Bogotá39 was a collaborative project between the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Y Gelli), 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, ...

and

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest ...

: UNESCO World Book Capital City 2007 in order to identify 39 of the most promising

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...

writers under the age of 39.Bogota39 official website
/ref> The judges for the contest were three Colombian writers:

Piedad Bonnett Piedad Bonnett Vélez (Amalfi (Antioquia), 1951) is a Colombian poet, playwright and novelist. Biography She obtained a degree in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Los Andes where she has been professor at the Faculty of Arts and ...

Héctor Abad Faciolince Héctor Abad Faciolince (born 1958) is a Colombian novelist, essayist, journalist, and editor. Abad is considered one of the most talented post-Latin American Boom writers in Latin American literature. Abad is best known for his bestselling nove ...

and Óscar Collazos. The success of this project led to a similar project two years later called

Beirut39 Beirut39 is a collaborative project between the Hay Festival, Beirut UNESCO's World Book Capital 2009 celebrations, ''Banipal'' magazine and the British Council among others in order to identify 39 of the most promising Arab writers under the age o ...

, which selected 39 of the most promising writers from the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

world.

Africa39 Africa39 was a collaborative project initiated by the Hay Festival in partnership with Rainbow Book Club, celebrating Port Harcourt: UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 by identifying 39 of the most promising writers under the age of 40 with the potent ...

followed in 2014.

The 2007 list

* Adriana Lisboa (Brasil) *

Alejandro Zambra Alejandro Andrés Zambra Infantas (Santiago, Chile, b. September 24, 1975) is a Chilean poet, short story writer and novelist. He has been recognized for his talent as a young Latin American writer, chosen in 2007 as one of the "Bogotá39" (the b ...

(Chile) *

Álvaro Bisama Álvaro Bisama Mayné (born 18 April 1975) is a Chilean people, Chilean writer and literary critic. He was named as one of the best young writers in Latin America by the Hay Festival Bogota (see Bogota39). He was born in Valparaíso, and studied a ...

(Chile) * Álvaro Enrigue (México) *

Andrés Neuman Andrés Neuman (born January 28, 1977) is a Spanish-Argentine writer, poet, translator, columnist and blogger. The son of Argentine émigré musicians, he was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a mother of French and Spanish descent and a fa ...

(Argentina) * Antonio García Angel (Colombia) *

Antonio Ungar Antonio Ungar (born 1974) is a Colombian writer. He has published several collections of short stories and novels. His latest novel "Three White Coffins" relates a fictitious political intrigue, and mixes a large amount of factual political ev ...

(Colombia) * Carlos Wynter Melo (Panamá) * Claudia Amengual (Uruguay) *

Claudia Hernández González Claudia Hernández González is a Salvadoran short story writer. She was born in El Salvador in 1975. She was awarded the Anna Seghers-Preis, Anna Seghers Prize in 2004. She is widely regarded as among the pre-eminent living Salvadoran writers. M ...

(El Salvador) *

Daniel Alarcón Daniel Alarcón (born March 5, 1977 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian-American novelist, journalist and radio producer. He is co-founder, host and executive producer of ''Radio Ambulante'', an award-winning Spanish language podcast distributed by NP ...

(Perú) *

Eduardo Halfon Eduardo Halfon (born 1971) is a Guatemalan writer. Career Eduardo Halfon was born in Guatemala City, moved to the United States at the age of ten, went to school in South Florida, studied industrial engineering at North Carolina State University ...

(Guatemala) *

Ena Lucía Portela Ena Lucía Portela (born 19 December 1972) is a Cuban novelist, essayist, and writer of short stories. She focuses on lesbian subjects. Biography Ena Lucía Portela was born in Havana, 19 December 1972. She graduated from the University of Hava ...

(Cuba) * Fabrizio Mejía Madrid (México) * Gabriela Alemán (Ecuador) * Gonzalo Garcés (Argentina) *

Guadalupe Nettel Guadalupe Nettel (born 1973) is a Mexican writer. She has published four novels, including ''The Body Where I Was Born'' (2011) and ''After the Winter'' (2014). She won the Premio de Narrativa Breve Ribera del Duero and the Premio Herralde literar ...

(México) *

Iván Thays Iván Thays is a Peruvian author, professor and television host. Life Thays was born on October 21, 1968, in Lima. He studied languages and literature at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. After his study he continued as a professor ...

(Perú) * João Paulo Cuenca (Brasil) * John Jairo Junieles (Colombia) *

Jorge Volpi Jorge Volpi (full name Jorge Volpi Escalante, born July 10, 1968) is a Mexican novelist and essayist, best known for his novels such as ''In Search of Klingsor (En busca de Klingsor)''. Trained as a lawyer, he gained notice in the 1990s wit ...

(México) *

José Pérez Reyes José Pérez Reyes (born 1975-06-19) is a male boxer from the Dominican Republic, who competed for his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta ...

(Paraguay) *

Juan Gabriel Vásquez Juan Gabriel Vásquez (born in Bogotá on January 1, 1973) is a Colombian writer, journalist and translator. Regarded as one of the most important Latin American novelists working today, he is the author of seven novels, two volumes of stories, tw ...

(Colombia) *

Junot Díaz Junot Díaz (; born December 31, 1968) is a Dominican-American writer, creative writing professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was fiction editor at ''Boston Review''. He also serves on the board of advisers for Freedo ...

(Dominican Republic) *

Karla Suárez Karla Suárez (born October 28, 1969) is a Cuban writer. Biography Karla Suárez was born October 28, 1969, in La Habana, Cuba. She grew up in Havana, where she ended up studying Electronic Engineering, without putting aside her interest in lit ...

(Cuba) * Leonardo Valencia (Ecuador) * Pablo Casacuberta (Uruguay) * Pedro Mairal (Argentina) *

Pilar Quintana Pilar Quintana (born 1st of January in 1972) is a Colombian writer. She was born in Cali and studied at the Javeriana University in Bogota. In 2011 she attended the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa as a writer-in-residence, ...

(Colombia) * Ricardo Silva (Colombia) * Rodrigo Blanco Calderón (Venezuela) * Rodrigo Hasbun (Bolivia) * Rolando Menéndez (Cuba) *

Santiago Nazarian Santiago Nazarian (São Paulo, 1977) is a Brazilian writer. He studied literature and graduated in Social Communications in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2007, he was selected by the Hay Festival as one of the 39 highest profile Latin American writers un ...

(Brasil) *

Santiago Roncagliolo Santiago Rafael Roncagliolo Lohmann (born March 29, 1975) is a Peruvian writer, screenwriter, translator, and journalist. He has written five novels about fear. He is also author of a trilogy of non-fiction books on Latin America during the twent ...

(Perú) *

Slavko Zupcic Slavko () is a Slavic masculine given name. Notable holders of the name include: Arts * Slavko Avsenik, Slovenian musician * Slavko Avsenik, Jr., Slovenian musician * Slavko Brankov, Croatian actor * Slavko Brill, Croatian Jewish sculptor * Slavk ...

(Venezuela) * Veronica Stigger (Brasil) *

Wendy Guerra Wendy Guerra (born 11 December 1970), formally Wendy Guerra Torres, is a Cuban poet and novelist, based in Miami. After a brief career acting in Cuban film and television, she turned to writing and won recognition more readily abroad than within ...

(Cuba) *

Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro (born October 29, 1970) is a Puerto Rican novelist, short story writer and essayist. Biography Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro was born on 29 October 1970 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and was raised by her grandparents, Petronila Ca ...

(Puerto Rico)

The 2017 list

Carlos Manuel Álvarez Carlos Manuel Álvarez (born 1984) is a Cuban writer. Early life and education Alvarez was born in Matanzas and studied journalism at the University of Havana. Writing career In 2016, he cofounded the online magazine '' El Estornudo''. He has p ...

(Cuba) *

Frank Báez Frank Báez is a Dominican poet, editor, and writer, born in 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles arch ...

(Dominican Republic) * Natalia Borges Polesso (Brazil) * Giuseppe Caputo (Colombia) * Juan Cárdenas (Colombia) * Mauro Javier Cárdenas (Ecuador) *

María José Caro María José Caro (born Lima, 1985) is a Peruvian writer. Life Caro was born in Lima in 1985. She has a master's degree from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She has published three books, including two short story collections - ''¿Qu� ...

