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    Mini Book Review. Las indignas (Alfaguara, 2023) by Agustina Bazterrica

    Brenda Ortiz · 04/12/2025

    Las indignas, the third novel by Agustina Bazterrica, is a work that unfolds a disturbing dystopia set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by environmental catastrophes. In this oppressive setting, a group of women lives confined in a convent ruled with brutality by a Mother Superior and spiritually subjected to the figure of Él (Him), a holy man whose face is never seen. Through an anonymous narrator who secretly writes using rudimentary means, the novel reveals the daily routines, punishments, and inner resistances within this oppressive society. Bazterrica weaves together ...

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    Closing the Spring 2025 Season

    Brenda Ortiz · 04/05/2025

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    The work of Lorena Salazar Masso: An emotional journey through nature and intimacy"

    Brenda Ortiz · 03/29/2025

    The work of Lorena Salazar Masso (Medellín, 1991) is distinguished by her ability to capture the sensory and the emotional through intense atmospheres that envelop the reader, where nature and the intimacy of the characters play a crucial role. Her novels explore themes such as motherhood, childhood, loneliness, and abandonment, always framed in settings that transcend mere landscapes to become protagonists themselves.

    In her first novel, Esta herida llena de peces (Angosta, 2021), the author immerses us in a journey along the Atrato River, where a mother and her son move toward an ...

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    Mini Book Review. El interior de la ballena / The Belly of the Whale (Texas Tech University Press, 2024) by Claudia Prado

    Brenda Ortiz · 03/21/2025

    El interior de la ballena / The Belly of the Whale is a poetry book by Argentine poet Claudia Prado, originally published in 2000. This poetic narrative, which received the National Fund for the Arts Prize, tells the story of the migration of Prado’s ancestors’ from the Basque Country to Argentina and later to the oceanic desert of Patagonia. Through a series of monologues and intimate voices, the author explores the history of her family and the region, intertwining the pain and resilience of migrants, strong women, wounded men, and the daily struggles for survival in a harsh ...

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    In the company of women. The 8 de Marzo march in Mexico City

    Andrea Macías Jimenez · 03/15/2025

    Last Saturday, I made plans to attend the 8 de Marzo march with my best friend, agreeing to meet her there. I arrived before she did, standing at the edge of Reforma as waves of women passed by—thousands of them, moving together with purpose, voices raised in chants that echoed through the city. The air was charged with something electric.My original plan was to wait until my friend got there to join the ranks, but the sheer energy of it pulled me in like a tide. I got swept into the current of a river of women—of all ages, from all walks of life—moving as one. ...

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    Mini Book Review. Hombres de verdad (Turner Mx, 2022) by Brenda Ríos

    Brenda Ortiz · 03/08/2025

    Hombres de verdad by Brenda Ríos is a powerful and provocative read that invites reflection on the construction of masculinity in our society and its impact on gender inequalities. Drawing from her own experiences and cultural references, the author analyzes how masculine identities and gender dynamics are shaped, while also addressing the masculinity crisis and its implications for violence and power. On a day dedicated to the feminist struggle, this book offers a critical perspective on how ideas about "being a man" are taught and reproduced, and how these ideas intertwine ...

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    A month full of poetry and much more. March at Hablemos, escritoras

    Adriana Pacheco · 03/01/2025

    March is coming full of poetry and literature in our program. This month, we welcome outstanding voices of writers and translators from different countries, such as Claudia Prado and Rebecca Gayle.
    We are launching a new section entitled "Poetry", hosted by Julia Santibáñez. In this first installment, Julia interviews the talented poet Brenda Ríos, who will talk to us about her work and creative process.
    Our Literature Around the Table: LAM reviews will offer us an updated overview of the state of contemporary literature and poetry, allowing us to discover new readings ...

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    Mini Book Review. Pájaros de sombra. Diecisiete poetas colombianas (1964 – 1989) (Vaso roto, 2019) by Andrea Cote

    Brenda Ortiz · 02/22/2025

    Pájaros de sombra. Diecisiete poetas colombianas (1964-1989), edited by Andrea Cote and published by Vaso Roto, is an anthology that highlights the richness and diversity of poetry written by women in Colombia. Through the works of 17 poets, the collection maps out a landscape of unique voices united by a recurring motif: the bird, a symbol that soars through the verses as a metaphor for truth, death, and memory. From Lucía Estrada to María Gómez Lara, including Tania Ganitsky, Gloria Susana Esquivel, and Yenny León, each author offers a unique ...

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    Mini Book Review. El linaje escondido (Beatriz Viterbo, 2024) by Lila Zemborain

    Adriana Pacheco · 02/15/2025

    In El linaje escondido (Beatriz Viterbo Editora, 2024), Lila Zemborain unfolds an intimate and unsettling diary born from the discovery of an album of postcards with Nazi propaganda belonging to her paternal grandmother. Following this revelation, the author embarks on a meticulous exploration of her lineage between 2004 and 2007, weaving a fragmented narrative that oscillates between New York and Monte (Buenos Aires), between the personal and the historical. With dense and immersive prose in the second person, Zemborain turns writing into an inquiry into guilt, memory, and identity. ...

