The Xavier Villaurrutia Award (Premio Xavier Villaurrutia) is a prestigious literary prize given in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, to a Latin American writer published in Mexico. Founded in 1955, it was named in memory of

Xavier Villaurrutia Xavier Villaurrutia y González (27 March 1903 – 25 December 1950) was a Mexican poet, playwright and literary critic whose most famous works are the short theatrical dramas called ''Autos profanos'', compiled in the work ''Poesía y teatro c ...

. Multiple awards have been given in some years. No award was made in 1968, when it was suspended in recognition of the imprisonment of

José Revueltas José Revueltas Sánchez (November 20, 1914 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango – April 14, 1976 in Mexico City) was a Mexican writer, essayist, and political activist. He was part of an important artistic family that included his siblings Silve ...

who had won the award in 1967.

Recipients of the award

* 1955:

Juan Rulfo Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo ( ; 16 May 1917 – 7 January 1986), was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel ''Pedro Páramo'', and th ...

, for ''

Pedro Páramo ''Pedro Páramo'' is a novel written by Mexican writer Juan Rulfo about a man named Juan Preciado, who promises his mother on her deathbed to meet Preciado's father for the first time in the town of Comala, only to come across a literal ghost t ...

'' (novel) * 1956:

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

, for '' El arco y la lira'' (essay) * 1957: Josefina Vicens, '' El libro vacío'' (novel) * 1958: no award * 1959:

Marco Antonio Montes de Oca Marco Antonio Montes de Oca (August 3, 1932 - February 7, 2009) was a Mexican poet and painter. Montes de Oca was a prolific and influential poet whose principal books include: ''Ruina de la infame Babilonia'' (1953), and ''Delante de la luz can ...

, for ''Delante de la luz cantan los pájaros'' (poetry) * 1960:

Rosario Castellanos Rosario Castellanos Figueroa (; 25 May 1925 – 7 August 1974) was a Mexican poet and author. She was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century. Throughout her life, she wrote eloquently about issues of cultural and gend ...

, for '' Ciudad Real'' (novel) * 1961: no award * 1962: no award * 1963 **

Elena Garro Elena Garro (December 11, 1916 – August 22, 1998) was a Mexican screenwriter, journalist, dramaturg, short story writer, and novelist. She has been described as the initiator of the Magical Realism movement, though she rejected this affiliation. ...

, for '' Los recuerdos del porvenir'' (novel) **

Juan José Arreola Juan José Arreola Zúñiga (September 21, 1918 – December 3, 2001) was a Mexican writer, academic, and actor. He is considered Mexico's premier experimental short story writer of the 20th century. Arreola is recognized as one of the first Lati ...

, for '' La feria'' (novel) * 1964:

Homero Aridjis Homero Aridjis (born April 6, 1940) is a Mexican poet, novelist, environmental activist, journalist and diplomat known for his rich imagination, poetry of lyrical beauty, and ethical independence. Family and early life Aridjis was born in Contepe ...

, for '' Mirándola dormir'' (poetry) * 1965:

Salvador Elizondo Salvador Elizondo Alcalde (Mexico City, December 19, 1932 - March 29, 2006) was a Mexican writer of the 60s Generation of Mexican literature. Regarded as one of the creators of the most influential cult noirè, experimental, intelligent style ...

, for '' Farabeuf'' (novel) * 1966:

Fernando del Paso Fernando del Paso Morante (April 1, 1935 – November 14, 2018) was a Mexican novelist, essayist and poet. Biography Del Paso was born in Mexico City and took two years in economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He ...

, for '' José Trigo'' (novel) * 1967:

, for life’s work * 1968: suspended * 1969: suspended * 1970:

Eduardo Lizalde Eduardo Lizalde Chávez (14 July 1929 – 25 May 2022) was a Mexican poet, academic and administrator. Lizalde was known as "El Tigre" for recurring themes in his work which stem from his childhood fondness for the stories of Emilio Salgari, Sal ...

