World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Yuri Herrera

ユリ・エレーラ

Yuri Herrera

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1970-01-01 （Actopan, Hidalgo, Mexico）
Nationality
Mexico
Languages
Spanish, English
Residence History
Actopan, Hidalgo, Mexico → Mexico City, Mexico → El Paso, Texas, USA → Berkeley, California, USA → New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Career

Occupations
political scientist, editor, writer
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Editor of the literary magazine El perro, Tulane University (Mellow Postdoctoral Fellow / faculty)
Influenced By
Miguel de Cervantes, Aztec mythology / indigenous traditions, Latin American political and social reality

Education

National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Political Science
Country: Mexico
University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP)
Creative Writing (MA)
Degree: MA
Country: United States
Master's program in creative writing
University of California, Berkeley
Hispanic Language and Literature (PhD)
Degree: Ph.D.
Year of Graduation: 2009
Country: United States
PhD awarded in 2009

Awards

Premio Binacional de Novela Joven (Border of Words)
2004
Work: Kingdom Cons
Organization: Frontera de Palabras (organizers)
Result: winner
Premio Otras Voces, Otros Ámbitos
2009
Work: Kingdom Cons
Organization: Spanish jury / Periférica (organizers)
Result: winner
The Guardian - Best Fiction of 2015 (listed)
2015
Work: Signs Preceding the End of the World
Organization: The Guardian
Result: listed
Best Translated Book Award
2016
Work: Signs Preceding the End of the World
Organization: Best Translated Book Award organization
Result: winner
Anna Seghers Prize
2016
Organization: Anna Seghers Foundation
Result: winner
Ursula K. Le Guin Prize (shortlist)
2023
Work: Ten Planets: Stories
Organization: Ursula K. Le Guin Prize organization
Result: shortlist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kingdom Cons

2004 novel

An allegorical novel about power and names, constructed with symbolic language against a backdrop of social unrest in and beyond Mexico.

powernamesviolence
Translations
  • English translation: Kingdom Cons (trans. Lisa Dillman, And Other Stories, 2017)

Signs Preceding the End of the World

2009 novel

A journey set in an ambiguous borderlike space, addressing migration, borders, and identity.

migrationbordersidentity
Translations
  • English translation: Signs Preceding the End of the World (trans. Lisa Dillman, And Other Stories, 2015)

The Transmigration of Bodies

2013 novel

A dark allegorical tale set in a city plagued by disease and violence, exploring social collapse and human relations.

plaguesocial collapsedeath
Translations
  • English translation: The Transmigration of Bodies (trans. Lisa Dillman, And Other Stories, 2016)

A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire

2018 novel

A novel dealing with a mine fire and its social repercussions, exploring community, memory, and accountability.

accidentresponsibilitycommunity
Translations
  • English translation: A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire (trans. Lisa Dillman, And Other Stories, 2020)

Ten Planets: Stories

2019 short story collection

A collection of short stories of varied themes and tones, intersecting movement, loneliness, and imagination.

movementlonelinessimagination
Translations
  • English translation: Ten Planets: Stories (trans. Lisa Dillman, And Other Stories / Graywolf, 2023)

Season of the Swamp

2022 novel

A story about exiles and pursued figures, dealing with exile and memory in a recent novel.

exilepursuitmemory
Translations
  • English translation: Season of the Swamp (trans. Lisa Dillman, And Other Stories / Graywolf, 2024)

Bibliography

  • Kingdom Cons (2004; English trans. 2017)
  • Signs Preceding the End of the World (2009; English trans. 2015)
  • The Transmigration of Bodies (2013; English trans. 2016)
  • A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire (2018; English trans. 2020)
  • Ten Planets: Stories (2019; English trans. 2023)
  • Season of the Swamp (2022; English trans. 2024)

Translations of Works

  • Señales que precederán al fin del mundo — English translation: Signs Preceding the End of the World (trans. Lisa Dillman)
  • La transmigración de los cuerpos — English translation: The Transmigration of Bodies (trans. Lisa Dillman)
  • Diez planetas — English translation: Ten Planets: Stories (trans. Lisa Dillman)
  • La estación del pantano — English translation: Season of the Swamp (trans. Lisa Dillman)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise and forceful proseallegorical and symbolic narrationmixing popular speech with cultured vocabulary
Recurring Motifs
names and namingborders and movementelements of Aztec mythologypolitical and social contexts

Legacy

Yuri Herrera is regarded as a leading contemporary Mexican writer, internationally acclaimed for allegorical treatments of borders, movement, and language. His work has reached English-speaking audiences through translation.

Quotes

  • “I like to say that style isn't surface, style is a form of knowledge.”
    Source: Interview in Latin American Literature Today (2017) (2017)
  • “Literature cannot take full responsibility for creating good or bad men and women, but what it can do is give you the tools to make yourself into a conscious citizen. In this sense, I believe literature always entails a political responsibility.”
    Source: Interview in Latin American Literature Today (2017) (2017)

Trivia

  • His debut novel Trabajos del reino (2004) won several awards.
  • Many of his English translations have been done by Lisa Dillman.
  • He has taught and conducted research at Tulane University.