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Daniel Alarcón

ダニエル・アラルコン

Daniel Alarcón

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1977-03-05 （Lima, Peru）
Nationality
Peruvian, American
Languages
Spanish, English
Residence History
Lima (birth) → Birmingham, Alabama (raised) → New York City (studied, taught) → Oakland, California (residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Journalist, Radio producer, University professor
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Radio Ambulante (co-founder/producer), Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (assistant professor/affiliate), Mills College (Distinguished Visiting Writer)

Education

Columbia University
Anthropology (BA)
Degree: BA
Period: 1995–1999
Year of Graduation: 1999
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree in anthropology
Iowa Writers' Workshop (University of Iowa)
Fiction (MFA)
Degree: MFA
Period: 2002–2004
Year of Graduation: 2004
Country: United States
Master of Fine Arts in fiction
Indian Springs School
High school
Period: 〜1995
Year of Graduation: 1995
Country: United States
Attended during high school

Awards

Whiting Award (Fiction)
2004
Organization: The Whiting Foundation
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2008
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Lannan Fellowship
2008
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
International Literature Award (Haus der Kulturen der Welt)
2009
Work: Lost City Radio (German translation)
Organization: Haus der Kulturen der Welt
Result: 受賞（翻訳者へ）
The Story Prize (finalist)
2017
Work: The King Is Always Above the People
Organization: The Story Prize
Result: 最終候補
Clarke Prize in Fiction
2019
Work: The King Is Always Above the People
Organization: Clarke Prize
Result: 受賞
MacArthur Fellowship
2021
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: 受賞
PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel (finalist)
2006
Work: War by Candlelight
Organization: PEN America / Hemingway Foundation
Result: ファイナリスト

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Lost City Radio

2007 Novel 320 pages

Set in a fictional Latin American city around a state-run radio station, the novel explores power, memory, and the relationship between private lives and public institutions through interconnected stories.

memorypower and propagandaurban decline
Translations
  • Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Greek, Italian, Serbian, Turkish, Japanese

At Night We Walk in Circles

2013 Novel 336 pages

Set in a Latin American city, the novel follows a theatre troupe and its members against a politically fraught backdrop, exploring identity, the intersection of art and reality, and disappearance.

theatre vs. realityidentityopacity of power

War by Candlelight: Stories

2005 Short story collection 224 pages

A debut collection of short stories depicting characters navigating chaotic urban and social situations; received critical recognition as a debut.

alienationurban lifepolitical turmoil

The King Is Always Above the People

2017 Short story collection 240 pages

A collection of stories about characters confronting power and social hierarchies, using multiple perspectives to reflect contemporary Latin American conditions.

powersocial hierarchyindividual and state

Bibliography

  • War by Candlelight: Stories (2005)
  • Lost City Radio (2007)
  • The King Is Always Above the People (2017)
  • At Night We Walk in Circles (2013)
  • City of Clowns (graphic novel, 2015)
  • The Secret Miracle: The Novelist's Handbook (2010)

Adaptations

  • Short film adaptation of "City of Clowns" (2009, Peru) and graphic novel adaptation (2015)

Translations of Works

  • Lost City Radio translations into Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, etc.
  • The King Is Always Above the People (Spanish edition: El Rey siempre está por encima del pueblo)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, observant prosestructures that link fragmented perspectivesnarration that blurs the line between reality and fiction
Recurring Motifs
memory and forgettingcities and declinepower and its effects

Legacy

Recognized as a writer and journalist from a Latin American perspective working in the English-speaking world. He has international translations and awards for both short and long forms and has had significant impact in media through founding a major Spanish-language podcast.

Academic Societies

  • Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (affiliate)

Archives

  • Library of Congress (recording in the Hispanic Division audio literary archive)

In Popular Culture

  • Co-founder of Radio Ambulante, influencing Spanish-language radio and podcast culture
  • Host of The Good Whale (a New York Times / Serial podcast)

Quotes

  • The king is always above the people
    Source: Short story collection 'El Rey siempre está por encima del pueblo' / 'The King Is Always Above the People' (2017)

Trivia

  • Raised from age 3 in Birmingham, Alabama.
  • Co-founded Radio Ambulante with his wife Carolina Guerrero and others.
  • Has contributed significantly to the growth of Spanish-language podcasting since 2011.