A book of Liliana Colanzi won the Ribera del Duero prize, rewarding the best short stories from Latin America and Spain, for his book “Ustedes Brillan en lo Oscuro” (“You shine in the dark”).

The award comes with a cash prize of 25,000 euros.

Colanzi, assistant professor of Romance Studies at the College of Arts and Sciences, is the author of two previous collections of short stories – “Vacaciones Permanentes” and “Nuestro Mundo Muerto”. Colanzi won Mexico’s Aura Estrada literary prize in 2015 and was named one of the best Latin American writers under 40 by the Hay Festival Cartagena in 2017.

“Ustedes Brillan en lo Oscuro” is a speculative book that addresses the issues of deep time and nuclear waste.

“Congratulations to Liliana for winning this prestigious award,” said Derk Pereboom, Senior Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities at A&S. “I have enjoyed and enjoyed her stories very much, and it is wonderful for her and for all of us at Cornell that she has been honored with this award.”

Colanzi edited “La Desobediencia, Antología de Ensayo Feminista” in 2019 and was co-editor of the 2018 volume “Latin American Speculative Fiction” with Debra A. Castillo, Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow and Emerson Hinchliff Professor of Hispanic Studies (A&S). Colanzi also co-edits the volume “Horror and the Supernatural in Latin America”, which will be published in 2022 by Hispanic Issues. She is the editor of the independent literary press Dum Dum editora in Bolivia.

Colanzi spoke about his nominated book at the Event “Arts Unplugged: Science of the Very, Very Small” March 9; the event can be viewed on the eCornell website.

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.