, for '' El tigre en la casa'' (poetry) * 1971:

Carlos Montemayor Carlos Montemayor (June 13, 1947 in Parral, Chihuahua – February 28, 2010 in Mexico City) was a Mexican novelist, poet, essayist, literary critic, tenor, political analyst, and promoter of contemporary literature written in indigenous language ...

, for '' Las llaves de Urgell'' (short story) *1972 ** Juan García Ponce, for '' Encuentros'' (short story) **

Gabriel Zaid Gabriel Zaid is a Mexican writer, poet and intellectual. Early life He was born in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, on January 24, 1934, son of Palestinian immigrants, is a Mexican thinker (poet, essayist, economist, businessman, engineer, a ...

, for '' Leer poetry'' (essay) ** Hugo Hiriart, for ''

Galaor Galaor was a hero of Spanish romance. The brother of Amadis de Gaul, Galaor was the model of a courtly paladin and was always ready with his sword to avenge the wrongs of widows and orphans. See also * Galaor, a comic book hero from Hexagon Co ...

'' (novel) **

Jaime Sabines Jaime Sabines Gutiérrez (March 25, 1926 – March 19, 1999) was a Mexican contemporary poet. Known as “the sniper of Literature” as he formed part of a group that transformed literature into reality, he wrote ten volumes of poetry, and his w ...

and

Ernesto Mejía Sánchez Ernesto Mejía Sánchez (Masaya, Nicaragua, 1923 - Mérida, Mexico, 1985) was a Nicaraguan author and poet. He took his doctoral degree in Madrid and, for several years was a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His first work ...

, for life’s work *1973 ** Federico Arana, for '' Las jiras'' (novel) **

Esther Seligson Esther Seligson (25 October 1941 – 8 February 2010) was a Mexican writer, poet, translator, and historian. She was an academic, with a wide range of interests including art, cultural history, Jewish philosophy, mythology, religion and theater. ...

, for '' Otros son los sueños'' (novel) ** José Emilio Pacheco, for '' El principio del placer'' (novel) ** Tomás Segovia, for '' Terceto'' (poetry) ** Héctor Azar, for '' Los juegos de azar: seis obras en un acto'' (theatre) *1974 ** Arturo Azuela, for '' El tamaño del infierno'' (novel) **

Julieta Campos Julieta Campos (8 May 1932 – 5 September 2007) was a Cuban- Mexican writer. Life Born in Havana, she moved to Mexico in the 1950s after marrying diplomat Enrique González Pedrero. Julieta Campos won the Premio Xavier Villaurrutia for her n ...

, for '' Tiene los cabellos rojizos y se llama Sabina'' (novel) ** Gustavo Sainz, for '' La princesa del Palacio de Hierro'' (novel) ** Manuel Echeverría, for '' Un redoble muy largo'' (novel) *1975 **

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christophe ...

, for '' Terra Nostra'' (novel) **

Augusto Monterroso Augusto Monterroso Bonilla (December 21, 1921 - February 7, 2003) was a Honduran writer who adopted Guatemalan nationality, known for the ironical and humorous style of his short stories. He is considered an important figure in the Latin Americ ...

, for '' Antología personal'' (short story) ** José Vázquez Amaral, for '' Ezra Pound, cantares completos'' (essay) **

Efraín Huerta Efraín Huerta (June 18, 1914 – February 3, 1982) was a Mexican poet and journalist. Born and raised in the state of Guanajuato, he moved to Mexico City initially to start a career in art. Unable to enter the Academy of San Carlos, he attend ...

, for life’s work *1976 ** Tita Valencia, for '' Minotauromaquia'' (poetry) **

Jorge Enrique Adoum Jorge Enrique Adoum (June 29, 1926 in Ambato – July 3, 2009 in Quito) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, politician, and diplomat. He was one of the major exponents of Latin American poetry. His work received such prestigious awards as the first ...

, for '' Entre Marx y una mujer desnuda'' (theatre) ** Daniel Leyva, for '' Crispal'' (novel) ** Enrique González Rojo, for '' El quíntuple balar de mis sentidos'' (poetry) *1977 ** Silvia Molina, for '' La mañana debe seguir gris'' (novel) **

Jaime Reyes Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...

, for '' Isla de raíz amarga, insomne raíz'' (poetry) **

Amparo Dávila Amparo Dávila (February 28, 1928 – April 18, 2020) was a Mexican writer best known for her short stories touching on the fantastic and the uncanny. She won the Xavier Villaurrutia Award, Xavier Villarrutia Award in 1977 for her short story ...

, for '' Árboles petrificados'' (short story) ** Luis Mario Schneider, for '' La resurrección de Clotilde Goñi'' (novel) *1978 ** José Luis González, for ''

Balada de otro tiempo ''Balada de Otro Tiempo'' is an album by the Puerto Rican singer Roy Brown. It was released by Brown's label, Discos Lara-Yarí, in 1989.

'' (novel) **

Isabel Fraire Isabel Fraire (December 8, 1931 – April 5, 2015), also known as Isabel Fraire Benson, was a Mexican writer, poet, translator and literary critic. She was one of the prominent members of her generation of literary figures in Mexico. Biography ...

, for '' Poemas en el regazo de la muerte'' (poetry) ** Emiliano González, for '' Los sueños de la Bella Durmiente'' (short story) ** Ulalume González de León, for '' El riesgo del placer'' (essay) *1979 ** Carlos Eduardo Turón, for '' La libertad tiene otro nombre'' (poetry) ** Inés Arredondo, for '' Río subterráneo'' (novel) *1980 ** Sergio Fernández, for '' Segundo sueño'' (novel) **

Fernando Curiel Fernando Curiel Defossé (27 July 1942 in Mexico City, Mexico – 14/15 August 2021) was a Mexican writer, lawyer and professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico since 1980. He attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico ...

, for '' Onetti: obra y calculado infortunio'' (essay) **

Jesús Gardea Jesús Gardea Rocha (July 2, 1939 – March 12, 2000) was a Mexican writer of fiction and short fiction. Biography Jesús Gardea Rocha was born on July 2, 1939, in Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, to Vicente Gardea V. and Francisca Rocha. He stud ...

, for '' Septiembre y los otros días'' (short story) **

Alí Chumacero Alí Chumacero Lora (9 July 1918 – 22 October 2010) was a Mexican poet, translator, literary critic and editor. He was a member of the Mexican Academy of Language. Biography Alí Chumacero Lora was born on July 9, 1918, in Acaponeta, state ...

, for life’s work *1981 ** Margarita Villaseñor, for '' El rito cotidiano'' (poetry) ** Jaime del Palacio, for '' Parejas'' (novel) **

Noé Jitrik Noé Jitrik (23 January 1928 – 6 October 2022) was an Argentine literary critic. Jitrik was born in Argentina on 23 January 1928. He was director of the ''Instituto de literatura hispanoamericana'' at the University of Buenos Aires, and was ...

, for '' Fin del ritual'' (novel) **

Sergio Pitol Sergio Pitol Deméneghi (18 March 1933 – 12 April 2018) was a Mexican writer, translator and diplomat. In 2005, he received the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish-speaking world. Early life Born in Puebla, Me ...

, for '' Nocturno de Bujara'' (short story) *1982 ** Alberto Dallal, for '' El “dancing” mexicano'' (essay) **

Eraclio Zepeda Eraclio Zepeda (March 24, 1937 – September 17, 2015) was a Mexican writer, poet and politician. Education He attended college at the Universidad Militarizada Latinoamericana, where he started a Marxism study group with Jaime Labastida, Jaime ...

, for '' Andando el tiempo'' (short story) ** Luisa Josefina Hernández, for '' Apocalipsis cum figuris'' (theatre) ** Francisco Cervantes, for '' Cantado para nadie'' (poetry) *1983 ** Sergie I. Zaitzeff, for '' El arte de Julio Torri'' (essay) ** Carlos Illescas, for '' Usted es la culpable'' (poetry) ** María Luisa Puga, for '' Pánico o peligro'' (novel) ** Héctor Manjarrez, for '' No todos los hombres son románticos'' (novel) *1984 ** Jomi García Ascot, for '' Antología personal: poetry'' (poetry) ** Carmen Alardín, for '' La violencia del otoño'' (poetry) ** Arturo González Cosío, for '' El pequeño bestiario ilustrado'' (poetry) **

Margo Glantz Margo Glantz Shapiro (; born January 28, 1930) is a Mexican writer, essayist, critic and academic. She has been a member of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua since 1995. She is a recipient of the FIL Award. Biography Margo Glantz's family ...

