Gloria Dünkler

Gloria Dünkler (born 1977) is a Chilean writer, and winner of the 2016 Pablo Neruda Award. She is best known for her poetry, although she also collects folktales.

Biography Gloria Dünkler was born into a large family of artisans, musicians, and fishermen. She studied Pedagogy in Language and Communication at the University of La Frontera in Temuco, and graduated as a Spanish teacher and a licentiate in education in 2003. Later, in 2009, she qualified as a librarian at the Metropolitan University of Technology in Santiago.

The same year of her graduation as a teacher, she self-published her first book of poems, Quilaco seducido. With the second, Füchse von Llafenko , which was released by Ediciones Tácitas in 2009, she won her first major award, the Academy, given by the Academia Chilena de la Lengua. The following collection of poems, Spandau (2012), consolidated her outstanding position in new poetry of her country by receiving the Santiago Municipal Literature Award. In 2015 Dünkler released her fourth poetry collection, Yatagán, and the following year her poetic career was distinguished with the Pablo Neruda Award.

The theme of Dünkler's work deals mainly with the settlement of the first German colonists in Mapuche territory and the contrasts between both cultures and identities. She has participated in numerous literary contests and obtained important recognitions. Dünkler also collects folktales and has been a fellow of the workshop of writer Pía Barros.

Works Quilaco seducido, self-published, Pucón, 2003 Füchse von Llafenko (Zorros de Llafenko), Ediciones Tácitas, Santiago, 2009 Spandau, Tácitas, 2012 Yatagán, Tácitas, 2015

Awards and recognitions First regional place in the 12th Contest of Stories and Tales of the Rural World (FUCOA), 2003 Third place in the 3rd Rural World Poetry Contest, organized by the Agricultural Communication Foundation, Ministry of Agriculture (FUCOA), 2004 First regional prize in the 13th Rural World Stories and Tales Contest (FUCOA), 2005 First prize in the 2007 essay contest of the CFT-UTEM (Metropolitan University of Technology) 2008 Los Puños de la Paloma Award (Santa Fe, Argentina) 2010 Academy Award for Füchse von Llafenko (Academia Chilena de la Lengua) Honorable Mention for the 2010 Santiago Municipal Literature Award for Füchse von Llafenko Fellowship of the , 2011 2013 Critics' Award for Spandau 2013 Santiago Municipal Literature Award for Spandau Fellowship of the National Book and Reading Council, 2013 2016 Pablo Neruda Award