodical publications, both from Cuba and overseas. Her novel ‘Djuna y Daniel’ is due to be published this year in Spain by Random House Mondadori. She lives in Havana.

Cuba

KARLA SÚAREZ (Cuba, 37 years old)

A graduate in Electronic Engineering, Karla Suárez has published the books of short stories ‘Carroza para actores’ (2001) and ‘Espuma’ (1999), as well as the novels ‘La viajera’ (2005) and ‘Silencios’ (‘Premio Lengua de Trapo’ prize in 1999 and short listed for the ‘Premio de América insular y Guyana Amedée Huyghues Despointe’, ‘Caribbean islands and Guyana Amedée Huyghues Despointe Prize’, in Guadalupe in 2004). Her novels have been translated into French, Portuguese, Italian, German and Slovenian. Many of her stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines published in various countries, two being adapted for the small screen, and one of these for the stage, in Cuba. She has received several literary grants in France, amongst them the grant awarded by the National Book Centre. After having lived in Rome for several years, she now resides in Paris.

Ecuador

MARÍA GABRIELA ALEMÁN (Ecuador, 39 years old)

María Gabriela Alemán studied Latin American Literature at the ‘Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar’ (‘Simón Bolívar Andean University, in Ecuador) and received her doctorate from Tulane University in New Orleans. A contributor to specialised magazines in Argentina, Spain, Japan, Portugal and Ecuador, in 1993 she represented her country at the ‘Encuentro de Jóvenes Escritores’ (‘Meeting// Conference of Young Writers’) on ‘Literatura y Compromiso’ (‘Literature and Commitment’) organised by the INJUVE (‘Instituto de la Juventud’, ‘Youth Institute’) and held in Mollina, Spain. She has published interviews and articles in the magazines Cultura and Eskeletra from Quito and has written ‘Maldito corazón’ (short stories, El Conejo, Quito, 1996), ‘Zoom’ (short stories, Eskeletra, Quito, 1997), the play ‘La acróbata del hambre’ (Quito, 1997), ‘Fuga permanente’ (short stories, Euterpe, Paraguay, 2001/Eskeletra, Ecuador, 2002), and ‘Body Time’ (novel, Planeta, Quito, 2003).

Ecuador

LEONARDO VALENCIA (Ecuador, 38 years old)

Leonardo Valencia graduated in Social and Political Sciences and received his doctorate in Literature from the ‘Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona’ (‘Autonomous University of Barcelona’). He has published the progressive book of short stories ‘La luna nómada’ (1995, 1998 and 2004), through which he has been included in various anthologies and translated into English, French, Bulgarian and Hebrew. Regarding his first novel, ‘El desterrado’ (2000), Enrique Vila-Matas said of him: ‘a writer with an enviable future’. His subsequent novel, ‘El libro flotante de Caytran Dölphin’ (2006), was unanimously acclaimed by the critics: ‘a magnificent novel’ (J. E. Ayala-Dip, El País); ‘very carefully written, it recounts the characters’ rootlessness in the face of the destruction of the world around them’ (Andrés González-Barba, ABC); ‘a strange, innovative, demanding book’ (Yanko Molina, Hoy). With this novel he carried out, in collaboration with Mexican programmer Eugenio Tisselli, the interactive project www.libroflotante.net. A compilation of his essays under the title ‘El rastro de la flecha’ will be published shortly.

El Salvador

CLAUDIA HERNÁNDEZ (El Salvador, 32 years old)

Claudia Hernández has written ‘Otras ciudades’, ‘Mediodía de frontera’ and ‘Olvida Uno’. In 1998 she was awarded one of the Radio France Internationale Juan Rulfo prizes in the short story category. In 2004 she won the prestigious Anne Seghers Award in Germany for her published work. She has been included in anthologies in Spain, Italy, France, the US and Germany. She is going to publish ‘De Fronteras’ (Piedra Santa).

