Daína Chaviano facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daína Chaviano
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 19 February 1957 Havana, Cuba |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | Spanish |
| Nationality | Cuban-American |
| Citizenship |
|
| Genre | Fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction |
| Notable works | The Island of Eternal Love |
| Relatives | César Évora (cousin) |
Daína Chaviano (born 19 February 1957, Havana) is a writer from Cuba who now lives in the United States. She is known for her amazing fantasy, science fiction, and historical stories.
Many people consider her one of the top three female fantasy and science fiction writers in the Spanish language. She is often mentioned alongside Angélica Gorodischer from Argentina and Elia Barceló from Spain. Together, they are sometimes called the "feminine trinity of science fiction in Ibero-America."
In Cuba, Daína Chaviano wrote many popular science fiction and fantasy books. She became the most famous and best-selling author in these types of stories in Cuban literature.
Contents
About Her Life
Daína Chaviano was born in Havana, Cuba. She was the oldest of four children. Her father was an economist, and her mother had two Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy and Psychology.
When she was just starting college, she won her first science fiction writing contest in Cuba. This was in 1979, with her collection of short stories called Los mundos que amo (The Worlds I Love). After this book came out in 1980, its main story was turned into a photonovel in 1982. This photonovel sold an amazing 200,000 copies in just three months! This made her very popular as a writer.
After finishing her degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Havana, she started the first science fiction writing workshop in Cuba. She named it "Oscar Hurtado" to honor the person who started that type of writing on the island.
In 1991, she moved from Cuba to the United States. There, she worked as a translator, writer for newspapers, and editor. In 1998, she became famous around the world when she won the Azorín Prize for Best Novel in Spain. This was for her book El hombre, la hembra y el hambre.
This book is part of a series called «The Occult Side of Havana». Other books in this series include Casa de juegos, Gata encerrada, and La isla de los amores infinitos. The book The Island of Eternal Love (published in English in 2008) has been translated into 26 languages! This makes it the most translated Cuban novel ever. In 2007, this novel also won a gold medal at the Florida Book Awards.
In 2004, she was a special guest at a big international conference about fantasy in the United States. This was the first time a Spanish-language writer had been given such an honor. In 2014, she was a special guest at a book fair in Tabasco, Mexico. There, she received the Malinalli National Award for promoting arts and culture. She was the first international person to get this award.
Her collection of short stories, Extraños Testimonios, was published in 2017.
In 2019, her historical thriller Los Hijos de la Diosa Huracán was released. This novel took more than ten years of research! It brings to life the world of the Taíno people, who were the main native culture in the Caribbean. The book features important Taíno mythology, especially the three main goddesses: Atabey, Guabancex, and Iguanaboína. In 2020, this novel won a gold medal at the Florida Book Awards again. This made her the only writer to win this award twice in the "Best Book in Spanish Language" category.
Her book País de Dragones was published in Colombia in 2021. It won the Los Mejores de Banco del Libro award. This award is given to the best books for children and young people published in Spanish anywhere in the world.
Daína Chaviano has also been a guest speaker and visiting author at many universities. These include Denison University, Florida International University, Miami Dade College, and University of North Georgia.
She is also a cousin of the famous Cuban actor César Évora.
What Inspires Her Writing
Daína Chaviano's stories are mostly inspired by the Celtic world and different ancient myths. She also gets ideas from the oldest stories of humankind. These include the King Arthur legends, and myths from ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Caribbean. She also loves very old epic poems like the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mahabharata, the Popol Vuh, and the Odyssey.
She has said that she doesn't feel very connected to most Cuban literature. She loves Anglo-Saxon literature so much that she studied English in college. This allowed her to read many of her favorite authors in their original language.
Some of Her Books in English
- 2019: "Dolores" (short story)
- 2017: "Accursed Lineage" (short story)
- 2008: The Island of Eternal Love (novel)
- 2003: "The Annunciation" (short story)
Some of Her Books in Spanish
- 2019: Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán (novel)
- 2018: Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre (novel)
- 2017: El abrevadero de los dinosaurios (short stories)
- 2017: Extraños testimonios (short stories)
- 2007: Historias de hadas para adultos (novellas)
- 2006: La isla de los amores infinitos (novel)
- 2005: El abrevadero de los dinosaurios (short stories)
- 2004: Los mundos que amo (short novel)
- 2003: Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre (novel)
- 2001: País de dragones (short stories)
- 2001: Gata encerrada (novel)
- 1999: Casa de juegos (novel)
- 1998: El hombre, la hembra y el hambre (novel)
- 1994: Confesiones eróticas y otros hechizos (poetry)
- 1990: El abrevadero de los dinosaurios (short stories)
- 1989: La anunciación (film script)
- 1988: Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre (novel)
- 1986: Historias de hadas para adultos (novellas)
- 1983: Amoroso planeta (short stories)
- 1980: Los mundos que amo (short stories)
Awards and Recognitions
- 2022: Winner at Los Mejores de Banco del Libro (Venezuela), for País de dragones.
- 2020: First Place in two categories (Best Popular Fiction and Best Novel Adventure or Drama in Spanish) in the International Latino Book Awards, for Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán.
- 2020: Gold Medal Winner in the Florida Book Awards 2019, for Best Spanish Language Book (USA), for Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán.
- 2017: Special Guest at the 12th North American Science Fiction Convention (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
- 2014: Malinalli National Award 2014 for the Promotion of Arts, Human Rights, and Cultural Diversity (Mexico).
- 2014: Special Guest at the Tabasco University Book Fair (Mexico).
- 2010: International Dublin Literary Award IMPAC Longlist for The Island of Eternal Love.
- 2008: Finalist of the Prix Relay du Roman d'Évasion (France), for L'île des amours éternelles (The Island of Eternal Love).
- 2007: Gold Medal Winner in the Florida Book Awards 2006, for Best Spanish Language Book (USA), for La Isla de los amores infinitos (The Island of Eternal Love).
- 2004: Special Guest at the 25th Conference by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Fort Lauderdale (USA).
- 2003: Goliardos Fantasy International Award (Mexico), for Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre.
- 1998: Azorín Prize for Best Novel (Spain), for El hombre, la hembra y el hambre.
- 1990: Anna Seghers Award, Academy of Arts in Berlin (Germany), for Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre.
- 1989: "La Edad de Oro" (The Golden Age) National Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature (Cuba), for País de dragones.
- 1988: "13 de marzo", Best Literary Film Script (Cuba), for La anunciación.
- 1979: David National Prize for Best SF Book (Cuba), for Los mundos que amo.
See also
In Spanish: Daína Chaviano para niños
