Female writers - Ecuadorian Literature

Margarita Laso

Margarita Laso (Quito, July 20. 1963) is an Ecuadorian writer, editor, singer, and music producer. She has dedicated herself to the interpretation of songs based on traditional and regional genres of Ecuador, she has recorded pasillos, boleros, tangos, Christmas songs, and traditional Ecuadorian music. She has produced over 12 records and has authored several poetry books. In 1997, her poetry book, “El trazo de las cobras” won the Jorge Carrera Andrade Prize. She has worked as a columnist for the newspaper Hoy.

Yuliana Marcillo

Yuliana Marcillo Mirabá (Chone, 1987) is an Ecuadorian poet, writer, journalist, and editor. She worked as a journalist and co-editor of the Manabí newspaper La Marea, as well as an editor at the House of Ecuadorian Culture in Quito. Her poems have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies. She’s a former member of the literary workshop Soledumbre, directed by the poet Pedro Gil at the Civil University Eloy Alfaro of Manabí. Marcillo’s first poetry collection, “No debería haber mujeres buenas,” was published in 2010.

Marialuz Albuja Bayas

Marialuz Albuja Bayas (Quito, 1972) is an Ecuadorian poet, writer, translator, and university professor. She is the author of several poetry collections, including “Las naranjas y el mar,” “Llevo de la luna un rayo,” “Paisaje de sal,” and “La pendiente imposible,” which received numerous awards and was published by Ecuador’s Ministry of Culture, as well as “Detrás de la brisa,” which received honorable mention at the César Dávila Andrade Award. She has also written two novels: “En caso emergencia (no) rompa el vidrio”and “Maura.” In 2017 and 2019 respectively, both books received the Darío Guevara Mayorga Award for best published novel. Some of her work has been translated into English, Portuguese, French, Italian and Arabic, and has appeared in anthologies and publications throughout Latin America and Europe. She has worked as a professor at the Universidad de Los Hemisferios (University of the Hemispheres) in Quito.

Dina Bellrham

Dina Bellrham, pseudonym of Edelina Beltrán Ramos, (Milagro, July 6, 1984 – Guayaquil , October 27, 2011) was an Ecuadorian poet. Recognized for having received the First Mention in the I Ileana Espinel Cedeño Poetry Contest, in 2008, by the House of Ecuadorian Culture in Guayas. She attended medical school at the University of Guayaquil and was part of the poetic group Buseta de Papel. The Guayaquilean writer Miguel Antonio Chávez said about her: “She mixed physiological and pharmacological terms in her poetry with the universe of loneliness, suffering and death, but with a special brilliance.” In her lifetime she published two books, “Con plexo de culpa” (2008) and “La mujer de helio” (2011). Her two other books “Je suis malade” (2012) and “Libro inédita Bellrham” (2013) were published posthumously. She died at the age of 27 from a possible overdose. Some of her poems have been translated into Italian and English.

Karla Armas

Karla Armas (Quito, July 6, 1978) is an Ecuadorian poet. In 2019, she released her first poetry collection, “Pez Amapola.” She has performed in a number of poetry recitals across the country. Her poems have appeared both inside and outside of Ecuador, most notably in Mexican poetry magazines. One of her poems appeared in a 2016 poetry anthology entitled, “Arrarrau. Trece poemas de antiamor, desamor y amor,” a collection of 13 poems by contemporary Ecuadorian poets.

Carla Badillo Coronado

Carla Badillo Coronado (Quito, 1985) is an Ecuadorian poet, writer, journalist, translator, and travel writer based in Lisbon, Portugal. Her poetry books have won numerous prestigious awards. In 2010, she received the Moradalsur Award for her poetry collection “Belongings / Pertenencias”; in 2011, she won the César Dávila Andrade National Poetry Award for her book “Partituras Incompletas”; and in 2015, her poetry book “El color de la granada” won the Loewe Foundation International Poetry Prize for Young Creation. Her short novel “Abierta sigue la noche” received honorable mention at both the 2015 La Linares Prize and the 2017 Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize.

Bernardita Maldonado

Bernardita Maldonado (Loja, 1969) is an Ecuadorian poet and writer. She has resided in Spain for over 25 years. She is the author of several poetry collections, including “Biografía de los pájaros” (2007) and “Con todos los soles lejanos” (2015). She has compiled the poetry of Héctor Manuel Carrión and written an introduction to it. Her native city of Loja honored her as “Woman of Letters 2015.” She is a member of the Ecuadorian House of Culture in Loja.

