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Samanta Schweblin

サマンタ・シュウェブリン

Samanta Schweblin

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1978 （Buenos Aires, Argentina）
Nationality
Argentina
Languages
Spanish
Residence History
Buenos Aires, Argentina → Berlin, Germany

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Short story writer
Active Years
2002-
Nominations
Man Booker International Prize (2019) — Mouthful of Birds (translation by Megan McDowell), Man Booker International Prize (2020) — Longlisted for Little Eyes (translation by Megan McDowell)

Education

University of Buenos Aires
Film studies / Film studies
Country: Argentina

Awards

National Endowment for the Arts (Fondo Nacional de las Artes) award
2002
Work: El núcleo del disturbio
Organization: Fondo Nacional de las Artes (Argentina)
Result: 受賞
Casa de las Américas Award
2008
Work: Pájaros en la boca / Mouthful of Birds
Organization: Casa de las Américas
Result: 受賞
Tigre Juan Award
2015
Work: Distancia de rescate / Fever Dream
Organization: Tigre Juan Award (Spain)
Result: 受賞
Shirley Jackson Award
2017
Work: Fever Dream
Category: 最優秀中編小説
Organization: Shirley Jackson Awards
Result: 受賞
Man Booker International Prize (nomination)
2019
Work: Mouthful of Birds (translated by Megan McDowell)
Organization: The Man Booker International Prize
Result: ノミネート
Man Booker International Prize (longlist)
2020
Work: Little Eyes (translated by Megan McDowell)
Organization: The Man Booker International Prize
Result: ロングリスト
National Book Award for Translated Literature
2022
Work: Seven Empty Houses
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
Royal Society of Literature International Writer
2024
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

O. Henry Award 1 appearances
  1. Edition 100 (2022) Winner
    Work: An Unlucky Man

    A story about misfortune, self-deception, and the randomness of fate.

    A story about misfortune, self-deception, and the randomness of fate.

    short storyrelationshipsmemory

Works

Major Works

El núcleo del disturbio

2002 Short story collection

Debut collection of stories that insert unsettling elements into realistic settings, exploring everyday anxieties.

uncannydomestic disruptionpsychological portraiture

Pájaros en la boca / Mouthful of Birds

2009 Short story collection

A collection of short stories mixing the uncanny and the comic, often told through parable-like situations.

uncannyallegoryabsurdity
Translations
  • English translation by Megan McDowell (2019) — Mouthful of Birds

Distancia de rescate / Fever Dream

2014 Novella / Short novel

An unsettling novella presented as a conversation between a woman and a boy, focusing on environmental contamination and parental fear.

motherhoodenvironmental contaminationhorror
Adaptations
  • [Film] Distancia de rescate (Netflix film) / Claudia Llosa (2021)
Translations
  • English translation by Megan McDowell (2017) — Fever Dream

Siete casas vacías / Seven Empty Houses

2015 Short story collection

A collection of stories that explore empty houses, lost relationships, and the uncanny spaces within everyday life.

houses and dwellingisolationloss
Translations
  • English translation by Megan McDowell (2022) — Seven Empty Houses

Kentukis / Little Eyes

2018 Novel

A social parable about technology, surveillance, and human connection, centered on networked devices called 'kentukis' that enable remote observation.

technologysurveillanceconnection and alienation
Translations
  • English translation by Megan McDowell (2020) — Little Eyes

El buen mal / Good and Evil and Other Stories

2025 Short story collection

A 2025 short story collection (English translation released in 2025) gathering stories that probe morality, ethics, horror, and the uncanny.

good and evilethicsthe uncanny
Translations
  • English translation by Megan McDowell (2025) — Good and Evil and Other Stories

Bibliography

  • 2002: El núcleo del disturbio
  • 2009: Pájaros en la boca (also published as La Furia de las pestes)
  • 2014: Distancia de rescate (Fever Dream)
  • 2015: Siete casas vacías (Seven Empty Houses)
  • 2018: Kentukis (Little Eyes)
  • 2025: El buen mal (Good and Evil and Other Stories)

Adaptations

  • Distancia de rescate — Adapted as a Netflix film (dir. Claudia Llosa, 2021)

Translations of Works

  • Pájaros en la boca — English translation by Megan McDowell (2019): Mouthful of Birds
  • Distancia de rescate — English translation by Megan McDowell (2017): Fever Dream
  • Siete casas vacías — English translation by Megan McDowell (2022): Seven Empty Houses
  • Kentukis — English translation by Megan McDowell (2020): Little Eyes
  • El buen mal — English translation by Megan McDowell (2025): Good and Evil and Other Stories

Style & Themes

Literary Style
uncanny and allegorical toneconcise, tension-driven proseblurring of the boundary between reality and the surreal
Recurring Motifs
parent-child relationships and motherhoodisolation and alienationempty houses / unsettling domestic spacesenvironmental contamination and anxiety

Legacy

Samanta Schweblin is a major voice in contemporary Spanish-language literature, internationally recognized for uncanny, allegorical short fiction. Her books have been translated into more than forty languages, adapted for film, and she has received and been nominated for major international literary awards.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (International Writer, 2024)

In Popular Culture

  • Distancia de rescate was adapted into a Netflix film, bringing wide attention.
  • Her work has appeared in major magazines such as The New Yorker and The Paris Review, reaching English-language readers.

Trivia

  • Her books have been translated into more than forty languages.
  • Based in Berlin; held the Samuel Fischer guest professorship for literature at the Free University of Berlin in the winter semester 2020/2021.
  • Active on social media as an author (e.g. Twitter).