, for '' Síndrome de naufragios'' (short story) ** Lisa Block de Behar, for '' Una retórica del silencio'' (essay) *1985: Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, for '' Huerto cerrado, huerto sellado'' (short story) * 1986 ** Sergio Galindo, for ''

Otilia Rauda Otilia is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Otilia Bădescu (born 1970), Romanian table tennis player * Otilia Cazimir (1894–1967), Romanian poet * Otilia Larrañaga, Mexican dancer and actress * Otilia Lux, Guatemala ...

'' (novel) **

Federico Patán Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Artists * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ. * Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, ...

, for '' Último exilio'' (novel) *1987 ** Alberto Ruy Sánchez, for '' Los nombres del aire'' (novel) ** Bárbara Jacobs, for '' Las hojas muertas'' (novel) *1988 **

Álvaro Mutis Álvaro Mutis Jaramillo (August 25, 1923 – September 22, 2013) was a Colombian poet, novelist, and essayist. His best-known work is the novel sequence '' The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll'', which revolves around the character ...

, for '' Ilona llega con la lluvia'' (novel) **

Ernesto de la Peña Ernesto de la Peña (; 21 November 1927 – 10 September 2012) was a Mexican writer, translator and cultural advocate. Peña was also a linguist and polyglot who studied thirty-three languages, as varied as Latin language, Latin, Greek language, ...

, for '' Las estratagemas de Dios'' (short story) *1989 **

Carmen Boullosa Carmen Boullosa (born September 4, 1954 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican poet, novelist and playwright. Her work focuses on the issues of feminism and gender roles within a Latin American context. It has been praised by a number of writers, i ...

, for '' Antes , La salvaja y Papeles irresponsables'' (novel) **

Guillermo Sheridan Guillermo Humberto Sheridan Prieto (born 27 August 1950) is a Mexican literary critic, scholar and public commentator. Life and work Sheridan was born in Mexico City. He was a Chevening Scholar at the University of East Anglia in 1986. He was aw ...

, for '' Un corazón adicto: la vida de Ramón López Velarde'' (essay) *1990 ** José Luis Rivas, for '' Brazos de mar'' (poetry) **

Emilio García Riera Emilio García Riera (born 17 November 1931 in Ibiza, Spain – died on 11 October 2002 in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico) was a Spanish-born Mexican actor, writer and cinema critic. He has written exhaustively on Mexican cinema of 1929 and 1976, le ...

, for '' El cine es mejor que la vida'' (memoires) *1991 **

Vicente Quirarte Vicente is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Location *São Vicente, Cap ...

, for '' El ángel es vampiro'' (poetry) ** Gerardo Deniz, for '' Amor y oxidente'' *1992 **

Daniel Sada Daniel Sada Villarreal (February 25, 1953, in Mexicali, Baja California – November 18, 2011, in Mexico City) was a Mexican poet, journalist, and writer, whose work has been hailed as one of the most important contributions to the Spanish lan ...

, for '' Registro de causantes'' (short story) **

Marco Antonio Campos Marco Antonio Campos (9 September 1919 – 19 February 1996) was a Mexican comedian, actor, and singer best known as Viruta in the double act Viruta y Capulina with Gaspar Henaine.

, for '' Antología personal'' (poetry) *1993: Jorge López Páez, for '' Los cerros azules'' (novel) * 1994: Francisco Hernández, for '' Moneda de tres caras'' (poetry) * 1995:

Carlos Monsiváis Carlos Monsiváis Aceves (May 4, 1938 – June 19, 2010) was a Mexican philosopher, writer, critic, political activist, and journalist. He also wrote political opinion columns in leading newspapers within the country's progressive sectors. ...

