Abdón Ubidia

Fiction writer and essayist Abdón Ubidia was born in 1944. He is regarded in Latin America and elsewhere as one of the most representative and relevant voices of modern Ecuadorian literature. In 2012, he won the Eugenio Espejo Literature Prize, awarded by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. In the 1970s, together with Ulises Estrella, Alejandro Moreano, Francisco Proaño, Agustín Cueva, Fernando Tinajero, Humberto Vinueza, and others, Ubidia formed part of the Tzántzicos literary group, and published his first stories in the group magazine, Pucuna.

As a researcher in the field of oral literature, he published El cuento popular (“Popular Tales,” 1997) and La poesía popular (“Popular Poetry,” 1982). His fiction includes Bajo el mismo cielo extraño (“Under the same Strange Sky,” 1979), Divertinventos (“Funventions,” 1989), and the novels Ciudad de invierno (“City of Winter,” 1984) and Sueño de lobos (“Wolves’ Dream,” 1986).

He has collaborated in numerous cultural publications, as well as served as the literary director of the publishing house El Conejo, not to mentioning editing the cultural journal, Palabra Suelta, and run many writing workshops. In addition, his stories have been translated into several European languages.  Abdón Ubidia is married to the artist and author Ruby Larrea.

Samples of his work available in English, online (live links):

The short story, “Another Liliput.”

The short story, “Telepathy and Other Imitations.”

The short story, “The Intelligence of the Species.”

The short story, “The Gillette.”

The first chapter from his novel, “The City of Winter.”

Additional Resources:

An English-language interview with Abdón Ubidia in Ecuvirtual Magazine (in PDF, live link).

Work by Abdón Ubidia translated into English and available for purchase (live link):

The novel, “Wolves’ Dream,” translated by Mary Ellen Fieweger (via Amazon.com).

Biography of Nathan D. Horowitz

Born in 1968, he is a teacher and translator. After four years in Ecuador and fifteen in Austria, Nathan currently resides in the USA.