Short story writers - Ecuadorian Literature

Miguel Molina Díaz

Miguel Molina Díaz (Quito, 1992) is a writer, lawyer, columnist, and college professor. He earned a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from New York University (NYU) in Creative Writing in Spanish. He earned his law degree from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). In 2017, he published his book of poems, “Postales,” and in 2020, he published a book of short stories, “Cuaderno de la lluvia.” As a columnist, he received an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Journalistic Excellence Award from the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), in the Opinion category. His columns have been published in several magazines in Ecuador, such as La Hora, El Comercio, La República, and Mundo Diners.

Yana Lema

Yana Lema, full name Yana Lucila Lema Otavalo (Peguche, Otavalo canton, Ecuador, 1974) is an Ecuadorian journalist, writer, poet, translator, cultural promoter, and college professor. She writes in Spanish and Quechua. For more than seven years, she worked as a presenter on the RTS Kichwapi newscast and later on Ecuador TV’s Willaykuna newscast. In 2016, she published her story “Chaska” in Quechua and Spanish, and in 2019, her collection of poems “Tamyawan Shamukupani.” Lema has participated in fairs and literary festivals in Quito, La Paz, Havana, Guadalajara, Guayaquil, Medellín, Bogotá, Mexico, and Genoa. In 2021, her poetry book “Tengo hambre de tu boca” won the Jorge Carrera Andrade Prize. She resides in Guayaquil and serves as a professor at the University of the Arts, where she teaches Oral and Latin American Literature.

Fernando Escobar Páez

Fernando Escobar Páez (Quito, 1982) is an Ecuadorian writer, poet and journalist. His first book, “Los ganadores y yo,” was a poetry collection published in 2006. His second book, “Miss O´gginia,” was a book of short stories which won several awards and was published in six countries, including Spain, Argentina and Chile. He has also published the poetry collections, “Escúpeme en la verga” (2013) and “Tu retorno con aliento a biberón, peluche y verga ajena” (2018). His work has been published in over twenty anthologies of poetry and journalistic chronicles, both in Ecuador and abroad. Some of his work has been translated into several languages, including English, German, Portuguese, Russian, and French.

Vladimiro Rivas

Vladimiro Rivas Iturralde (Latacunga, June 5, 1944) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, biographer, opera critic, essayist, editor, translator, and award-winning university professor. He has been a resident of Mexico since 1973 and also holds Mexican citizenship. Since its establishment in 1974, he has been a professor at the Azcapotzalco Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City. He has produced eight collections of short stories, two novels, and five nonfiction books. Some of his work has been translated to English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Bulgarian. He has also been the editor of anthologies of Ecuadorian writers, such as the acclaimed “Cuento ecuatoriano contemporáneo,” which was released in Mexico in 2001 and promptly translated into English as “Contemporary Ecuadorian Short Stories” in 2002.

Esteban Poblete Oña

Esteban Poblete Oña aka E. Plobete (Quito, 1979) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, and poet. In 2017 he published his debut novel “El ojo a través de la calavera.” In 2021 he published the novels “Tres cantos fúnebres para Ella” and “Tremolar” which are part of a tetralogy named “Tetralogía de Q.” Its next 2 books, “El celo de los malditos” and “El Dragón en la Flor,” are expected for release in 2022.

Efraín Villacís

Efraín Villacís (Quito, 1966) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, playwright, editor, and literary critic. His fiction stories and essays have been published in magazines within and outside of Ecuador. As a literary critic and essayist, he has authored prologues and essays about numerous authors, including Teresa de la Parra, Enrique Gil Gilbert, Erasmo de Roterdam, José Rafael Bustamante, José de la Cuadra, and Mary Shelley. His theater play, “Contrato,” premiered in 1999. He released his debut novel, “La sonrisa hueca del señor Horudi,” in 2018. His latest novel, “Ciudad Jenga,” was published in 2020.

César M. Ayala Paredes

César M. Ayala Paredes aka César Ayala (1923) is an Ecuadorian poet and short story writer. He is known as The Soldier Poet because he served in Ecuador’s armed forces and in 1955 he published a book of poems titled “Los poemas del soldado” [The Soldier’s Poems]. In 2003, the House of Ecuadorian Culture published his short story collection, “Vernissage.” He has earned various awards for his works.

