Female writers - Ecuadorian Literature

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.

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.

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).

Alicia Yánez Cossío

Alicia Yánez Cossío (Quito, September 10, 1928) is an Ecuadorian novelist, poet, short story writer, and journalist. She is considered one of the 2oth Century’s most important literary figures of Ecuador and Latin America. Since 1991 she has been a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language. In 1996, with her novel El cristo feo (1995), Yánez became the first Ecuadorian to win the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize (Guadalajara, Mexico), one of the most prestigious awards for female authors in the Spanish speaking world. In 2008 she received Ecuador’s highest literary award, the Eugenio Espejo Award, for her lifetime of work.

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 (Quito, Ecuador, November 13, 1977) is an Ecuadorian writer, playwright, theatre director, and professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. She debuted with Antropofaguitas (2015), a short story collection that established her literary presence. Her play Lugar won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara National Literature Prize in 2018, and her novel Sanguínea (2019), which explores pain, eroticism, and love through metaphors of blood and menstruation, received the same prize for Best Novel in 2021. Sanguínea was translated into English as Blood Red (2022).

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.

Daniela Alcívar Bellolio

Daniela Alcívar Bellolio is an Ecuadorian writer, literary critic and feminist. She was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on March 3, 1982. Alcívar’s first two books were published in 2016, her short story collection Para esta mañana diáfana, and her essay collection Pararrayos, which she wrote while living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2018, her novel Siberia was awarded the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize for best novel of the year and also received honorable mention at the La Linares Prize.

Gabriela Fernández Argüello

Gabriela Fernández Argüello is an Ecuadorian writer. She was born in Quito in 1971. Her collection of 11 short stories La noche de Eva was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize in 2004.

María Helena Barrera-Agarwal

María Helena Barrera-Agarwal (Pelileo, 1971) is an Ecuadorian writer, lawyer and researcher. She’s the author of eight books on literature and history. She is an expert on the 19th century Ecuadorian poetess Dolores Veintimilla de Galindo. Barrera is a member of the House of Ecuadorian Culture (Tungurahua chapter), the National Academy of History of Ecuador, the PEN American Center, the National Book Critics Circle of the United States, the India International Centre (India), and the Association of Hispanic Feminist Literature and Culture. She is a recurring contributor to the magazine Artes of the newspaper La Hora. Her book “Merton y Ecuador: La búsqueda del país secreto” was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize in 2010. Barrera currently lives in New York, U.S.

Cristina Burneo

María Cristina Burneo Salazar is an Ecuadorian writer, translator, journalist, professor and feminist. She was born in Quito in 1977. She earned a degree in literature from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, a master’s degree in literature from the Simon Bolivar Andean University, and a PhD in Latin American literature from the University of Maryland, College Park. Since 2014 she has worked as a postgraduate professor at the Simon Bolivar Andean University, specializing in Human Rights, Cultural Studies and Literature. Her book El sueño de Pierre Menard (2001) which questions the essential characteristics of translation and the criteria used to judge a translation, earned the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize.

Natasha Salguero

Natasha Salguero Bravo (Quito, October 2, 1952) is a prominent Ecuadorian novelist, poet, journalist, and nonfiction writer. In 1989, she became the first woman to win the prestigious Aurelio Espinosa Pólit National Literature Prize for her novel Azulinaciones, which she submitted to the contest under a male pseudonym. That same year, she won the Gabriela Mistral Poetry Prize. Her work, known for exploring themes of feminism, social decay, and political repression, has been widely translated and featured in international anthologies, establishing her as a leading voice in Ecuadorian literature.

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).

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.

Lucrecia Maldonado

Lucrecia Maldonado (Quito, May 24, 1962) has written novels, poetry, short stories, children’s literature, and nonfiction. Since 1991 Maldonado has been a language and literature professor at the American School of Quito. Her first novel “Salvo el calvario” (2005) won the prestigious Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize.