Amara Moira

Amara Moira (born 26 February 1985) is a Brazilian writer, literature professor and activist. Moira has a PhD in literary theory from the State University of Campinas and became the first trans woman to obtain the degree from the university using her social name.

Activism and literary production During her doctorate at UNICAMP on the literary production of James Joyce, she began her process of gender transition. She was then 29 years old. She then began working as a prostitute and writing a blog, where she recounted her experiences and those of other colleagues in the profession. This period was the inspiration for the subsequent writing of her book, E se eu fosse puta, released in 2016. Currently, she no longer works as a sex worker, but she supports of the regulation of prostitution in Brazil. In addition, Amara believes that literature is a source of social transformation.

Works

Books 2016 – E se eu fosse puta – Hoo Editora 2017 – Vidas trans: a coragem de existir – co-authored by João W. Nery, Márcia Rocha and T. Brant, foreword by Laerte Coutinho and Jaqueline Gomes de Jesus. Editora Alto Astral 2021 – Neca + 20 poemetos travessos – Editora O Sexo da Palavra 2022 – Y si yo fuera puta – Editorial Mandacaru (translation to Spanish by: Lucía Tennina, Penélope Serafina Chaves Bruera e Amara Moira) 2024 – Neca: romance em bajubá – Companhia das Letras.

Participation in athologies 2019 – A resistência dos vagalumes – participation with the short story Neca, Editora Nós 2021 – Partes de uma casa – Organized by Rafaela Pechansky, foreword by Itamar Vieira Júnior – participation with the short story Luan Ângelo, TAG Experiências Literárias