translated from Spanish: “Against literary machismo”: criticizing the Biennale of novel Vargas Llosa for little female participation

The letter titled “Against Literary Machismo” was signed by more than a hundred personalities of the Literatu RA of the Iberoamerican Publishing world, who protested for the lack of writers nominated for the prizes of the third biennial of novel Mario Vargas Llosa, which will be held from 27 to 30 May in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“It is unacceptable that in the twenty-first century, in the midst of a wave of demands for equality, a event like the biennial of novel Mario Vargas Llosa is organized without a gender perspective”, describes the letter signed by Rosa Montero, Claudia Piñeiro, Mariana Enríquez, Juan Villoro , among others.
The award celebrating its third version is organized by the Vargas Llosa chair, the Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library Foundation, the Spanish Cultural action (AC/E) and the University of Guadalajara Foundation. For each organizer will be held various meetings and conferences, which also deliver a literary prize.
In this regard, the letter also criticizes that in the panels there are only three women in front of 13 men; There is one author among the five finalists of the prize; Besides, four of the five jurors are men.    
“Thanks to the struggle that women have long held for their rights, we can finally discover many writers who were erased from the history and literary canon, Denostadas, Ninguneadas or silenced,” says the text.
“As writers, authors and people linked to publishing, we cannot keep silent or face the invisibilization of the authors or against sexual harassment and abuse that are also part of the status quo of the letters, as revealed by the recent # MeTooEscritoresMéxicanos”.
Among the signatories are María Fernanda Ampuero, Nuria Barrios, Mario Bellatin, Juan Cárdenas, Liliana Colanzi, Alejandra Costamagna, Aixa de la Cruz, Sabrina Duque, Diamela Eltit, Mariana Enriquez, Cristina Falla, Nona Fernández, Laura Freixas, Margarita García Robayo, Mauro Libertella, Lucía Lijtmaer, Fernanda Melchor, Lina Meruane, Luna Miguel, Emiliano Monge, Guadalupe Nettel, Andrés Neuman, Mónica Ojeda, Iván Repila, Silvia Sesé, Samanta Schweblin, Clara Usón and Jorge Volpi.

Original source in Spanish