Guatemala

EDUARDO HALFON(Guatemala, 36 years old)

Eduardo Halfon studied Industrial Engineering at North Carolina State University and has been a lecturer in literature at the ‘Francisco Marroquin University’ in Guatemala since 2001. He has published ‘Esto no es una pipa, Saturno’ (Alfaguara 2003, Punto de Lectura, 2007), ‘De cabo roto’ (Littera Books, 2003) and ‘El ángel literario’, (semifinalist for the ‘Premio Herralde’ award in 2003; Anagrama, 2004). His works have been translated into Serbian and Portuguese. He currently lives in La Rioja (Spain).

Mexico

ÁLVARO ENRIGUE (México, 37 years old)

Álvaro Enrigue has taught Literature at the ‘Universidad Iberoamericana’ (‘Ibero-American University’) and Creative Writing at the University of Maryland. Since 1990 he has worked as a literary critic and contributed to magazines and newspapers in Mexico and Spain. Upon his return to Mexico, and after a short period working as a literary editor for the ‘Fondo de de Cultura Económica’ (‘Economic Culture Fund’), he joined the magazine Letras Libres. He is the author of a doctoral thesis on Sor Juana and money and has written ‘La muerte de un instalador’, ‘Hipotermia’ and ‘Virtudes capitales’ as well as short stories for different periodical publications and for the following anthologies: ‘Dispersión multitudinaria’, ‘Una ciudad mejor que esta’, ‘Se habla español’ and ‘El cementerio de sillas’. He was awarded the ‘Premio Joaquín Mortiz’ (‘Joaquín Mortiz Prize’) in 1997.

Mexico

FABRIZIO MEJÍA MADRID (México, 39 years old)

Born in the emblematic year of 1968, Fabrizio Mejía Madrid is the youngest chronicler to be included by Carlos Monsiváis in the new edition of the anthology ‘A ustedes les consta’, a revision of 19th and 20th Century Mexican chronicles. He is the author of the novel-chronicle ‘Hombre al agua’, winner of the Antonin Artaud prize and his most recent novel is ‘El rencor’ (as with the previous one, published by Joaquín Motriz). His works have been included in anthologies such as Nuevas voces de la narrativa mexicana and The Mexico City Reader. Other works by Mejía Madrid are: ‘Viaje alrededor de mi padre’, ‘Pequeños actos de desobediencia’ and ‘Entre las sábanas’.

Mexico

GUADALUPE NETTEL (México, 33 years old)

Guadalupe Nettel has a degree in Spanish Literature from the ‘Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’ (‘National Autonomous University of Mexico’) and completed a DEA (‘Diplôme d’Études Approfondies’, ‘Advanced Studies Diploma’) in language sciences at the ‘École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales’ (‘School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences’) in Paris. She has written: ‘Juegos de artificio’ (Mexico, Instituto mexiquense de cultura, 2003), ‘Les jours fossils’ (Éditions de l'éclose 2006) and ‘El huésped’ (Barcelona, Anagrama), the latter translated into French under the title ‘L'hôte’ (Actes Sud, 2006) and short listed for the ‘Premio Herralde’ award. She has taken part in the anthologies ‘Dispersión Multitudinaria’ (Mexico, Joaquín Mortiz, 1997) and ‘Día de Muertos’ (Barcelona, Plaza y Janés, 2002). Between 1993 and 2007 she has written articles and short stories for numerous publications (the magazines Revista Lateral, Revista Gatopardo, El polemista and Letras Libres and the supplements Culturas and Le monde des livres, amongst others). She has been awarded several prizes both in Mexico and in France and lives in Barcelona where she works as a translator.

