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On November 21st, I will be in Dresden talking about literature. It will take place at CONECTA 2026, the 1st Entrepreneurs' Meeting organized by the cultural association Dresdeñoles. I will present my upcoming project, and we will chat about fascinating insights into the creative process behind my novels and short stories. I invite you to discover what a writer’s life is really like, the challenges faced when crafting a book, and what it truly means to be a self-published aut

PHOTO: @ loewe_bs (www.kochbar.de) Today is International Translation Day, a key moment to remember that literature doesn't cross borders simply by swapping words from one language to another. Translating a novel is actually a cultural reconstruction project, a delicate balancing act where literal fidelity must sometimes yield to the fidelity of meaning, humor, and emotion. Conveying the atmosphere, quirks, and historical context of a book without losing its soul along the wa

We write more than ever. We post, comment, and react. And yet, our reading comprehension is steadily declining. Tomorrow marks International Literacy Day, a milestone event as 2026 marks 60 years since UNESCO first instituted the observance. This year’s official theme, “Literacy for people, planet, and prosperity,” reminds us that providing basic reading skills remains an unfinished task for over 700 million people worldwide. Yet alongside this historic challenge, a paradox h

I’m sure you’ve been there. You’ve just finished a novel that left you mesmerized—or perhaps one that left you completely indifferent—you walk up to your bookshelf or turn on your e-reader, pick your next book, and... nothing. You read two pages and get distracted. You try to focus, but the words float across the page without taking root in your mind. Days pass, weeks pass, and reading shifts from being your sanctuary to becoming a lingering chore that breeds guilt. Welcome t

Publishing for the first time is an act of pure passion. You leap into the unknown driven by the excitement of having created something of your own, but often without a safety net or any real knowledge of the publishing industry. My first foray into this world was no different: I acted on impulse and made the mistake of not submitting my manuscript to the most crucial filter. I paid a significant sum to a literary agent for a reader's report that merely awarded me a 7/10 scor

The Ghost of the Digital Footprint and Learning from Mistakes Writing and publishing recklessly comes at a price, and sometimes the digital bill is a heavy one. In 2023, after finishing a novel born entirely out of raw impulse, I made the mistake of launching it through a co-publishing house that didn't work out, featuring an unstudied cover and a manuscript completely devoid of critical oversight. That hasty edition—born of inexperience and a lack of proper guidance—left a d

The Reality of Self-Publishing Writing a novel is only the beginning of a long, often lonely, and deeply demanding journey. Publishing independently means taking on a multifaceted role that goes far beyond words: you have to manage the design, the layout, the promotion, and every single technical detail. All of that just to end up earning a minimal amount in royalties. Those of us who dedicate ourselves to this heart and soul do so out of sheer vocation, fully aware that maki

Are we selling literature or mere decoration? Yesterday, I saw a simple yet revealing experiment by a Booktoker: Instead of bragging about having read 25 books in half a year —a number that makes me wonder when these people find the time to work or if they even have a life outside of social media—, he decided to read a short excerpt from one of the books he was reviewing. The result was as predictable as it was painful: it was his least-viewed video. This small experiment hit

Severe Autism in Contemporary Literature: The Case of I am BIG In contemporary literature, works such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time have brought us closer to the autism spectrum from a particular perspective, but they often focus on Asperger's Syndrome. I am BIG, on the other hand, invites us to step into the world of Andrea, a teenager with severe autism, overweight, and an unusual height, whose vision of the world is as pure as it is unconventional. H

The Fine Line Between Literary Promotion and Digital Ridicule The other day I stumbled across a video on TikTok that left me with a mix of tenderness and absolute dread. In it, a debut author—who couldn't have been more than twenty years old—was hopping on one leg in her room. Overlaid on the image, a text summarized the drama of our era: 'I thought I was going to get famous by writing a book. And now it turns out that to achieve it I have to act like a fool'. The scene is la

A few days ago, during a Stammtisch —those round tables for debate, coffee, or beer so common here in Germany— I met a guy who embodies the new paradigm of digital "success." When asked what he did for a living, his answer was clear-cut: “I just travel. This year I’ve visited 27 countries. I don’t work; I make a lot of money thanks to Artificial Intelligence. It does everything for me: it manages my communities, my investments, and it writes. I have 300 books published on Ama

There is a very fine line between translating a text and committing a cultural assault. If the previous article explored how a giant cucumber can crash a metaphor, today we venture into even more hostile territory: the boardrooms of film distributors and the offices of museum curators. Those places where it is decided that Spanish, English, or German audiences need reality chewed up for them—even if it means gutting the plot in the process. Title translation is not an exercis

The Danger of Literal Translations Translation is not an exchange of words; it is a transfer of cultures. And when you attempt the former while ignoring the latter, the result is usually catastrophic or, at the very least, ridiculous. Take, for instance, one of our most definitive Spanish expressions: "Me importa un pepino" (literally, I care a cucumber’s worth). As Spanish speakers, we use it quite naturally to declare that something matters to us absolutely not at all. We a

The Color of Destiny: Roots, Symbols, and Literature. To be born on a specific day of the week might be a simple mathematical coincidence or, depending on the culture you look through, a declaration of intent by destiny itself. On a recent trip to Bangkok, I was struck by how all the decorations surrounding the King—flowers, garlands, fabrics—were bright yellow, while every accessory adorning the photographs of the Queen was violet. I asked our tour guide, who provided the ex

September 21st, 2026, is a very special date for me. For the first time, I will be presenting my work in Germany, the country where I now reside and that has welcomed me with such warmth. This event is much more than a simple reading: it represents a new beginning, the end of a metamorphosis that has unfolded over several years, culminating in a more mature and reflective stage of my life. That is why I am so thrilled to have you join me, so you can discover who I was and who