Arturo Montesinos Malo

Arturo Montesinos Malo (Cuenca, August 31, 1913 – May 23, 2009) was an Ecuadorian novelist, professor, and translator who lived in the United States for many years where he worked as a translator at the United Nations in New York. In 1959, he received the “José de la Cuadra” Award for his short story collection “Arcilla indócil,” which is considered by many to be his best work. Some of his Spanish-to-English translations of contemporary writers’ short stories and poems appeared in Letras del Ecuador.

Walter Bellolio

Walter Bellolio (Guayaquil, 1930 – 1974) was a well-regarded Ecuadorian short story writer. During his lifetime, he published a number of short story collections, and his work has appeared in several anthologies. He traveled to Spain in 1974 to publish the book that would make him famous, “Crónica del hombre que aprendió a llorar,” [Story of the Man Who Learned to Cry] but was killed by a car that struck him shortly after arriving. The House of Ecuadorian Culture published the book posthumously in 1975. He is the maternal grandfather of the writer Daniela Alcívar Bellolio.

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.”

Gustavo Garzón

César Gustavo Garzón Guzmán (Quito, June 8, 1958) was an Ecuadorian writer and literary critic who vanished without a trace on November 9, 1990. In 1980, he joined Miguel Donoso Pareja’s literary workshop at the House of Ecuadorian Culture and co-founded the literary group “La Mosca Zumba.” On November 9, 1990, he went out with a group of friends to a dance club and was never seen again. At the time, the 32-year-old writer was living in Quito, Ecuador, where he was working on his doctoral thesis in Literature at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. On January 28, 2021 the Ecuadorian government admitted responsibility for his kidnapping before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. A documentary about his life, “Brutal como el rasgar de un fósforo,” was made in 2021.

Jennie Carrasco Molina

Jennie Carrasco Molina (Ambato, 1955) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, editor, university professor and holistic therapist. She has worked with the press and on women’s issues. Her works include the short story collection “La diosa en el espejo” (1995), the poetry collection “Arañas en mi vestido de seda” (2001), and the novel “Viaje a ninguna parte” (2004). In 2011 her poetry collection “Confesiones apocalípticas” won the prestigious Jorge Carrera Andrade Prize. Some of her poems have been translated into English.

Sandra Araya

Sandra Araya (Quito, 1980) is an Ecuadorian writer. In 2015, she received the La Linares Prize from the House of Ecuadorian Culture and the National Reading Campaign for her novella “La familia del Dr. Lehman.” Her short stories have appeared in magazines such as El Búho, Aceite de perro, Big Sur, Ómnibus, Casapalabras, Letras del Ecuador and Aurora Boreal. Her work has appeared in several anthologies. She has also written for the publications La Barra Espaciadora and Diners. In 2022, she publisher her first collection of short stories entitled, “Salvajes (del día después).” She is currently the editor of Babieca, a film and theater magazine.

Carlett Decker Santistevan

Carlett Miroslava Decker Santistevan (Guayaquil, 1996) is an Ecuadorian writer, screenwriter, filmmaker and director. She has a degree in Cinema from the University of the Arts with a mention in directing and screenwriting. Her short stories have been published in online magazines such as Letralia and Extrañas Noches.

Carlos Vásconez

Carlos Francisco Vásconez Gomezcoello (Cuenca, May 16, 1977) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, essayist, columnist and educator who has published short stories and novels since 1999. He is the president of the PEN Center Ecuador and was the president of the Azuay branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture from 2011-2016. He is the vice-rector and a teacher at Las Pencas Educational Unit in Cuenca, Ecuador. He is also a professor at the School of Language and Literature at the University of Cuenca. He is the director of the newspaper La columna del invertebrado and is part of the Editorial Board of the cultural magazine Arrebol. He has been a columnist for several magazines and newspapers, such as Rocinante, Diners, BG Magazine, Cartón Piedra and La Casa. He has prefaced several anthologies of Ecuadorian short stories and poetry.