21st Century Writers - Ecuadorian Literature

Luz Argentina Chiriboga

Luz Argentina Chiriboga Guerrero is an Afro-Ecuadorian poet, novelist and short story writer. She was born in Esmeraldas on April 1, 1940. Her works are concerned with Afro-Hispanic cultural identity and themes about women’s challenges. She is a member of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. Several of her novels have been translated into English, Italian and French.

Mónica Ojeda

Mónica Ojeda (Guayaquil, 1988) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, and poet. In 2017, she was named as one of the Bogota39, a selection of the most talented and promising young writers in Latin America (awarded every 10 years, Bogota39 is a UNESCO World Book Capital project, in conjunction with the Hay Festival). In 2018, Ojeda published the novel Mandíbula, which tells the story of a teenage girl obsessed with horror stories and creepypastas who is kidnapped by her literature teacher. The book was widely acclaimed by critics upon its publication, with the Spanish newspaper El Pais calling it “one of the novels of the season.” In 2022, Mandíbula was translated into English by Sarah Booker and published by Coffee House Press as Jawbone — a translation that has been highly praised by critics and is currently a longlist nominee for the National Book Award in the U.S. in the translation category.

Ernesto Carrión

Ernesto Javier Carrión Castro (Guayaquil, 1977) is a distinguished poet and novelist whose work has won numerous awards and has been widely recognized both in his home country and internationally. His literary career began to gain momentum in 2002 when he was awarded the César Dávila Andrade National Poetry Prize for “Carni vale”. Over the years, Carrión Castro’s unique voice and innovative storytelling have earned him several prestigious awards such as the Jorge Carrera Andrade National Poetry Prize for “Viaje de Gorilas” in 2013, and the Casa de las Américas Novel Prize for “Incendiamos las yeguas en la madrugada” in 2017. His book “El día en que me faltes” won the Lipp Novel Prize in 2017. Most recently, in 2019, his novel “El vuelo de la tortuga” won the Miguel Donoso Pareja Prize. In 2023, Carrión Castro’s continuous contribution to literature was recognized with the Gonzalo Rojas Residency Scholarship. His ability to weave compelling narratives with poetic language has solidified his status as one of the most significant contemporary writers in Latin America.

María Fernanda Heredia

María Fernanda Heredia Pacheco (Quito, March 1, 1970) is a prolific Ecuadorian writer, illustrator, and graphic designer. With a rich portfolio of short stories and novels tailored for children and young adults, she’s made notable contributions to Latin American literature. One of her standout achievements is her debut novel, “Amigo se escribe con H” (2002), which garnered the prestigious Norma-Fundalectura Latin American Children’s and Youth Literature Award that same year. Since 2008, she has contributed to Hogar magazine as a regular columnist, focusing on adult audiences. Among her numerous accolades, she’s been honored with the Darío Guevara Mayorga National Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award on multiple occasions, the “A la orilla del viento” Prize, the Benny Award from the Printing Industries of America (PIA) for outstanding children’s book illustration, and most recently, the esteemed Premio Cervantes Chico (Little Cervantes Prize) in 2023. She currently lives in Lima, Peru.

Óscar Vela

Óscar Vela Descalzo is an Ecuadorian lawyer and writer who is considered one of the most representative contemporary literary voices of Ecuador. He was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1968. His novels Desnuda oscuridad (2011) and Todo ese ayer (2015) both won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize for best novel of the year. His novel Yo soy el fuego (2013) won the Jorge Icaza Prize. His novel Ahora que cae la niebla (2019) tells the story of Manuel Antonio Muñoz Borrero, an Ecuadorian diplomat stationed in Stockholm during World War II who issued passports to hundreds of Jews in order to save their lives. His latest novel, Los crímenes de Bartow, was published in 2021. Since 2019 he has been a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language.

Marcela Ribadeneira

Marcela Ribadeneira (Quito, 1982) is a writer, journalist, film critic, and visual artist, renowned for her profound exploration of themes like mortality, bio-experimentation, and the normalization of terror. Educated in film directing at the Scuola Internazionale di Cinema e Televisione in Rome, her artistic endeavors span across various mediums. Ribadeneira’s notable literary work, “Golems,” reflects her unique blend of literary and cinematic insights. She is the co-founder of the publisher La Linea Negra with her husband, Eduardo Varas. Her stories and journalistic articles have been published in magazine such as: Gatopardo Ecuador, Ronda (Iberia), SoHo, Mundo Diners, Siente (Tame), In and Vamos (Latam).

Cristián Londoño Proaño

Cristián Londoño Proaño is an Ecuadorian science fiction and fantasy writer, poet, screenwriter, film producer and director. He was born in 1973 in Quito, Ecuador. He has invented and developed the concept of the Andean fantasy novel. Most notable among his novels is the “El Instinto de la Luz” trilogy, which consists of the books El Instinto de la Luz (2011), El Tiempo Muerto (2015), and El retorno de la luz (2018).

