Fernanda Melchor

Fernanda Melchor (b 1982, Mexico) is an author and journalist resident in Berlin. Her writings have been published in such outlets as Le Monde Diplomatique and Excélsior, and she received the PEN Mexico Award for Literary and Journalistic Excellence in 2018.

A recurring theme in Melchor’s work is exploration of Mexican society, often at local level. She produced two books in 2013 – Falsa Liebre, her first novel, and Aquí no es Miami, a non-fiction work on tough conditions in the port of Veracruz.

Her 2017 novel Hurricane Season, which starts with the killing of a local “witch”, was well received in Mexico and has been translated into several languages. It received Germany’s International Literature Award and was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Her latest book, Páradais, appeared in 2021.