Mauro Javier Cárdenas is an

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

author based in the United States. His work often deals with

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

or migrant populations from South America within the United States, and their relationship with their home country. He also often invokes themes of privacy, technology and

social alienation Social alienation is a person's feeling of disconnection from a group whether friends, family, or wider society with which the individual has an affiliation. Such alienation has been described as "a condition in social relationships reflected b ...

. Colombia is a frequent setting of his works, alongside the United States.

Education

Cárdenas grew up in

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

, Ecuador before moving to the United States to attend Stanford University. He graduated with a degree in economics.

Career

Cárdenas' debut novel, ''The Revolutionaries Try Again'' was released in 2016. Outlets such as

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

called it a strong debut with "nuance and authority". That year he received the

Joseph Henry Jackson Award San Francisco Foundation is a San Francisco Bay Area philanthropy organization. It is one of the largest community foundations in the United States. Its mission is to mobilize community leaders, nonprofits, government agencies, and donors to advanc ...

. In 2017, he was named one of the Bogota39 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 ...

, a selection of the best young writers within

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 ...

. His second novel, ''Aphasia'', was released in 2020 to rave reviews. Cárdenas' third novel was published in 2024. ''American Abductions'' deals with data harvesting and alienation that occurs within a technologically observed society. This book also received strong reviews from outlets such as the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

and

Bibliography

* ''The Revolutionaries Try Again'' (Coffee House Press, 2016) * ''Aphasia'' (FSG, 2020) * ''American Abductions'' (The Dalkey Archive, 2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cárdenas, Mario Javier Living people Ecuadorian writers Year of birth missing (living people)

Education

Career

Bibliography

See also

References