Mexico

JORGE VOLPI (México, 39 years old)

Jorge Volpi has a degree in Law, a Masters in Mexican Literature and a PhD in Spanish Philology from the University of Salamanca. He is the author of the novels ‘A pesar del oscuro silencio’, ‘La paz de los sepulcros’, ‘El temperamento melancólico’ and ‘En busca de Klingsor’ (‘In Search of Klingsor’), the latter published in twenty languages (winner of the ‘Biblioteca Breve’, ‘Deux Océans’ and ‘Grinzane Cavour’ prizes and the award for the best translation from the Instituto Cervantes in Rome) and the first of his ‘Trilogía del siglo XX’ (‘Trilogy of the 20th Century’), the second part being ‘El fin de la locura’. He has also written novellas (‘Días de ira’, ‘Sanar tu piel amarga’ and ‘El juego del Apocalipsis’), essays (‘La imaginación y el poder. Una historia intelectual de 1968’ and ‘La Guerra y las palabras. Una historia del alzamiento zapatista’) and has taken part in the anthology of young Mexican short story writers ‘Día de muertos’. He is a contributor to the magazines Letras Libres and Letra Internacional as well as to El País newspaper. He was a visiting professor at Cornell University and is a member of the ‘Sistema Nacional de Creadores de México’ (‘National System of Artistic Creators in Mexico’). He has recently been chosen, alongside 200 others, as one of the young world leaders of 2006.

Panama

CARLOS WYNTER MELO (Panamá, 36 years old)

Carlos Wynter Melo was born in Panama, in the city of Panama, is the winner of the ‘José María Sánchez’ national short story prize (1998 edition) and came third in the ‘Ignacio Valdés’ short story competition awarded by the ‘Instituto Panameño de Estudios Laborales’ (‘Panamanian Institute for Labour Studies’) in 2005. He represented Panama at the ‘III Encuentro de Nuevos Narradores de América Latina y España’ (‘III Conference of New Narrators from Latin America and Spain’; organised by the ‘Asociación de Funcionarios Culturales Diplomáticos de Colombia’, ‘Association of Diplomatic Culture Civil Servants of Colombia’, and the ‘Convenio Andrés Bello’, ‘Andrés Bello Agreement’), the ‘II Festival del Libro Centroamericano’ (‘Central American Book Fair’) in Chicago and the ‘Encuentro de Escritores por la Paz’ (‘Writers for Peace Conference’) in 2007, held in San Salvador (El Salvador) and also took part in CILCA, the ‘Congreso Internacional de Literatura Centroamericana’ (‘International Conference on Central American Literature’) in 2007. Wynter Melo is a member of the ‘Junta Directiva de la Asociación de Escritores de Panamá’ (‘Board of Directors of the Writers’ Association of Panama’) and founder of ‘Proyecto Fuga’, a project for the promotion of alternative literature. He has promoted literature, gives short story workshops and his work has appeared in various national and international anthologies and compilations of short stories. Some of his articles have been published in electronic media and printed in different Latin American countries and his work has been translated into German and Portuguese. Wynter Melo has published five books: ‘El escapista’ (‘Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá’, ‘Technical University of Panama’, 1999), ‘Desnudo y otros cuentos’ (Fundación Signos, 2001), ‘El escapista y demás fugas’ (Fuga Editor and the ‘Universidad a Distancia de Panamá’, ‘Open University of Panama’, 2003), ‘Invisible’ (Fuga Editor, 2005) and ‘El niño que tocó la luna’, narrations about the Embera indigenous ethnic group (Fuga Editor, 2006), a social responsibility project sponsored by the AES electricity company. Wynter Melo graduated as an Industrial Engineer and holds a Masters in Organisational Development from the ‘Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente’ (‘Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education’), Guadalajara (Jalisco, Mexico) and has also taken literary studies. He has been included in the compilation ‘Hasta el sol de mañana’ (1998) and in the anthologies ‘Papayas und Bananens’ (BradenAspel, 2002; in German), ‘Soles de papel y tinta’ (2003) and ‘Panamá cuenta’ (2003) and has published short stories in numerous magazines such as Maga and Letralia.

