Álvaro Bisama Mayné (born 18 April 1975) is a Chilean writer and literary critic. He was named as one of the best young writers in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

by the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...

as part of Bogotá39. He was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, and studied at Playa Ancha University and the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

. He teaches at Alberto Hurtado University. Bisama has written a number of books including: *''Zona cero'' (Edición del Gobierno Regional de Valparaíso, 2003) *''Caja negra'' (novel, 2006) *''Postales urbanas'' (2006) *''Música marciana'' (novel, Planeta, Santiago, 2008) *''Cien libros chilenos'' (criticism, Ediciones B, Santiago, 2008) *''Estrellas muertas'' (novel, Alfaguara, 2010) (translated into English a
''Dead Stars''
by Megan McDowell for Ox and Pigeon Electronic Books, 2014) *''Ruido'' (Alfaguara, 2012) His awards and citations include: *One of the 100 Young Chilean Leaders, or 100 Líderes Jóvenes Chilenos, selected in 2005 by ''

El Mercurio (known online as ''El Mercurio On-Line'', ''EMOL'') is a Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. is owned by El Mercurio S.A.P. (''Sociedad Anónima Periodística'' 'joint stock news company'), which operates a network of ...

'' *Selected by Bogotá39 in 2007 as one of the best young writers in Latin America *2011

Santiago Municipal Literature Award The Santiago Municipal Literature Award () is one of the oldest and most important literary awards in Chile Created in 1934 by the municipality of Santiago, its first edition awarded the categories of novel, poetry and theater (later to be renamed ...

for ''Estrellas muertas'' *Premio Academia 2011 (awarded by

Academia Chilena de la Lengua The Academia Chilena de la Lengua (Spanish for ''Chilean Language Academy'') is an association of academics and experts on the use of the Spanish language in Chile. It is a member of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language and is a pa ...

) for the best book of 2010 (''Estrellas muertas'') *Finalist for the 2013

Altazor Award The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...

for ''Ruido''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisama, Alvaro 21st-century Chilean novelists 21st-century Chilean male writers Chilean male novelists Chilean critics 1975 births Writers from Valparaíso Living people University of Chile alumni University of Playa Ancha alumni