Paula Marabot
The Metamorphosis of a Voice
THE SEED OF THE WORD
My story does not begin with a published book, but with a young girl from Cádiz who, amidst hand-drawn covers, was already trying to decipher the world through stories. This narrative drive led me to Seville, where I earned my degree in Journalism. In 2001, my entrepreneurial spirit led me to create my own firm, a business consultancy with a strong public image and meticulous marketing work, which I balanced with other ventures in the world of art and communication. For years, I held senior roles such as editor-in-chief of press and editor for news and other television programs.
However, literature was always my 'alternating current.' In 2003, my work received its first public endorsement: a runner-up prize at the II Poetry and Short Story Contest held by the Municipal Women's Foundation (Cádiz) for the collection 3 historias de mujer (3 Women's Stories). That award led to my inclusion in the exhibition Women of the 21st Century, highlighting my profile as a journalist and emerging writer. Yet life, with its demands, forced me to tuck my pen away in a drawer, under the promise of: 'I’ll write when I retire'.
THE BIRTH OF PAULA MARABOT
The 2020 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, but in my case, it accelerated the soul. Amidst uncertainty and unemployment, that 'wave of creativity' held back for years broke through with force. From those months of confinement and silence, my first two novels, Soy grande and Sonrisas invisibles, emerged alongside a compilation of my poetic work.
It was the birth of Paula Marabot. It was more than just a pen name; it was a necessary identity to separate the business consultant and the journalist from the woman who, finally, dared to show her vulnerability. That first edition, now a discontinued cult-status Collector's Pack, was the first step on a path from which there would be no turning back.
FEATURED INTERVIEW
Discussing the creative process of Soy Grande on Tele Puerto Real (2023). An interview where we delved into the key themes of this work shortly before my move to Germany.
LETTING GO TO BECOME
In 2023, after years of struggling as a freelancer in a labor market that often overlooks the value of female experience over 40, I made the most radical decision of my life: emptying the container to fill the essence.
I donated my books, gave away my belongings, and with just a small suitcase and a gym bag, I moved to Germany. It wasn't an escape, but a quest for freedom. After a period of learning and adaptation in Berlin, I found my place in the region of Saxony.
THE PRESENT: MATURITY AND CALM
Today, my life in Germany as a Spanish teacher has given me a writer’s most precious asset: time. From the tranquility of my current home, my stories have gained depth and perspective. I have returned to ambitious projects, such as a novel set in the Middle Ages, approached with a much more mature and serene outlook.
My journey is proof that it is never too late to rewrite the script of your own life. I write because I have lived, and I write now because, finally, I have learned to listen to my own voice.
Together against the horror
Collaborations
On October 25, 2003, a boat overcrowded with people from Morocco capsized on the reefs off the coast of Rota (Cádiz). Thirty-seven of them drowned just as they were about to reach the shore.
The tragedy of this undocumented immigration led a group of writers to publish, three years later, Cuentos sin papeles (Tales Without Papers), a collective work that shows the plight of those people. The book was published for charitable purposes, with the proceeds from its sale going entirely to the families of those who knocked desperately on our door and received only death in return.
My contribution was one of my prize-winning short stories, El hijo de las olas (The son of the waves), which rawly narrates that journey by boat. This one will be included in a collection of short stories that I will publish in the near future.