Juan Pablo Castro

Juan Pablo Castro Rodas (Cuenca, 1971) is a renowned Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, and poet. He has received several prestigious literary awards, including the Miguel Donoso Pareja Prize, the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize (twice), and the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize. His notable works encompass 7 novels, 2 short story collections, and a book of poems. In 2022, Juan Pablo Castro received the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit National Literature Prize for his novel “Mizuko: los Niños del Agua,” one of Ecuador’s most important literary awards. Castro’s talent lies in intertwining personal experiences with imaginative storytelling, crafting evocative prose and introspective narratives that have made him a celebrated figure in contemporary Ecuadorian literature.

Peky Andino

Peky Andino Moscoso (Quito, September 19, 1962) is an Ecuadorian playwright, a screenwriter, television director, actor and poet. Andino’s plays have won several awards, such as the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize (2006 and 2011), the National Prize of the Arts, and the Otto Castillo Prize for Experimental and Political Theater. As an actor, he has appeared in Sebastián Cordero’s film “Ratas, ratones, rateros” (1999) and Fernando Mieles’s film “Prometeo deportado” (2011). He has been a screenwriter and director of various TV shows. He is the creator and lead director of the telenovela “Sharon La Hechicera” (2018). Among his best known theatrical pieces is the play Medea llama por cobrar (2006), in which he recreates the drama of Ecuadorian families who had to emigrate during the economic crisis of 1999 through a plot with multiple parallels to Euripides’ Greek tragedy Medea. In 2014 he published his first book of poetry Moscas de plata.

Andrés Cadena

Andrés Cadena (Quito, 1983) is an award-winning short story writer. His debut collection of short stories “Fuerzas ficticias” (2012) was given the Pichincha Award by the province of Pichincha. His second book “Altanoche” (2016) won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize. His most recent book, “Camino errado” (2020) won the Miguel Donoso Pareja Prize at the Guayaquil International Book Fair.

Gabriela Alemán

Gabriela Alemán is an Ecuadorian writer, translator, literary critic, academic and professor. She was born in Rio de Janeiro to Ecuadorian parents on September 30, 1968. After living in several countries in her youth, she settled in Quito, Ecuador. Alemán studied translation at University of Cambridge (UK), received a master’s in Latin American Literature at Simon Bolivar Andean University (Ecuador) and obtained a doctorate at Tulane University (New Orleans). In 2006, she received the Guggenheim scholarship in Film, Video and Radio Studies. Alemán won First Place at the CIESPAL de Crónica Awards for her article “Los limones del huerto de Elisabeth” (2014), and the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize for her short story collection La Muerte silba un blues (2014). Her best known novel is Poso Wells (2007; translated into English by Dick Cluster, 2018). The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and Los Angeles Review of Books have published commentaries and interviews about the novel. Alemán teaches at the University of San Francisco, Quito and at Tulane University.

Gabriela Ponce

Gabriela Ponce Padilla is an Ecuadorian writer, playwright and professor. She was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1977. In 2015, she published her first book, a collection of short stories titled Antropofaguitas. In 2018, her play Lugar was awarded the Joaquín Gallegos Lara National Literature Prize. In 2019 Ponce published her first novel, Sanguínea, in which she utilizes blood and menstruation as metaphors to explore pain, eroticism, and the protagonist’s love breakups. It was translated into English as Blood Red by Sarah Booker and published by Restless Books in 2022. That same year, she published “Flotar, pude (Severo)” a book of short stories. Ponce is currently a professor at the College of Communication and Contemporary Arts of the University of San Fracisco, Quito (USFQ).

María Fernanda Ampuero

María Fernanda Ampuero is an Ecuadorian writer, journalist and feminist. She was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on April 14, 1976. In 2018, Ampuero’s first book of short stories Pelea de gallos (2018; translated into English as Cockfight in 2020) received the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize.

Salvador Izquierdo

Salvador Izquierdo, pseudonym of Jorge Izquierdo Salvador (London, UK, 1980) is an Ecuadorian writer. He has dual British and Ecuadorian citizenship. He earned a PhD in Latin American studies from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. His first novella “El deslenguado de Portete” (2006) was the Second Prize winner of the Medardo Ángel Silva Award. Along with Javier Izquierdo, he is the co-screenwriter of the films “Un Secreto en la Caja” (2016) and “Panamá” (2019). In 2019, Izquierdo’s novel “El nuevo Zaldumbide” [The New Zaldumbide] was awarded the Joaquín Gallegos Lara National Fiction Prize for best novel of the year.

Raúl Vallejo

Raúl Vallejo, born César Raúl Enrique Vallejo Corral (Manta, June 28, 1959) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, poet, politician and academic. He has served as the Minister of Education in the administrations of presidents Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, Alfredo Palacio and Rafael Correa, who also named him Minister of Culture and Patrimony. In the realm of literature, he is one of today’s most prolific writers, and has won many national and international awards, such as the Royal Spanish Academy Award (Spain), José Lezama Lima Poetry Prize (Cuba). In 1999 his books Huellas de amor eterno (short stories) won the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize and Acoso Textual (a novel) won his second Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize.