21st Century Writers - Ecuadorian Literature

Natasha Salguero

Natasha Salguero Bravo is a novelist, poet, journalist and nonfiction writer. She was born in Quito, Ecuador on October 2, 1952. In 1989, using a male pseudonym, her novel Azulinaciones won the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit National Literature Prize, making her the first woman to win the prize. That same year she won the Gabriela Mistral Poetry Prize for Azulinaciones.

Julio Pazos Barrera

Julio Pazos Barrera is a poet, writer, teacher, and cook. He was born in Baños, Ecuador on August 19, 1944. In 1979, Pazos’ poetry book La ciudad de las visiones was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize. In 1982, his book Levantamiento del país con textos libres was awarded Latin America’s most prestigious literary award, the Casa de las Américas Prize (Havana, Cuba). Pazos is the editor-in-chief of the magazine Letras del Ecuador published by the Ecuadorian House of Culture. He is a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language. In 2010, Pazos was awarded Ecuador’s top literary prize Premio Eugenio Espejo by President Rafael Correa.

Marcelo Lalama Basante

Marcelo Lalama Basante (Riobamba, 1942 – Quito, 2017) was an Ecuadorian novelist and a medical doctor. His debut novel “Los Nazarenos” won the Aurelio Espinoza Pólit Prize in the year 2000 and the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize in 2001. His other works include “Santamaría de los Volcanes” (awarded First Prize in Literature from the Central University of Ecuador in 2008) and “Hospital Real de la Misericordia” (2013).

Jorge Dávila Vázquez

Jorge Dávila Vázquez is a writer, professor and film critic. Dávila Vázquez was born on February 14, 1947 in Cuenca, Ecuador. Dávila Vázquez has written novels, plays, short stories, poetry and nonfiction. He is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize, for his experimental novel María Joaquina en la vida y en la muerte (1976), and for his short story collection Este mundo es el camino (1980). His short story book El libro de los sueños (2001) won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize. In 2016, Dávila was awarded Ecuador’s top literary prize, the Eugenio Espejo Award.

Ana Estrella Santos

Ana Estrella Santos is a dialectologist and writer who won the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize in 2013 for her short story book La curiosidad mató al alemán. Estrella is the director of the Language and Literature department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador in Quito, where she also teaches. She earned her PhD in Hispanic Philology and General Linguistics from the National Distance Education University (Madrid, Spain).

Hans Behr

Hans Behr Martínez (Guayaquil, October 31, 1962) is an award-winning Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, and children’s literature author. In 1999, his novel “Los senderos de Emaús” won the national literature contest organized by the House of Ecuadorian Culture. In 2009, his novel “Maratón” (originally titled Acaso si lloviese) won the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize. In 2014 his novel “Las luces de la felicidad” won the Ángel Felicísimo Rojas National Literature Contest. In 2020, his science fiction novel “Firmamento” won the La Linares Short Novel Prize.

Eliécer Cárdenas

Eliécer Cárdenas Espinosa (Cañar, December 10, 1950 – Cuenca, September 26, 2021) was a renowned Ecuadorian writer, encompassing the realms of novel writing, short stories, playwriting, and journalism. His novel “Polvo y ceniza” (1979) stands as the highest-selling novel in Ecuadorian history, solidifying his literary success. With a remarkable body of work comprising more than 20 books, including novels, collections of short stories, plays, and nonfiction, Cárdenas proved to be a prolific author. His play “Morir en Vilcabamba” (1988) received the esteemed Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize in recognition of its excellence. In 1991, he was elected as the president of the Azuay branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. Moreover, Cárdenas became a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language in 2016. He was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper El Tiempo in Cuenca and served as the director of the Municipal Library in the same city. Furthermore, Eliécer Cárdenas had the esteemed privilege of serving as a jury member for the Casa de las Américas Prize in the novel genre, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the Spanish-speaking world, held annually in Cuba.

Alexis Zaldumbide

Alexis Zaldumbide Manosalvas (Quito, 1982), is an Ecuadorian author who has artfully bridged the realms of literature and music, crafting narratives that resonate deeply with themes of solitude, complexity, and the nuanced dance of human emotions. With “Habitaciones con música de fondo,” he captivated the literary world and secured the prestigious XLIII Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize in 2018, an accolade that underscored his adeptness at weaving intricate tales that explore the profound depths of isolation against a backdrop of a richly textured reality. Before this notable achievement, Zaldumbide had already demonstrated his versatile talent through children’s literature with “La puerta azul” and “Las valerosas hazañas de Pedro Mayo,” both published in 2013.

Andrea Crespo

Andrea Priscila Crespo Granda (Guayaquil, October 4, 1983) is an Ecuadorian poet. In 2016 her book of poetry “Registro de la habitada” was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize. In 2017 her next book of poetry “Libro Hémbrico” won the House of Ecuadorian Culture’s David Ledesma Vásquez National Poetry Contest. She currently teaches at the University of the Arts in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Elking Araujo

Elking Raymond Araujo is a writer from Ecuador. He was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize for his book of short stories “Al pie de la letra” (2008). He also wrote the book “Sin pelos en la lengua (ni en otras partes)” (2017). He currently teaches at the School of Language and Literature at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. Elking does research in Discourse Analysis, Syntax and Pragmatics.

Sandra Enríquez Garzón

Sandra Enríquez Garzón (Quito, August 10, 1963) is an Ecuadorian writer. From a very young age, she developed a love for reading and the arts, often indulging in narrating stories of her own invention. Her adolescence went by almost unnoticed as she started working at a young age. Tired of the conventional lifestyle, in 1992 she made the decision to move to the Valle de Mindo in the northwest of Pichincha. Her childhood was surrounded by nature, rivers, and animals. Being a lover of good cuisine, she opened a restaurant that became a meeting point for many people for 14 years. At the age of 56, after having traveled through South America by land and seeking new inspiration, she wrote her first novel, “Espejos Rotos” (“Broken Mirrors”). The novel, set between 1830 and 1852, explores the theme of freedom in a historical context, woven into a story of love, magic, and humor. Enríquez has described it as “a story that reflects the years of the past in a broken mirror.”

Josué Augusto Durán

Josué Augusto Durán Hermida is a writer from Cuenca, Ecuador. In 2019, at the age of 25, his nonfiction book El abandono de la experiencia (originally titled Minutas de bulla under the pen name San Ambrosio) was awarded the XLIV Aurelio Espinosa Pólit National Prize for Literature. Durán currently resides in Amsterdam, Netherlands.