Two Authors in Four Scenes: Selva Almada and Dolores Reyes in conversation

Besides being two of the most prominent authors in Latin America, Selva Almada and Dolores Reyes are great friends. With the trust and keen way of reading each other that comes with the years, the talk—coordinated by Ana Laura Pérez, literary director of Penguin Random House and editor of both—proposes to explore scenes from Not a River and Misery (Earth-eater’s sequel), the latest novels by each. A game that involves us in questions about the characters, the settings, the plots, the literary lineage, the discoveries, the difficulties, and the affections.

Dos autoras en cuatro escenas: una conversación entre Selva Almada y Dolores Reyes Además de ser dos de las autoras más destacadas de Latinoamérica, Selva Almada y Dolores Reyes son grandes amigas. Con la confianza y la sagaz manera de leerse mutuamente que dan los años, la charla -coordinada por Ana Laura Pérez, directora literaria de Penguin Random House y editora de ambas- propone explorar escenas de No es un río y de Miseria, las últimas novelas de cada una. Un juego que nos involucra en la pregunta por los personajes, los ambientes, las tramas, el linaje literario, los hallazgos, las dificultades y los afectos.

In Not a River by Selva Almada, three men go out fishing, returning to a favorite spot on the river despite their memories of a terrible accident there years earlier. As a long, sultry day passes, they drink and cook and talk and dance, and try to overcome the ghosts of their past. But they are outsiders, and this intimate, peculiar moment also puts them at odds with the inhabitants of this watery universe, both human and otherwise. The forest presses close, and violence seems inevitable, but can another tragedy be avoided? Rippling across time like the river that runs through it, Selva Almada’s latest novel is the finest expression yet of her compelling style and singular vision of rural Argentina. This masterful novel reveals once again Selva Almada's unique voice and extraordinary sensitivity, allowing its characters to shine and express in action what the depths of their souls’ harbor.

Earth-eater by Dolores Reyes is set in an unnamed slum in contemporary Argentina, and presents the story of a young woman who finds herself drawn to eating the earth—a compulsion that gives her visions of broken and lost lives. With her first taste of dirt, she learns the horrifying truth of her mother’s death. Disturbed by what she witnesses, the woman keeps her visions to herself. But when Eartheater begins an unlikely relationship with a withdrawn police officer, word of her ability begins to spread, and soon desperate members of her community beg for her help, anxious to uncover the truth about their own loved ones. Surreal and haunting, spare yet complex, Eartheater is a dark, emotionally resonant tale told from a feminist perspective that brilliantly explores the stories of those left behind—the women enduring the pain of uncertainty, whose lives have been shaped by violence and loss.

FILNYC: The Feria Internacional del Libro de la Ciudad de Nueva York (FILNYC) is an initiative of the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute. Since its inception in 2019, the fair has aimed to elevate Spanish-language literature and culture in the United States, serving as a converging space for the city’s diverse Hispanic communities. In addition, FILNYC offers a platform for publishers to showcase and sell their works, further enriching New York City’s literary landscape. This fair has become a significant cultural event, celebrating the vibrancy and diversity of Spanish-language literature. This year, under the title of “New York: a Meeting Point for Spanish and Other Languages,” the FILNYC sixth edition will take place from October 8th to 12th at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

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PARTICIPANTS

Selva Almada. Compared to Carson McCullers, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Sara Gallardo and Juan Carlos Onetti, Almada has published several novels, a book of short stories and a book of journalistic fiction. She has also published a film diary, written on the set of Lucrecia Martel’s film Zama, based on Antonio di Benedetto’s novel. She has been a finalist for the Medifé Prize, the Rodolfo Walsh Award and of the Tigre Juan Award. Her work has been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish and Turkish. Not a River (shortlisted for the Vargas Llosa Prize for Novels and the International Booker Prize) is her fourth book to appear in English after The Wind that Lays Waste (Winner of the EIBF First Book Award 2019), Dead Girls (2020), and Brickmakers (2021). Photo credit Alejandra López

Selva Almada. Comparada con Carson McCullers, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Sara Gallardo y Juan Carlos Onetti, Almada ha publicado varias novelas, un libro de cuentos y un libro de ficción periodística. También ha publicado un diario de rodaje, escrito en el set de la película Zama de Lucrecia Martel, basada en la novela de Antonio di Benedetto. Ha sido finalista del Premio Medifé, el Premio Rodolfo Walsh y el Premio Tigre Juan. Su obra ha sido traducida al francés, italiano, portugués, alemán, holandés, sueco y turco. No es un río (finalista del Premio Vargas Llosa de Novela y del Premio Internacional Booker) es su cuarto libro que aparece en inglés después de El viento que arrasa (ganador del EIBF First Book Award 2019), Chicas muertas (2020) y Ladrilleros (2021).

