Fernanda Melchor (born 1982,

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

) is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

writer best known for her novel '' Hurricane Season'' for which she won the 2019

Anna Seghers Prize Anna Seghers Preis is a literary prize of Germany. The prize goes back to the German writer Anna Seghers (1900–1983), who stated in her testament that the revenues from her work should be used to encourage promising young writers. The award is ...

and a place on the shortlist for the 2020

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

Life and career

Melchor graduated with a degree in Journalism from the

Universidad Veracruzana Veracruzana University () is a public autonomous university located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Established in 1944, the university is one of the most important in the southeast region of México. Its academic organization is a structure ...

where she was Coordinator of Communication of the Veracruz-Del Río campus. Melchor has published fiction and nonfiction in ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

'', ''La Palabra y el Hombre,

Letras Libres ''Letras Libres'' is a Spanish-language monthly literary magazine published in Mexico and Spain. History and profile ''Letras Libres'', printed since 1999 in Mexico and since 2001 in Spain, has an average of eighteen to twenty articles per issue ...

, Excélsior, Replicante,'' ''Milenio semanal, Le Monde diplomatique, Vice Latinoamérica, GQ Latinoamérica'' and ''Vanity Fair Latinoamerica.'' She began her writing career in 2013 with the publication of '' Aquí no es Miami'' (2013), a collection of literary journalism, and '' Falsa Liebre (2013)'', her first novel. '' Hurricane Season'' ''—''a novel based on the murder of a witch in a small town in Melchor's home state, Veracruz—was featured as one of the best novels in Mexico in 2017 The book has been translated into German by Angelica Ammar and into English by

Sophie Hughes Sophie Hughes (born 1986) is a British literary translator who works chiefly from Spanish to English. She is known for her translations of contemporary writers such as Laia Jufresa, Rodrigo Hasbún, Alia Trabucco Zerán and Fernanda Melchor. ...

. It won the 2020 International Literature Award of the Haus der Kulturen in Germany, and was shortlisted for the 2020 International Booker Prize. In 2015, Melchor was included in a Conaculta's anthology as one of the featured Mexican authors under 40 years old. In 2018, Melchor won the PEN Mexico Award for Literary and Journalistic Excellence In 2019, Melchor was awarded the

International Literature Award International Literature Award (''German'': Internationaler Literaturpreis – Haus der Kulturen der Welt) is a German literary award for international prose translated into German for the first time.Anna Seghers-Preis Anna Seghers Preis is a literary prize of Germany. The prize goes back to the German writer Anna Seghers (1900–1983), who stated in her testament that the revenues from her work should be used to encourage promising young writers. The award is ...

along with the German writer Joshua Gross. Melchor's 2021 book, ''Paradais'', translated by Sophie Hughes, was shortlisted for the LA Times Book Prize. In September 2023 the English translation of ''Aquí no es Miami'' (''This is Not Miami'') was longlisted for the

National Book Award for Translated Literature The National Book Award for Translated Literature, is one of five annual National Book Awards in the USA, recognising outstanding literary works of translation into English and administered by the National Book Foundation. This award was previousl ...

. In 2024, she received the

Ryszard Kapuściński Award The Ryszard Kapuściński Award () is a major annual Polish international literary prize, the most important distinction in the genre of literary reportage. History The award was founded to celebrate and promote most worthwhile reportage books w ...

, an international literary prize in the genre of literary reportage, for her book ''Aquí no es Miami'' (''This is Not Miami'').

Bibliography

* ''Aquí no es Miami'' (2013). ''This Is Not Miami'', trans.

(2023) * ''Falsa liebre'' (2013) * ''Temporada de huracanes'' (2017). '' Hurricane Season'', trans. Sophie Hughes (2020) * ''Páradais'' (2021). ''

Paradais ''Paradais'' (originally titled ''Páradais'' in Spanish) is a novel by Mexican author Fernanda Melchor. It was published in its original Spanish in 2021 by Random House Publishers, Literatura Random House. An English translation by Sophie Hughes ...

'', trans. Sophie Hughes (2022)

Awards and honors

* Winner of the First Essay Contest on by the CNDH, 2002 * Winner of the Literary Virtuality Casa de Letras, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2007 * Winner of the Journalism Award of the Journalism Foundation Rubén Pabello Acosta, 2009 * Winner of the Chronicle National Award Dolores Guerrero, 2011 * Winner of the Pen Club Prize for Journalistic and Literary Excellence, 2018 * Winner of the

, 2019 for ''Hurricane Season'' * Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020 for ''Hurricane Season'' *Shortlisted for the Dublin International Literary Awards 2021 for ''Hurricane Season'' * Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022 for ''Paradais'' * Winner of the

for "This is not Miami", 2024

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melchor, Fernanda Mexican women novelists Writers from Veracruz 21st-century Mexican women writers 21st-century Mexican novelists 1983 births Living people