Hilma Contreras Castillo (December 8, 1913 – January 15, 2006) was a Dominican writer, born in

San Francisco de Macorís San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic located in the northeast portion of the country, in the Cibao region. It is the capital of the Duarte Province and the sixth most populated city in the country since 2010. The name ...

. She was educated in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where she studied French and English, as well as literature and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. She returned to the Dominican Republic in 1933. In 1937, at the encouragement of fellow writer Juan Bosch, she began writing stories, which were published in various newspapers. In 2002, she became the first woman to receive the National Literature Award. Contreras never married or had children, and died in her home town in 2006.

Bibliography

* ''Doña Endrina de Catalayud'' (1952) * ''Cuatro cuentos'' (1953) * ''El ojo de Dios: cuentos de la clandestinidad'' (1962) * ''La tierra está bramando'' (1986) * ''Entre dos silencios'' (1987) * ''Facetas de la vida'' (1993) * ''Obras escogidas'' (to be published)

References

1913 births 2006 deaths Dominican Republic short story writers Dominican Republic women writers Dominican Republic women short story writers {{DominicanRepublic-writer-stub