Dolores Reyes was born in 1978 in the west of Buenos Aires province. She is a teacher, feminist, activist and the mother of seven children. She studied Primary Teaching and Greek and Classical Cultures at UBA. Published in 2019, Cometierra, her first novel, was translated into twelve languages and acclaimed as one of the best books of the year according to The New York Times, El País, El Mundo, El Universal, Página 12 and Perfil. Photo credit Alejandra López

Dolores Reyes nació en 1978 en el oeste de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Es maestra, feminista, activista y madre de siete hijos. Estudió Enseñanza Primaria y Culturas Griega y Clásicas en la UBA. Publicada en 2019, Cometierra, su primera novela, fue traducida a doce idiomas y aclamada como uno de los mejores libros del año según The New York Times, El País, El Mundo, El Universal, Página 12 y Perfil.

Ana Laura Pérez (Lomas de Zamora, 1971) is the director of the Literary Division at Penguin Random House Argentina (where she is in charge of the imprints Random House, Alfaguara, Sudamericana, Lumen, Reservoir Books, Blackie Books, and Salamandra, among others). She has published the most original voices in current Latin American literature (her literary catalog includes Selva Almada, Cristian Alarcón, Teresa Arijón, Bárbara Belloc, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, Sergio Bizzio, Christian Ferrer, César González, Daniel Guebel, Julián López, María Moreno, María Negroni, Alan Pauls, Samanta Schweblin, Carla Maliandi, María Sonia Cristoff, and Dolores Reyes, among others), journalistic investigations, biographies, testimonies, essays, history, contemporary thought, and theory. Several of the books she edited have had a huge political and social impact and have become critical and sales phenomena. Many of them have also been finalists and winners of prestigious local and international awards; translated and published in other countries and brought to film and television. In 2022, she was chosen as Editor of the Year by the Fundación el Libro, which organizes the Buenos Aires Book Fair. She has completed a Masters in Communication and Culture at the University of Buenos Aires; a higher diploma in Editorial Policies for Social Sciences (Clacso); degrees in Journalism and Social Communication (both at the National University of Lomas de Zamora) and was a Knight Wallace Foundation fellow (University of Michigan). In addition to her editorial work, she is in charge of the subjects Editing and Legislation in the Writing Arts program at the National University of the Arts, and the Graphic Production Workshop in the Communication Sciences program at UBA.

Ana Laura Pérez (Lomas de Zamora, 1971) es directora de la División Literaria de Penguin Random House Argentina (donde está a cargo de los sellos Random House, Alfaguara, Sudamericana, Lumen, Reservoir Books, Blackie Books y Salamandra, entre otros). Ha publicado a las voces más originales de la literatura latinoamericana actual (su catálogo literario incluye a Selva Almada, Cristian Alarcón, Teresa Arijón, Bárbara Belloc, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, Sergio Bizzio, Christian Ferrer, César González, Daniel Guebel, Julián López, María Moreno, María Negroni, Alan Pauls, Samanta Schweblin, Carla Maliandi, María Sonia Cristoff y Dolores Reyes entre otras), investigaciones periodísticas, biografías, testimonios, ensayos, historia, pensamiento contemporáneo y teoría. Varios de los libros que editó han tenido un enorme impacto político y social y se han convertido en fenómenos de crítica y de venta. Muchos de ellos fueron también finalistas y ganadores de prestigiosos premios locales e internacionales; traducidos y publicados en otros países y llevados al cine y la televisión. En 2022 fue elegida Editora del Año por la Fundación el Libro que organiza la Feria del Libro de Buenos Aires. Ha cursado la Maestría en Comunicación y Cultura en la Universidad de Buenos Aitres; la diplomatura superior en Políticas Editoriales para las Ciencias Sociales (Clacso); las licenciaturas de Periodismo y de Comunicación Social (ambas en la Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora) y fue becaria de la Knight Wallace Foundation (University of Michigan). Además, de su labor editorial está a cargo de las materias Edición y Legislación, en la carrera de Artes de la Escritura de la Universidad Nacional de las Artes, y del Taller de Realización Gráfica en la Carrera de Ciencias de la Comunicación de la UBA.