Gothic and horror fiction often channels social anxiety and historical trauma through unsettling supernatural elements, a signature evident in the translated short story collection Things We Lost in the Fire. Written by Argentine author Mariana Enriquez, these stories explore themes of violence, political memory, and urban despair through contemporary dark fiction. Her work bridges popular culture, journalism, and Latin American gothic traditions to examine everyday horrors alongside the macabre.
Career & Background
Born in Buenos Aires in December 1973, Enriquez earned a degree in Journalism and Social Communication from the National University of La Plata. She began her literary career at a young age, publishing her debut novel Bajar es lo peor in 1995, followed by Cómo desaparecer completamente in 2004. Alongside her fiction writing, she built an extensive career in journalism, working as an editor and deputy editor for the cultural supplement Radar at the newspaper Página/12. Her journalistic work encompasses chronicles, interviews, and essays on popular culture, rock music, and literary profiles such as La hermana menor, a biographical work on writer Silvina Ocampo.
Enriquez's literary profile expanded internationally as her translated works received wide critical acclaim. Her collection Things We Lost in the Fire sold to twenty international publishers before its Spanish edition and won the Premio Ciutat de Barcelona. In 2019, her novel Our Share of Night was awarded the Premio Herralde de Novela. Her short fiction collection The Dangers of Smoking in Bed was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2021, and her collection A Sunny Place or Shady People won a World Fantasy Award. She has also published nonfiction travel writing, including Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave.
Writing Style & Themes
Enriquez grounds horror and gothic tropes directly in the socio-political realities of contemporary Argentina. Her narratives draw upon state violence, economic hardship, poverty, and urban decay, blending ghost stories, occult rituals, and local folklore with dark social realism. Rather than relying solely on fantastical horror, her writing treats historical memory and everyday hardship as central sources of tension.
Her prose style incorporates influences from journalism, rock music, and pop culture, producing precise and resonant dark fiction. Her short stories have appeared in prominent literary publications, including Granta, The New Yorker, Electric Literature, McSweeney's, Virginia Quarterly Review, and Asymptote. Across both short story collections and expansive novels, Enriquez examines body horror, political corruption, and systemic trauma.
Major Works
- Things We Lost in the Fire — A collection of gothic horror short stories addressing political violence, social pressure, and contemporary life in Argentina, which won the Premio Ciutat de Barcelona.
- Our Share of Night — An epic novel combining supernatural occultism, family secrets, and political oppression set against the backdrop of Argentina's military dictatorship, winner of the 2019 Premio Herralde de Novela.
- The Dangers of Smoking in Bed — A short fiction collection exploring urban obsession, macabre encounters, and bodily terror, shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize.
- Bajar es lo peor — Enriquez's debut novel published in 1995, establishing her early work in Argentine narrative fiction.
