Mario Bellatin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mario Bellatin
Bellatin in 2017
Born	Mexico City, Mexico
Education	University of Lima

Mario Bellatin (born July 23, 1960, in Mexico City, Mexico) is a famous Mexican novelist. He writes unique and interesting stories that are known around the world.

Early life and Education

Mario Bellatin was born in Mexico City. His parents were from Peru. Soon after he was born, his family moved back to Lima, Peru.

He studied theology for two years at a religious school called Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo. Later, he graduated from the University of Lima. In 1987, Bellatin moved to Cuba. There, he learned how to write screenplays for movies at the International Film School Latinoamericana.

When he returned to Mexico in 1995, he became the director of Literature and Humanities at the University of the Cloister of Sor Juana. From 1999 to 2005, he was part of the National System of Creators of Art. Today, he leads the Dynamic School of Writers in Mexico City.

Writing Style and Career

Mario Bellatin is known as a very important writer in Spanish fiction. His books are special because they are experimental and fragmented. This means he tries new ways of telling stories. He often mixes real-life events with made-up ones. His writing is known in many countries. His books have been translated into English, German, French, and other languages.

Bellatin was born with a birth defect that affected his right arm. Because of this, many of his characters in his books have physical differences or illnesses.

He once said in The New York Times, "To me literature is a game, a search for ways to break through borders." He likes to show readers how his stories are put together.

Awards and Recognition

Many people see Bellatin as a writer who has brought new ideas to Peruvian literature. Another writer, Alonso Cueto, said that Bellatin is a "master" among young writers who want to write different kinds of realistic novels.

Mario Vargas Llosa, a very famous writer, called Bellatin "one of the most interesting writers that have arisen in Latin America in recent years."

Mario Bellatin has received several important awards:

• Premio Xavier Villaurrutia for his novel Flores in 2000. [1]
• Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002. This is a special award given to talented people in many fields. [2]
• Premio Nacional de Literatura for El gran vidrio (The Great Glass) in 2008. [3]
• Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor for Beauty Salon in 2010. [4]
• Doctor Honoris Causa from the Institute of Critical Studies in 2019.

Selected Works

Here are some of Mario Bellatin's well-known books:

• Flores (Anagrama, 2004)
• The Great Glass (Anagrama, 2007)
• Chinese Checkers, translated by Cooper Renner (Ravenna Press, 2007) ISBN: 978-0-9776162-9-9
• beauty parlor, translated by Ratheesh (DC Books, 2011) ISBN: 9788126429738
• Beauty Salon, translated by Kurt Hollander (City Lights Publishers, 2009) ISBN: 978-0-87286-473-3
• Shiki Nagaoka: A Nose for Fiction, translated by David Shook (Phoneme Media [5], 2013) ISBN: 978-1-939419-02-6
• Jacob the Mutant, translated by Jacob Steinberg (Phoneme Media [6], 2015) ISBN: 978-1939419101
• The Uruguayan Book of the Dead, translated by David Shook (Phoneme Media, 2019) ISBN: 978-1944700119

See also

In Spanish: Mario Bellatin para niños

• Mexican people of Italian descent