“The Best of Spanish
Steampunk”,
an anthology edited and translated by Marian
& James Womack, took a first
step in bringing some of the modern Spanish short speculative fiction to the
English market and at the end of the year this attempt will be followed by two
other such projects, two anthologies of Spanish genre short stories, that due
to their successful crowdfunding campaigns are scheduled to be released around
November 2016.
“Spanish Women of Wonder” edited by Cristina Jurado and Leticia Lara showcases some of the best
and most talented female writers within the Spanish speaking borders. Initially
published in Spanish under the title “Alucinadas”
this anthology put Cristina Jurado and Leticia Lara to the difficult test of selecting
10 stories out of more than 200 received from 12 countries and these ten
stories will also be available in the English edition of the anthology together
with another from the excellent Angélica
Gorodischer. However, a second collection of science fiction short stories
written by women is scheduled to be released in Spain this year. “Alucinadas II” is edited by Sara Antuña and Ana Díaz Eiriz and features 10 new stories from other very talented
female writers in a powerful line-up that makes this second anthology as
appealing as the first is. And who knows, as it is the case with the first
collection, perhaps “Alucinadas II” would manage to find its way into the
English market as well. Fingers crossed for that to happen.
“Historia y cronología del universe”
(The History and Chronology of the Universe) by
Almijara Barbero Carvajal
“Wirik Es” (Wirik Es) by Alejandra Decurgez
“Las dos puertas de Tebas” (The Two Gates of
Thebes) by MA Astrid
“Francine” (Francine) by María Antonia Martí
Escayol
“El ídolo de Marte” (The Idol of Mars) by Júlia
Sauleda Surís
“Seudo” (Pseudo) by Maielis González Fernández
“Informe de aprendizaje” (Learning Report) by Sofía
Rhei
“¿Quieres jugar?” (Do You Want to Play?) by Verónica
Barrasa Ramos
“¿Acaso soy una especie de monstruo, señor
Pallcker?” (Am I Some Kind of Monster, Mister Pallcker?) by Laura Fernández
“Cuestión de tiempo” (A Matter of Time) by
Susana Vallejo
“Castles in Spain” is the second project soon
to be available in English. This time, the anthology edited by Mariano Villarreal and translated by Sue Burke, who also is behind the
translation of “Spanish Women of Wonder”, aims to bring into the attention of
the English speaking readers some of the best works of speculative fiction
published recently in Spanish. Some of the stories have won prestigious awards,
others garnered popularity, but all them offer a chance to taste a sample of
what Spanish genre has best. “Castles in Spain” is scheduled to be released in
English only at the end of the year, but for now we can admire the Spanish
edition of the anthology, “Castillos en el Aire”, that hit the market in Spain recently
and benefits from a very catchy cover. Here is the table of contents of the
collection and the 10 stories that we’ll have the pleasure to read in English
at the end of 2016.
“The Star” (La estrella) by Elia
Barceló (published in 1991, winner of the Ignotus Award)
“The Flock” (El rebaño) by César
Mallorquí (published in 1993)
“The Ice Forest” (El bosque de hielo)
by Juan Miguel Aguilera (published in 1996, winner of the Alberto Magno and
Ignotus Awards)
“My Wife, My Daughter” (Mi esposa, mi
hija) by Domingo Santos (published in 1997, winner of the Ignotus Award)
“God’s Messenger” (Mensajero de dios)
by Rodolfo Martínez (published in 1997)
“In the Martian Forges” (En las fraguas
marcianas) by León Arsenal (published in 1999, winner of the Pablo Rido and
Ignotus Awards)
“The Marble in the Palm Tree” (La
canica en la palmera) by Rafael Marín (published in 2000, winner of the Ignotus
Award)
“The Albatross Ship” (La nave de los
albatros) by Félix J. Palma (published in 2002)
“The Sword of Fire” (La espada de
fuego) by Javier Negrete (published in 2014)
“Victim
and Executioner” (Víctima y verdugo) by Eduardo Vazquerizo (published in 2006)