(Peru) * Martín Felipe Castagnet (Argentina) *

Liliana Colanzi Liliana Colanzi Serrate (born 1981) is a Bolivian writer. Life Colanzi was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in 1981, and studied at the Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (UPSA) and the University of Cambridge. She obtained a doctorate in ...

(Bolivia) * Juan Esteban Constaín (Colombia) *

Lola Copacabana Inés Gallo de Urioste (born Buenos Aires, 1980), better known by her pseudonym Lola Copacabana or Lolita Copacabana, is an Argentine writer, translator and editor. Life She was born in Buenos Aires in 1980. She became known through her blog '' ...

(Argentina) * Gonzalo Eltesch (Chile) * Diego Erlan (Argentina) * Daniel Ferreira (Colombia) * Carlos Fonseca Suárez (Costa Rica) * Damián González Bertolino (Uruguay) *

Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón is an author born in Puerto Rico in 1986. He has written three novels, ''Palacio'', ''Dicen que los dormidos'', and ''Los días hábiles''. In 2017 he was named one of Bogota Hay Festival's 39 authors under 40. Biograp ...

(Puerto Rico) *

Gabriela Jauregui Gabriela Jauregui (born 1979) is a Mexican writer, poet and critic. Life Jauregui was born in 1979 and raised in Mexico City. She obtained an MFA from UC Riverside, an MA from UC Irvine and a PhD in comparative literature from the Universit ...

(Mexico) *

Laia Jufresa Laia Jufresa (born 1983) is a Mexican writer. She was born in Mexico City and grew up in Veracruz and Paris. She studied at the Sorbonne, graduating with a BA in Arts. She also lived in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madison, Wisconsin and Cologne, Ger ...

(Mexico) * Mauro Libertella (Argentina) *

Brenda Lozano Brenda Lozano (born 1981) is a Mexican writer best known for her novel ''Loop'' which won the PEN Award on Translation. Career She studied literature at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She has published three novels, ''Todo nada'', ''Cuadern ...

(Mexico) *

Valeria Luiselli Valeria Luiselli (born August 16, 1983) is a Mexican author living in the United States. She is the author of the book of essays ''Sidewalks'' and the novel '' Faces in the Crowd'', which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First F ...

(Mexico) * Alan Mills (Guatemala) * Emiliano Monge (Mexico) *

Mónica Ojeda Mónica Ojeda Franco (born Guayaquil, 1988) is an Ecuadorian writer. She obtained her bachelor's degree from the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, followed by a master's degree from the Universidad Pompeu Fabra de Barcelona. She is ...

(Ecuador) * Eduardo Plaza (Chile) *

Eduardo Rabasa Eduardo Rabasa (born 1978) is a Mexican writer, translator and editor. He studied political science at UNAM. He is the founding director of Sexto Piso, an independent publisher based in Mexico City. As a translator, he has translated works by Eng ...

(Mexico) * Felipe Restrepo Pombo (Colombia) * Juan Manuel Robles (Peru) * Cristian Romero (Colombia) * Juan Pablo Roncone (Chile) *

Daniel Saldaña París Daniel Saldaña París (born 1984) is a Mexican poet, essayist, and novelist. He gained acclaim for his debut novel ''En medio de extrañas víctimas'' and its follow-up ''El nervio principal'' (published in English by Charco Press and Coffee Ho ...

(Mexico) *

Samanta Schweblin Samanta Schweblin (born 1978) is an Argentine Spanish-language author currently living in Berlin. She has published three collections of short stories, a novella and a novel, besides stories that have appeared in anthologies and magazines such as ...

(Argentina) * Jesús Miguel Soto (Venezuela) * Luciana Sousa (Argentina) *

Mariana Torres Mariana Paulina Torres González (; born December 5, 1985, in León, Guanajuato, Mexico) is a Mexican actress, known for telenovelas. She is a daughter of José Torres and she has 4 brothers. Biography She debuted as actress in 2001 her nativ ...

(Brazil) *

Valentín Trujillo Valentín Trujillo may refer to: * Valentín Trujillo (writer), Uruguayan writer * Valentín Trujillo (actor), Mexican actor, writer and director * Valentín Trujillo (pianist) Valentín Trujillo Sánchez (born May 2, 1933), also known as "Maestr ...

(Uruguay) * Claudia Ulloa (Peru) * Diego Zuñiga (Chile)

References

Latin American literature 2007 introductions {{lit-mov-stub