, for '' Los rituales del caos'' (chronicle) * 1996: Jaime Labastida, for '' Animal de silencios y La palabra enemiga'' (poetry) * 1997: Jorge Ruiz Dueñas, for '' Habitaré su nombre y Saravá'' (poetry) * 1998: Ignacio Solares, for '' El sitio'' (novel) *1999:

Juan Villoro Juan Villoro (born 24 September 1956, in Mexico City) is a Mexican writer and journalist and the son of philosopher Luis Villoro. He has been well known among intellectual circles in Mexico, Latin America and Spain for years, but his success among ...

, for '' La casa pierde'' (short story) * 2000:

Vicente Leñero Vicente Leñero Otero (June 9, 1933 – December 3, 2014) was a Mexican novelist, journalist, and playwright. He wrote numerous books, stories, and plays, including a theatrical adaptation of Oscar Lewis's '' The Children of Sanchez.'' He was awa ...

, for '' La inocencia de este mundo'' (anthology) * 2001: Mario Bellatin, for ''

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...

'' (novel) * 2002 **

Juan Bañuelos ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, for '' A paso de hierba'' (poetry) ** Hugo Gutiérrez Vega, for '' Peregrinaciones: Poesía 1965-2001 Bazar de asombros II'' (poetry) *2003 **

Coral Bracho Coral Bracho (born 1951 in Mexico City) is a Mexican poet, translator, and doctor of Literature. Bracho is winner of the Aguascalientes National Poetry Prize in 1981 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000. She received the 2004 Xavier Villaurrutia ...

, for '' Ese espacio, ese jardín'' (poetry) ** Pedro Ángel Palou García, for '' Con la muerte en los puños'' (novel) * 2004: Christopher Domínguez Michael, for '' Vida de Fray Servando'' (essay) * 2005: David Huerta, for '' Versión'' (poetry) * 2006: Alejandro Rossi, por '' Edén. Vida imaginada'' (novel) *2007 ** Elsa Cross, for '' Cuaderno de Amorgós'' (poetry) **

Pura López Colomé Pura López Colomé (born November 6, 1952) is a Mexican poet and translator. She has contributed to various magazines and cultural supplements with poetry, essays, and translations of poetry and prose from English into Spanish. Her awards include ...

, for '' y Santo y Seña'' (poetry) *2008: Adolfo Castañón, ''Viaje a México. Ensayos, crónicas y retratos'' (essay) *2009:

Tedi López Mills Tedi López Mills is a Mexican poet born in 1959 in Mexico City. She studied philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico for the first three years of her Bachelor's and finished at Sorbonne University in Paris. She later comple ...

, ''Muerte en la rúa Augusta'' (poetry) *2010: Sergio Mondragón, ''Hojarasca'' (poetry) *2011: Felipe Garrido, ''Conjuros'' (short story) *2012:

Myriam Moscona Myriam Moscona (מרים מוסקונה) (born 1955 in Mexico City) is a Mexican journalist, translator and poet in the Ladino and Spanish languages who comes from a Bulgarian Sephardi Jewish family. She teaches at Miami University. She was the ...

, ''Tela de Sevoya'' (novel) *2013: José de la Colina, ''Libertades imaginadas'' (essay) *2014:

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in t ...

, ''Autorretrato de familia con perro'' (novel) *2015: Jorge Aguilar Mora, ''Sueños de la razón, 1799 y 1800. Umbrales del siglo XIX'' (essay) *2016:

Alberto Blanco (poet) Alberto Blanco (born February 18, 1951) is a Mexican poet. Born in Mexico City, he spent his childhood and adolescence in that city, and he studied chemistry at the Universidad Iberoamericana and philosophy at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma ...

, ''El canto y el vuelo'' (essay) *2017:

David Toscana David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, ''Olegaroy'' (novel) *2018: Fabio Morábito, ''El lector a domicilio'' (novel) *2019: Enrique Serna, ''El vendedor de silencio'' (novel) *2020:

Malva Flores Malva Flores (born September 12, 1961, in Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American ...

, ''Estrella de dos puntas'' (essay)

External links

El Premio Xavier Villaurrutia, Coordinación Nacional de Literatura
- in Spanish Mexican literary awards