Margarita Borja

Margarita Borja (Quito, 1983) is an Ecuadorian writer, journalist, translator, and literary critic. She has lived in Leipzip, Germany since 2007, where her daughters were born and raised. Since 2012 she has written an international opinion column for the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo. In 2015, she published a collection of 32 of her opinion columns as a book, “Una latina en Alemania: historias de dos mundos” [A Latina in Germany: Stories of Two Worlds]. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications.

Sabrina Duque

Sabrina Duque (Guayaquil, 1979) is an award-winning Ecuadorian journalist, writer, and translator. She was a finalist for the 2015 Gabriel García Márquez Journalism Prize in the Text category for her work “Vasco Pimentel, el oidor.” In 2017, she published “Lama,” a non-fiction account of the survivors of Bento Rodrigues and Paracatú de Baixo, communities in central Brazil devastated by a flood of toxic mud from a mining dam failure. She won the The Michael Jacobs Prize for Travel Writing in 2018 for her book “VolcáNica.” She has lived in Portugal, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Nicaragua, where she conducted research on active volcanoes, and she now resides in the United States. Some of her work has been translated into English, Italian and Portuguese.

Andrea Rojas Vasquez

Andrea Rojas Vasquez (Loja, November 26, 1993) is an Ecuadorian poet. Her first poetry collection, “Matar a un conejo” [To Kill a Rabbit], was published in 2020. Her second book, “Llévame a casa, por favor” [Take Me Home, Please], was published in 2021. Her poetry entry, “Llámame Ismael” [Call Me Ishmael], was awarded the 2021 best poetry prize at the Ileana Espinel Cedeño International Poetry Festival held in Guayaquil.

Ileana Espinel Cedeño

Ileana Espinel Cedeño (Guayaquil, October 31, 1933 – Guayaquil, February 21, 2001) was an Ecuadorian poet, journalist, and editor, recognized as one of the most important voices in Ecuadorian literature. She was the only female member of the influential Club 7 poetry group and became the first woman to join the House of Ecuadorian Culture. Espinel was known for her lyrical and politically engaged poetry, publishing notable works like Piezas Líricas (1957) and Arpa Salobre (1966). Her work has been translated into several languages, and her legacy continues through the annual International Poetry Festival that bears her name in Guayaquil.

Morayma Ofir Carvajal

Morayma Ofir Carvajal (Guaranda, Bolívar, January 28, 1915 – Chimborazo, February 25, 1951) was an Ecuadorian poet and educator. She worked as a teacher and rector at various schools in her hometown of Guaranda and later in Riobamba. In 1949, she was one of the founders of the Riobamba branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. Morayma Ofir was married to José Reyes for several years, until they were killed on February 25, 1951 by a bomb in their home in the city of Riobamba.

Inés Márquez Moreno

Inés Márquez Moreno (Cuenca, June 7, 1914 – August 18, 2017) was an Ecuadorian poet. Her first poetry collection, “Denuncia del sueño,” was published by the House of Ecuadorian Culture in Azuay in 1963. Her style is characterized by great simplicity and evocative force, and her subjects include love, land, friendship, and family. In 1994, the House of Ecuadorian Culture published her second collection of poems, “Camino de mediodía.” She was awarded the Fray Vicente Solano Medal by the city of Cuenca, which is given to the city’s most distinguished authors. She was a member of the Ibero-American Academy of Poetry in Cuenca since its inception. She continued to write into her 90s and died at the age of 101.

Cecilia Ansaldo

Cecilia Ansaldo Briones (Guayaquil, 1949) is an Ecuadorian professor, essayist, and literary critic. She is currently a professor at both Casa Grande University and the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil in Ecuador. In 2015, she became a member of the Ecuadorian Language Academy, a correspondent organization of the Royal Spanish Academy. She is a member of the Mujeres del Ático group and a founding member of the Open Book Station Cultural Center. She writes an opinion column for the newspaper El Universo. She has chaired the Guayaquil International Book Fair’s content committee since 2015.

Verónica Coello Moreira

Verónica Coello Moreira (Guayaquil, 1975) is an Ecuadorian journalist, writer, and university and high school professor. She is the author of the novel “Memoria de Papel” (2021), which won the Miguel Riofro National Literary Award, as well as the short story collection “La cena” (2017). She is a columnist for the newspapers El Universo (Ecuador) and El Peruano (Peru), as well as the co-host of the political talk show “Al día.”