Write On! Four Mexican Writers Whose Careers Were Launched At The Writers’ Conference

By Catherine Marenghi

Last month, this column explored the economic and cultural benefits that the San Miguel Writers’ Conference and Literary Festival brings to San Miguel. This month we spotlight four young Mexican writers who got a career boost from the Conference’s Scholarship Program.

Each year the Conference invites local educational institutions to nominate talented young people with an interest in writing. These students receive a full scholarship to participate in Conference workshops, where they strengthen narrative skills and interact with established authors.

Anaclara Muro was a scholarship recipient in 2015 and winner of the National Poetry Contest in 2016. In 2015, Muro won the Bellas Artes Poetry Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Mexico. She is the author of the books Princesas para armar, No ser la Power Ranger rosa, and Electrocauterización, Algo como una llaga.

“I really enjoyed attending the Writers’ Conference because it creates a very intimate atmosphere between renowned writers and those of us who have the privilege of attending the workshops,” Muro said. She will return to the Conference in 2026 as a guest lecturer and will lead poetry workshops. “Being a young writer carries a great responsibility, so it’s always important to ask yourself why you write and what problems you solve. The Writers’ Conference is an ideal space to share that responsibility with other writers.”

In 2016, the Writers’ Conference held its first “Literatura Fest” contest via Twitter and X to award the Digital Microfiction Prize. Ali Rendón was the winner. In 2017, he returned as a scholarship recipient. “The Writers’ Conference gave me the opportunity to engage in dialogues with writers, colleagues, and other literary enthusiasts, dialogues composed of those profound questions made of pure literature and, therefore, of life,” he said. He is author of the novel Lo que escuché mientras caía and the short story collection La realidad con Capacidades Diferentes, as well as two poetry collections: Caja negra aviar and Ring con nada y otros poemas.

Bernardo Govea was a scholarship recipient in 2017. For him, the Writers’ Conference was “a great experience, mainly because of the camaraderie with other writers.” In 2018, Govea was invited to San Miguel to present his children’s storybook, I Have a Duck in My Pocket. He is also author of Death in the Second Person: The Playful Presence of Loneliness and Death in Children’s Literature, The Other Books, Tell Me Lies, and The Braids of My Tree. Govea returns to the 2026 Conference as guest professor and storyteller to inaugurate the Children’s Writing Workshops Program.

“San Miguel holds a very special place in my life,” says Edd Tello. “In 2017, I attended for the first time as a scholarship recipient. I took writing workshops in both English and Spanish, and I felt deeply inspired. In 2020, I participated in the Short Story Contest in Spanish, where I won and also received a scholarship. In 2023, I returned as a volunteer, an experience that filled me with joy because I was able to support such an important event for me, which I will always remember fondly.”

Since then, Tello has published three books with Rosen Publishing, two of which received the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard award and were part of the Conference Bookstore in 2023. His most recent book, Daylan and the River of Secrets, was published in English and Spanish and selected as a Recommended Title for the 2025 Americas Award for children’s and young adult literature.

“Beyond the publishing achievements, I always say that it all started with an email in January 2017, when I was offered that first scholarship. Attending the Writers’ Conference made me believe for the first time that I could be a writer,” Tello said.

The author wishes to thank Armida Zepeda, Spanish Program Director, and Susana Pagano, Spanish Program Assistant Director, of the San Miguel Writers’ Conference and Literary Festival. Both were invaluable contributors to this article.

Catherine Marenghi is an award-winning poet, novelist, and memoirist and has published five books. She has been active in the San Miguel literary community for more than a decade. www.marenghi.com