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    Mini Book Review. La mujer del río (Sudamericana, 2024) by Paula Ilabaca

    Brenda Ortiz · 02/08/2025

    In her narrative debut, Paula Ilabaca immerses us in a thriller based on real events. When a scout patrol finds human remains in a bag on the banks of the Mapocho, detective Mercedes Torrealba must confront a horrific crime and a police system dominated by men who hinder her work. With agile and captivating prose, Ilabaca constructs a true crime novel that not only investigates a shocking case, but also exposes gender tensions in the police world. It is an ideal read for those who enjoy crime novels with a critical and well-documented perspective.

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    We celebrate the 600th episode of Hablemos Escritoras

    Adriana Pacheco · 02/02/2025

    We celebrate 600 episodes of Hablemos Escritoras! We share with you the excitement of being just a few steps away from the 600th episode of Hablemos Escritoras, a milestone that reflects our commitment to the dissemination of literature in Spanish. To commemorate this achievement, the February program will bring conversations with key figures in the literary field, including writer and critic Nora Glickman, editor Caro Rolle de Beatriz Viterbo, Chilean poet Paula Ilabaca, Colombian poet Andrea Cote, and Argentine writer Agustina Bazterrica. In addition, the topic of sexile will be explored ...

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    The cover of Los libros de otros

    Adriana Pacheco · 01/25/2025

    The image evokes the birds that cover the trees, wires, and buildings of the iconic city of Austin, Texas. A balancing thread is tied between two trees. The sunset in the background, depicted with a pointillist technique, frames the scene with two trees on either side, holding everything together. This is the cover created by the Bulgarian artist Mitana Boykova Josephi for Gabriela Polit Dueñas’s beautiful novel, Los libros de otros.

    Creating art for a book cover requires much more than just reading it and imagining something that aligns with the content. It is the visible ...

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    Hablemos escritoras in English y Hablemos escritoras to read

    Adriana Pacheco · 01/11/2025

    When we started Hablemos, escritoras on a WIX page, the outlook was completely uncertain, and the empty pages confirmed it. Today, in a custom made platform by NaZoLab, navigating the site is an absolute delight with the abundance of material we now have.

    The same is happening with Hablemos, escritoras in English, though with the difference that over the years, we had already accumulated a lot to share in that language, so the page doesn’t start as empty as the other one. However, the journey will unfold gradually until both platforms become massive repositories.

    The added value of ...

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    In the new year: Celebrate more of the best of literature by women writers.

    Adriana Pacheco · 01/04/2025

    In this blog post, we summarize the wonderful visitors and celebrations as we celebrate 7 years on air in 2025. In February, we will air our 600th episode featuring the magnificent writer, critic, and editor Nora Glickman. Additionally, as we kick off this new year, here’s what’s coming:

    Hablemos, escritoras in English. You’ll now be able to read our conversations with writers, promoters, critics, and editors in English, as well as their bios and book descriptions.

    Hablemos, escritoras scripts in Spanish. Gradually, we will upload transcripts of the interviews we’ve ...

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    What we read this year: 2024

    Adriana Pacheco · 12/31/2024

    Come read and listen to these recommendations and find out what our LAM critics think about these powerful and essential books.

    Gabriela Polit:
    Cometierra. Dolores Reyes.
    Las niñas del naranjel. Gabriela Cabezón Cámara.
    Solo un poco aquí. María Ospina Pizano

    Gisela Kozak:
    Fiebre de Carnaval. Yuliana Ortiz Ruano.
    Ceniza en la boca. Brenda Navarro.
    Herida fecunda. Sandra Lorenzano

    Martha Bátiz:
    Sacrificios Humanos. María Fernanda Ampuero.
    Cometierra. Dolores Reyes.
    El monstruo pentápodo. Liliana Blum.
    The Maid o La camarera. Nita Prose

    ...

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    2024: A Year Full of Literature

    Adriana Pacheco · 12/21/2024

    This year, as it comes to a close, we want to thank all of you. Thank you to the writers and publishers who joined us. Thank you to our followers for your comments, messages, and support. Thank you for allowing us into your lives and homes.

    Now, we invite you to celebrate the best of 2024 with us.

    The Most Talked-About Themes…

    Migration, motherhood, family, illness—topics that shape us, define us, and transform us. At Hablemos, Escritoras, every story is an open window into these shared experiences.

    The Most Memorable Journey…

    Traveling through Chile, Peru, and Bolivia ...

