Elena Alonso-Mira

I'm mainly interested in Argentina and Chile even though I'm from Spain I always had a passion for Latin American literature I guess I saw it as a bit more exotic for me and I was always attracted to it and I yeah I did my PhD in Argentinian and Chilean literature but I read literature from all the countries like Colombia and Mexico as well particularly so yeah I have

It's just my passions.

What I mainly read is anything that comes from Latin America, really.

Well, yeah, but I do talk to my family and I'm really thankful that Skype exists and WhatsApp and we're constantly in touch.

And because everyone is home, there's actually more time now to talk to them than there was before.

But I'm obviously worried about them and how...

how terrible things are going there at the moment.

I've been reading a lot of theory just because I have time.

I'm reading at the moment a lot of Timothy Morton, and he talks about hyperobjects.

He has even tweeted that coronavirus is a hyperobject, but people who read him can find out what that is.

And I'm also, of course, reading some fiction because that's what I'm passionate about.

And I'm reading Samantha Schrebling, who is an Argentinian author that also won the International Booker Prize in 2017.

And, yeah, the original title was Distancia de Rescate, which is literally Rescue Distance.

And, yeah, and then I have a few books to read on my shelf.

And this is another Mexican writer.

That's Veronica Gerber.

or Gerber, I think they would be pronounced in English, and it's an empty set and that has been translated as well.

I, yeah, I'm a big fan of Mexican fiction and particularly now, like there are a lot of contemporary novelists that are amazing.

And Fernanda Melchor is one of them.

But yeah, there is a few more such as Valeria Luiselli as well, Yuri Herrera.