Paraguay

JOSÉ PÉREZ REYES (Paraguay, 34 years old)

Asuncion (1972). Writer, lawyer and university lecturer. He has published two books of short stories, "Ladrillos del tiempo"(2002) and "Clonsonante"(2007). His short stories had been included in several compilations, in the Pen Club Magazine, in electronic magazines and in paraguayan newspapers.

Peru

DANIEL ALARCÓN (Perú, 30 years old)

A graduate from Columbia University, Daniel Alarcón has a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. He received a Fulbright scholarship in 2002 and won a Whiting Award in 2004. His first book, ‘Guerra a la luz de las velas’ (‘War by Candlelight’) was short listed for the PEN/Hemingway Award in 2006. The prestigious British magazine Granta recently described him as ‘one of the best young novelists in the US’. He is associate editor of the magazine Etiqueta Negra and his first novel, ‘Radio Ausencia’ will be published in Spanish in July 2007. He lives in Oakland, California, where he holds the position of Distinguished Visiting Writer at Mills College.

Peru

SANTIAGO RONCAGLIOLO (Perú, 31 years old)

Santiago Roncagliolo has lived in Mexico, Peru and Spain and worked as a television scriptwriter, journalist, translator, ghostwriter, author of political speeches and writer of children’s books. He has published the novel ‘El príncipe de los caimanes’ and the book of short stories ‘Crecer es un oficio triste’ and was selected as ‘New Talent’ by FNAC bookshops in 2003. In addition, his play ‘Tus amigos nunca te harían daño’ has been performed in eight countries and chosen for the anthology ‘Dramaturgia Peruana’.

Peru

IVÁN THAYS (Peru, 31 years old)

Iván Thays studied Literature and Linguistics at the ‘Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú’ (‘Pontifical Catholic University of Peru’) and published the book of short stories ‘Las fotografías de Frances Farmer’ in 1992 (reprinted in Lima in 1999 and in Spain in 2001) as well as the novels ‘Escena de caza’ in 1995 (reprinted in Lima in 2001), ‘El viaje interior’ (1999) and ‘La disciplina de la vanidad’ (2000). His stories have appeared in anthologies in Spain, the US, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba and Bolivia. In 2001 he was awarded the Dutch ‘Prince Claus Award’ and was short listed for the Venezuelan ‘Premio Rómulo Gallegos’ (‘Rómulo Gallegos Prize’) for his novel ‘La disciplina de la vanidad’. He currently presents a literary programme on Peruvian television.

Puerto Rico

YOLANDA ARROYO PIZARRO (Puerto Rico, 37 years old)

Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro is a Technology Instructor and has written essays for the literary website ciudadseva.com, columns for the online magazines Derivas.net, Letras Salvajes, Letralia Tierra de Letras and Narrativa Puertorriqueña, as well as for the newspapers El Vocero de Puerto Rico and La Expresión. Her short stories have appeared in the cultural magazines Preámbulos and Tonguas. She is the author of a book of short stories, ‘Origami de letras’ (2004) and of a novel (PEN Club Award winner in 2006) entitled ‘Los documentados’ (2005).

Dominican Republic

JUNOT DÍAZ (Dominican Republic, 39 years old)

Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in New Jersey. A graduate from Rutgers University, he holds a Masters in Fine Arts from Cornell University and currently teaches literature at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His fiction has appeared in Story, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, in the Best American Short Stories (four times: 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2000) and in African Verse. He is the recipient of the Pushcart Prize XXII (1997), the Eugene McDermott Award (1998) and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His debut work ‘Drown’, a collection of ten short stories written in English was a bestseller in the US and received the PEN/Malamud Award, the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has published the short story ‘Ysrael’ and is currently at work on his first novel, ‘The Cheater’s Guide to Love’. The New Yorker has named him one of the best 40 writers under 40 of the moment. He lives in New York.

