Alejandra COSTAMAGNA

Alejandra COSTAMAGNA (b. 1970, Santiago) is an active figure in the Chilean literary scene, having facilitated much-acclaimed creative writing workshops at the University of Chile and Catholic University of Chile as well as many other private cultural centers. She has published three novels and one book of short stories, Malas noches (Bad Nights, 2000). Her first novel, En voz baja (A Low Voice, 1996), won the Gabriela Mistral Literary Games Award. Her second novel was Ciudadano en Retiro ( Citizen in Retirement ,1998), and her third novel, Cansado ya del sol (Already Tired of the Sun, 2002), was a finalist in the Planeta Argentina Award in 2000. Many of her short stories have been adapted for theater production and published in anthologies, including Se Habla Español. Ms. Costamagna currently writes book reviews for Santiago Culture Magazine , contributes to the literature section of the Chilean Rolling Stone, and maintains a column in the Journalist. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.