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    Mini Book Review. Escrituras canoeras: Viajes y conferencias en torno a Diamela Eltit (Hueders, 2023) by Rubí Carreño

    Adriana Pacheco · 12/14/2024

    Escrituras canoeras: Viajes y conferencias en torno a Diamela Eltit is a work that sits at the intersection of literature, essays, and photography, constructing a profound and multidimensional homage to Diamela Eltit, one of the most important voices in contemporary Spanish-language narrative. With an intimate and reflective approach, Rubí Carreño Bolívar delves into Eltit’s creative universe, focusing on the constant flow between word and life that defines her work. The book can be understood as a “love letter” to Eltit, in which Carreño ...

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    Mini Book Review. Trazo de caracol (Plural editores, 2011) by María Soledad Quiroga

    Brenda Ortiz · 12/07/2024

    In her sixth poetry collection, María Soledad Quiroga offers us a polished and evocative work that delves into the symbolism of the snail, that "tiny guest" which, as in her previous work *The Cloister Walls*, embodies persistence, contemplation, and dialogue with time. The snail is not just a lyrical motif but a vehicle that guides the reader through a poetic meditation on slowness, fragility, and the vertigo of existence. Each poem in this book unfolds like a gem set in a precise structure. The verses, brief and perfect, capture both the materiality of the snail—the vessel ...

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    Mini Book Review. Empty Pool (Literal publishing, Hablemos, escritoras, 2024) by Isabel Zapata. Trad. Robin Myers

    Adriana Pacheco · 12/07/2024

    Empty Pool, by Mexican writer Isabel Zapata, is a work that defies traditional literary categorizations, proposing what could be described as its own genre: the "essay poem." Published by Literal Publishing in collaboration with Hablemos, escritoras and translated into English by Robin Myers, this book stands out for its ability to intertwine the lyricism of poetry with the introspection and reasoning of the essay.

    Through a collection of brief and fragmentary pieces, Zapata explores themes as diverse as motherhood, octopuses, the COVID-19 pandemic, extinction, dogs, memory, ...

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    December: wrapping up 2024 with Chile, Bolivia, Empty Pool, and LAM

    Adriana Pacheco · 11/30/2024

    Everything that happens in December always carries a sense of closure, summary, and reflection. Perhaps it’s because, between one year and the next, the hope of becoming better or a new person returns—“to have a new soul, a new nose, feet, ears, and eyes,” as G.K. Chesterton said. Human nature is like that: closing to open again. And while it could be said that this collectively imposed end-of-year ritual is overestimated, since we remain fundamentally the same, the hope for change and a better year ahead is never unwelcome.

    This 2024 concludes one of the most ...

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    A torrent of awards. You’re invited to read in Letras Libres

    Adriana Pacheco · 11/23/2024

    Awards aren’t everything—or maybe they are. For some, they might seem like just another vanity to add to the many we have as humans, or perhaps they are a necessary recognition of years of hard work, a way to bring awareness to the challenges of creating. In literature, awards sometimes arrive at just the right moment to help writers take off in their careers; they become the doorknob that opens doors. For others, recognition comes at the end, almost as a farewell gift. It’s difficult to fully explain the meaning of awards or their real importance, but receiving one can ...

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    It wasn’t the time for women in the United States

    Adriana Pacheco · 11/16/2024

    A few days ago, in my column “Troyanas,” generously hosted by Literal Publishing for my reflections on literature, gender, and society, I wrote my thoughts on the elections we Americans in the United States experienced this November. I don’t always write about politics because my usual topics are different. But since one of them is gender and the opportunities women have in various roles—including politics—it felt necessary to study, read, and reflect more deeply.

    After what I believe will be remembered as some of the most bewildering election results in this ...

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    "Hablemos" Tent. Another Achievement at the Texas Book Festival

    Adriana Pacheco · 11/10/2024

    Hablemos” opens at the Texas Book Festival, the most important book fair in Texas and one of the most attended in the United States. This year, it welcomes 275 authors, one-third of whom are of Hispanic origin, and expands its Spanish-language children’s section to reach more families. This is happening for the first time in the festival’s 29-year history, thanks to the new vision of its director, Marianne DeLeon, and a great team coordinated by Dalia Azim, Susannah Auby, and Hannah Gabel, who had already opened this door for Spanish speakers in 2023.

    The “ ...

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    Peru dazzles us once again. In November, we return to that country, to a iconic magazine, and to "Insólitas."

    Adriana Pacheco · 11/02/2024

    This November, we expand our knowledge of Peru and its great talent a little further. In February 2023, we dedicated a month to this great country, and throughout the life of Hablemos, escritoras, we have done so many times. However, this time we approach it with greater depth, taking advantage of the beautiful visit we made to the city of Lima. This November, we will explore topics ranging from theater, indigenous languages, activism, and the protection of the natural wealth of this country.

    Theater is a unique space, a complex art form, a representation that has evolved over the years. ...

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