Uruguay

CLAUDIA AMENGUAL (Uruguay, 38 years old)

Claudia Amengual is a sworn translator and studies ‘Letras’ (‘Humanities’) as well as coordinating writing workshops. She is the author of various short stories, some of which have won prizes and been included in anthologies, and of the novels ‘La rosa de Jericó’ (2000; Punto de Lectura, 2005), ‘El vendedor de escobas’ (2002; Punto de Lectura, 2005) and ‘Desde las cenizas’ (Alfaguara, 2005), for which she received the ‘Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’ prize at the last ‘Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara’ (‘Guadalajara International Book Fair’). An excerpt from her first novel was included in the anthology ‘La vida te despeina’ (Planeta, 2005). In 2003 she was awarded a grant from the ‘Fundación Carolina’ (‘Carolina Foundation’) to study publishing at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid’ (‘Complutense University of Madrid’) and at the ‘Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo’ (‘Menendez Pelayo International University’) in Santander. She is currently working on her latest novel which will tackle the issue of suicide.

Uruguay

PABLO CASACUBERTA (Uruguay, 38 years old)

Writer and film maker, winner of the ‘Premio Fona’ award in 2001, Pablo Casacuberta has written ‘Aquí y ahora’, ‘Ahora le toca al elefante’ (1990), ‘La parte de abajo de las cosas’ (1992), ‘Esta máquina roja’ (1995), ‘El mar’ (2000) and ‘Una línea más o menos recta’ (2002); the latter won first prize at the ‘Narrativa Inédita de la Intendencia Municipal de Montevideo’ (‘Municipality of Montevideo Unpublished Fiction’) competition in 2002. As a film maker he has directed experimental and fictional short films, animation films and the feature film ‘Another George’ (England, 1998). He is currently working on another feature film, ‘Tokyo Boogie’. One of his scripts was short listed for the Sundance Film Festival.

Venezuela

RODRIGO BLANCO CALDERÓN (Venezuela, 26 years old)

Rodrigo Blanco Calderón has a degree in ‘Letras’ (‘Humanities’) from the ‘Universidad Central de Venezuela’ (‘Central University of Venezuela’). He is a teacher at the ‘Escuela de Letras’ and winner of the ‘Concurso de autores inéditos’ (‘competition for unpublished authors’) organised by Monte Ávila publishing house, fiction category 2005, with his book ‘Una larga fila de hombres’, published that same year and awarded an Honourable Mention at the ‘Premio Municipal de Narrativa de Caracas’ (‘Caracas Municipal Prize for Fiction’) in 2006. He won the 61st edition of the ‘Concurso Anual de Cuentos’ (‘Annual Short Story Competition’) organised by El Nacional newspaper in 2006, has been included in the anthologies ‘De la urbe para la orbe, Nueva Narrativa Urbana’ and ‘Antología de la Novísima Narrativa Breve Hispanoamericana’ put together by the Latin Union. His book of short stories, ‘Los invencibles’, will be published shortly by Mondadori.

Venezuela

SLAVKO ZUPCIC (Venezuela, 37 years old

Slavko Zupcic is a psychiatrist and a writer who was born in Valencia (Venezuela) in 1970. He has published three books of stories —‘Dragi Sol’(1989), ‘Vinko Spolovtiva, ¿quién te mató?’ (1990) and ‘583104: pizzas pizzas pìzzas’ (1995)— as well as a children’s novel, ‘Giuliana Labolita: el caso de Pepe Toledo’ (2006) and ‘Tres novelas’ (2006). He has won several prizes: ‘Bienal de Literatura Infantil Luis Bouquet’ (‘Luis Bouquet Children’s Literature Biennial’) in 1987, ‘Bienal José Rafael Pocaterra’ (‘José Rafael Pocaterra Biennial’) in 1988, ‘Premio Municipal Ciudad de Valencia’ (‘City of Valencia Municipal Prize’) in 1991 and the Prize for the best humorous article awarded by El Nacional newspaper, in 2006. Zupzic was also short listed for the ‘XIX Premio Herralde de Novela’ (‘XIX Herralde Novel Award’) and currently lives in Valencia (Spain).