Mónica Ojeda Franco (Guayaquil, Ecuador 1988)

Mónica Ojeda Franco is a writer who is unafraid of taboos. She is the author of a volume of poetry, a short story collection and three novels, the latest of which is Mandibula (‘Jaw’, 2018). Her unflinching depictions of fear and pain, power and vulnerability, perversion and sexual desire encompass new genres that appeal to a younger generation. She writes from various points of view; taking in not only a young person’s perspective, but also feminist, political, social and psychological perspectives. She says things that cannot be said about difficult subjects, including abominable, abject and obscene elements of contemporary society. In 2017, the Bogotá39 named Ojeda one of the best contemporary writers in Latin America under age 40. Ojeda has a degree in Social Communication with a minor in Literature, a master’s degree in Literary Creation, and a second master’s in Theory and Criticism of Culture. She has taught literature at the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil.