New Stories Gather Latin American Voices

Why this is here: The editors spent nearly three years reading and translating the stories, building on their previous collaboration and seeking to capture the unique tone and voice of each author.

Lisa Thunnissen and Nanne Timmer assembled a collection of sixteen authors from eleven Latin American countries, translating their short stories into Dutch for the first time. The pair sought out contemporary work—stories published within the last ten years—to showcase diversity in themes and styles. Many of the authors address migration and transformation, often through vivid depictions of the body and sensory experience.

The editors deliberately avoided a solely female-focused anthology, wanting to represent a broad range of voices beyond those already prominent in Dutch translations. They discovered many acclaimed writers remained untranslated, and focused on underrepresented regions like the Andes, Central America, and the Caribbean.

While the stories aren’t explicitly political, Timmer and Thunnissen note that social and political contexts subtly permeate the narratives. The authors often blend reality with myth, reflecting a cultural tradition where the boundaries between the natural and supernatural are fluid. The work continues to expand the scope of Latin American literature available to Dutch readers.