Daína Chaviano

Daína Chaviano (born in La Habana, Cuba) is well known for her fantasy and science fiction subjects, that cross even the boundaries of her mainstream texts.

She won her first literary award when she was studying at the University of Havana. While living in her homeland, she published several science fiction and fantasy books, becoming the most renowned and best-selling author for those genres in Cuban literature. She has been equally successful as a writer of fantasy/SF and in mainstream literature, winning various awards in both fields.

Her literary subjects cover mythology, eroticism, ancient history, sociology, politics and magic, all blend in a unique personal style portrayed in poetic and sensual images.

Her most recent novels, belonging to the series «The Occult Side of Havana», are not exactly science fiction. But they display a good amount of magical, fantastic and science fiction elements, resulting in a variety of crossing genres. The four novels in this series are El hombre, la hembra y el hambre (Azorin Award for Best Novel, Spain, Planeta 1998), Casa de juegos (Planeta 1999), Gata encerrada (Planeta 2001), and La isla de los amores infinitos (Grijalbo 2006), whose publishing rigths have been sold to 19 languages. This novel won the Gold Medal (Best Spanish Language Book) in the first Florida Book Awards 2007.

She lives in the US since 1991.

Works

Outside Cuba:

• 2006: La isla de los amores infinitos (novel). Grijalbo, Spain.
• 2005: El abrevadero de los dinosaurios (short stories). Nueva Imagen, Mexico.
• 2004: Los mundos que amo (short novel). Alfaguara, Bogota, Colombia.
• 2003: Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre (novel). Oceano, Mexico.
• 2001: País de dragones (short stories). Espasa Juvenil, Madrid, Spain.
• 2001: Gata encerrada (novel). Planeta, Barcelona, Spain.
• 1999: Casa de juegos (novel). Planeta, Barcelona, Spain.
• 1998: El hombre, la hembra y el hambre (novel). Planeta, Barcelona, Spain.
• 1994: Confesiones eróticas y otros hechizos (poetry). Betania, Madrid, Spain

In Cuba:

• 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

• 2007: Gold Medal Winner (USA) in the Florida Book Awards, for Best Spanish Language Book. La isla de los amores infinitos.
• 2003: Goliardos Fantasy International Award (Mexico). Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre.
• 1998: Azorín Prize for Best Novel (Spain). El hombre, la hembra y el hambre.
• 1990: Anna Seghers Award, Academy of Arts in Berlin (Germany). Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre.
• 1989: National Prize of Children's and Young People's Literature "La Edad de Oro" ("The Golden Age"), Cuba. País de dragones.
• 1988: “13 de marzo” (Cuba). Best Literary Film Script. La anunciación.
• 1979: David National Prize for Best SF Book (Cuba). Los mundos que amo.

External link

• Daína Chaviano's Official Site. English and Spanish.