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Annual International Storytellers Conference
Annual International Storytellers Conference
The International Meeting of Storytellers reaches its eighteenth edition, 18 years of short stories that have left a deep mark. It is time to celebrate in this space that has given voice to 145 storytellers who have stood out in the vast and vibrant panorama of contemporary short fiction. At the end of this issue the kind reader will find the list of the storytellers who have participated as an invitation to visit their work.
This meeting has established itself as a space for cultural exchange where writers from various literary traditions discuss the art of storytelling, the trends of contemporary storytelling and the challenges faced by the genre, promoting mutual enrichment.
For this edition we will have Carlos Aletto, from Argentina; Mexico will be represented by three powerful female voices: Elma Correa, Atenea Cruz and Brenda Lozano; Eloy Tizón and Ismael Ramos represent Spain; Luis Miguel Rivas, from Colombia, returns to the FIL while Uruguayan writers Rocío Ravera and Tamara Silva complement this great group of storytellers who will be moderated by Alberto Chimal who, in addition, coordinates this meeting.
Together, these storytellers not only stand out for their individual talent, but also for their ability to expand the boundaries of short narrative in Spanish, showing a rich plurality of themes, styles and sensibilities. All of them invite us to explore narrative universes full of emotion and reflection, with stories that exist between the intimate and the universal, and in a very generous way they share their keys to writing a short story.
Story by story, let's celebrate these 18 years of imagination!
Laura Niembro
Content Director
Participants: Ismael Ramos, Tamara Silva Bernaschina, Carlos Aletto
Moderator: Alberto Chimal
Ismael Ramos
Invitado de Honor(Mazaricos, A Coruña, 1994) is a Galician-language writer. His first fiction book, A parte fácil (Xerais, 2023), has been published in Spanish by Las afueras (La parte fácil) and in Catalan by Angle (La part fácil). He is also the author of three poetry books: Lixeiro (Xerais, 2021), Lumes (Apiario, 2017) and Os fillos da fame (Xerais, 2016). Two of them have been translated into Spanish: Ligero (La Bella Warsaw, 2021) and Fuegos (La Bella Warsaw, 2019), and one into Portuguese: Fogos (Do lado esquerdo, 2022).
He has received the Premio Nacional de Poesía Joven Award (2022) presented by the Ministry of Culture, and the Javier Morote Award (2019), presented by the independent Spanish bookstores (CEGAL) for the best new author.
As a writer, he is a frequent collaborator with eldiario.es.
Other activities involving the participant:
"Short forms"
The gift of the poem
Meetings (and misunderstandings). Challenges of recent Spanish narrative
Tamara Silva Bernaschina
(Uruguay, 2000)
I was born in the city of Minas, in the mountains of Uruguay, in the year 2000. I grew up between my house and my grandparents' houses. When I learned to read and write, about the age of six, I started to imagine better. I wrote down my first stories at that time. I used to read them to my sister. At the age of fifteen I moved to the countryside, in Aiguá, a city in the Department of Maldonado. Chester, Mimi, Diana and Linda live there, happy dogs. I am a student of the Bachelor of Arts of the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences in Montevideo.
I am the author of the book of short stories Desastres naturales, my debut feature, published last year by Estuario editora, in Uruguay. This short story won two Bartolomé Hidalgo awards for Narrative and Revelation. That book took me to places I had never been before, and brought me closer to other authors I admire. Many joys. I also wrote Temporada de ballenas, a novel that was published in Uruguay last September and received an honorable mention in the Juan Carlos Onetti literary contest. This year, the Mexican publishing house Paraíso Perdido published Desastres naturales, and that is a reason for immense emotion. I've only been to Mexico twice, and I love it more and more.
Other activities involving the participant:
Latin America Viva
National Awards
Carlos Aletto
(Argentina, 1967)
Nací en Mar del Plata en 1967, una ciudad que el viento asentó junto al mar y que ha servido de escenario para algunas de mis ficciones. Soy escritor y licenciado en letras.
Entre mis obras destaco Once segundos, una novela donde el tiempo se detiene en el segundo gol de Maradona a los ingleses, y Anatomía de la melancolía, una mirada íntima sobre el Renacimiento. En los cuentos de Antes de perder, exploro el final de la infancia.
Fui editor de la revista Unicornio, un caballo con suerte, y director del Suplemento Literario Télam, desde donde tuve la oportunidad de dar visibilidad a numerosas obras argentinas.
En 2008, el jurado me destacó por unanimidad entre 6,660 participantes, otorgándome el primer lugar en el Concurso de Cuento Clarín. En 2014 obtuve el Primer Premio Municipal de Literatura de Buenos Aires.
Como periodista despliego mi mirada crítica en medios de renombre. En Clarín escribo la columna 'Vidas para leer' de la revista Viva. En Página/12 colaboro con notas en Radar Libros, destacando historias sobre libros y personajes.
Además de escritor y periodista, soy padre de tres hijos: Lorenzo, Santino y Oliverio, nombres que, ¿quién sabe?, algún día tal vez protagonizarán uno de mis cuentos, o ya lo hacen en la historia que vivo a diario.
Other activities involving the participant:
Latin America Viva
Alberto Chimal
(Toluca, Mexico, 1970) is a writer and creative writing professor. Among other recognitions, in 2002 he received the Premio Nacional de Cuento and in 2014 the Premio de Narrativa Colima, both granted by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts, for his short story collections Éstos son los días (2004) and Manda fuego (2013), respectively. In 2013, his novel La torre y el jardín was a finalist for the Premio Internacional de Novela Rómulo Gallegos. In 2016, his book La madre y la muerte / La partida, co-authored with Alberto Laiseca and Nicolás Arispe, was selected for the White Ravens catalog of the Frankfurt Book Fair. In 2019, his children’s book La Distante won the Premio internacional de la Fundación Cuatrogatos, and in 2021, his young adult novel La noche en la zona M won the Premio Internacional del Banco del Libro.
In addition, he has published two other novels, two creative writing manuals, two essay collections, and around twenty short story collections. As a screenwriter, he wrote the feature films 7:19 (2016), directed by Jorge Michel Grau, and Confesiones (2023), directed by Carlos Carrera. He has also written comics, including a collaboration for the graphic novel Batman:El Mundo (2021), published by DC Comics. For many years, he has been a promoter of writing through digital media and a prominent figure in fantasy literature in Mexico and Latin America.
His texts have been translated into a dozen languages and have appeared in international anthologies. He lives in Mexico City with his wife, fellow writer Raquel Castro.
Other activities involving the participant:
Do you dream of electric sheep?
Annual International Storytellers Conference
Annual International Storytellers Conference
FIL Guadalajara, with the support of Ministerio de Cultura de España and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E)
Saturday, December 07
19:30 to 20:50