About Pía Barros
Born 1956. Pía Barros is a Chilean writer, university teacher, prose writer, hispanist, feminist and docent.
Pía Barros Bravo (born 20 January 1956) is a Chilean writer, best known for her short stories. She is associated with her country's literary Generation of '80.
Biography Pía Barros left Melipilla, the city where she grew up, "without sorrow", together with "a good girl's destiny and the memory of the mare to which, from the age of seven, she told her poems." She moved to Santiago to study pedagogy in Spanish. There she also attended the workshop of Carlos Ruiz-Tagle (later, she herself would hold a famous workshop), who recommended that she stop "perpetrating poems on defenseless people" and devote herself to narrative. has stood out for her short stories, although she has also written some novels. In addition, she has published some 30 object books with literary material illustrated by prominent Chilean graphic artists, which have earned her the FONDART fellowship on two occasions. She also received a fellowship from the Andes Foundation, with which she wrote the first digitally distributed novel in Chile, Lo que ya nos encontró, and also a writer's fellowship from the .
Her stories have been published in more than 30 anthologies, from countries such as Chile, Germany, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States (some translated by Martha Manier, Diane Russell, Analisa Taylor, Amanda Powell, Jacquline Nanfito, Resha Cardone, and Jane Griffin), France, Italy, Russia, and Venezuela. In Chile, they share a publication with stories by writers such as Roberto Bolaño, Alberto Fuguet, Antonio Skarmeta, Diamela Eltit, and Isabel Allende.
Barros has directed the literary workshop Ergo Sum since 1986. She is also the director of Ediciones Asterión.
She is married to the poet and journalist . They have been a couple since the early 1980s and have two daughters: Abril, a textile artist, and Miranda, a writer.
Works Miedos transitorios (de a uno, de a dos, de a todos), short stories, Ediciones Ergo Sum, 1985 (bilingual English-Spanish edition, 1993) A horcajadas, Mosquito Editores, Santiago, 1990 (bilingual English-Spanish edition, 1992). Contains 14 stories: "Prefiguración de una huella", "Iniciaciones", "Conmiseración", "Olor a madera y a silencio", "Mordaza", "Desfiladero de Iguanas", "Diccionarios", "Duerme", "Artemisa", "Lo había odiado con pulcritud", "Navegaciones", "Trece", "Deshabitados ante la ventana", and "Los pequeños papeles" El tono menor del deseo, novel, Editorial Cuarto Propio, Santiago, 1991 Astride, novel (bilingual edition by Analissa Taylor, 1992) Signos bajo la piel, stories, editorial Grijalbo, Santiago, 1994 Ropa usada, stories, Ediciones Asterión, Santiago, 2000 Lo que ya nos encontró, digital novel, Chilelibro.com, 2001 Los que sobran, stories, Asterión, Santiago, 2002 Llamadas perdidas, minifictions, Thule Ediciones, Barcelona, 2006 La Grandmother y otros, microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2008 El lugar del otro, microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2010 Las tristes, microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2015 Hebras, microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2020
Stories in anthologies "Artemisa", in Andar con cuentos: nueva narrativa chilena 1948-1962, Mosquito Editores, Santiago, 1992 "Baldosas", in Bajo techo, Ministry of Housing and Urbanism, Santiago, 1995 "Muertes", in Salidas de madre, Planeta Chile, Santiago, 1996 "Puertas", in Cuentos: Taller Soffia '84 (Chile, Arcilla, 1984) "El orden de las cosas", in Cuentos chilenos contemporáneos 2000, (LOM Ediciones, Santiago, 2001)
Awards and distinctions Finalist for the 2003 Altazor Award with Los que sobran Finalist for the 2008 Altazor Award with La Grandmother y otros 2011 Altazor Award for El lugar del otro 2015 Lygia Fagundes Telles Award, given during the 8th Conference of Women Writers of Brazil Fellowships from Fondart, Andes Foundation, and National Book and Reading Council
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Important facts
People in Pía Barros's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Pía Barros's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Pía Barros?
Chilean writer
When was Pía Barros born?
Pía Barros was born on 20 January 1956 in Cochina Spring.
What is Pía Barros's occupation?
Pía Barros is a writer, university teacher, prose writer, hispanist, feminist and docent.
What nationality is Pía Barros?
Pía Barros is Chilean.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Pía Barros. https://biography.guide/pia-barros/
MLA: "Pía Barros." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/pia-barros/.
Chicago: "Pía Barros." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/pia-barros/.
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