The social communicator and author of the book “La mara”, from the Central University Publishing House, is the winner of the 10th La Cueva National Short Story Award and becomes the first woman to receive this literary recognition.
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The writer and communicator Yulieth Mora was the City of Bogotá District Short Story Award in 2018. / Private archive
How did you experience the issue of the pandemic and confinement? Did you feel that time inspired you to write?
In particular, during the pandemic two of my books were published, and it was very rare, because just at that time my first novel was published, which is called Involuntary Movements, and a book of stories published by the Central University … the year in which I make my first publications, the Book Fair is canceled and they lock us up. It was very unusual, and what I did was keep writing. I felt like it was a change for everyone, but it didn’t affect my writing or my discipline.
At what point was your love for writing born?
I studied Social Communication and Journalism, and I started reading when I started my degree. Then I had the opportunity to attend several of the writing workshops that Idartes ran at the local level, and following those beginnings I realized that there was no other way for me. I began to be very disciplined and I have been in that for the last few years … It has been a long, but enriching process.
What inspires you to write and what is your favorite writing genre?
I have a published novel, called Involuntary Movements, from the Milserifas publishing house. It is very short and talks regarding the absence of the father. He has a style that can be considered poetic, and I also have a storybook called La mara, which was selected for the National Short Story Award. Lately I’ve been working a lot on the genre of the story, because I think it’s what people read the most; I have a lot of respect for him, because it is not easy to write it.
What challenges did starting to explore the world of the short story bring to you and what do you enjoy the most when writing?
When I started writing I didn’t really know what it was, if they were stories, stories or poems, because I’m interested in the hybrid. When I finished for the first time a text seemed more like a story than anything else … About enjoying when writing, I don’t know, I don’t enjoy it. It is something that I am passionate regarding, but writing is very lonely, it is a difficult discipline to maintain, but it is what I decided and it is fine for me.
How did you receive the news that you were the winner of the 10th La Cueva National Short Story Award and how was that experience for you?
I did not expect it, because one sends texts with the idea of releasing them, because you think that it is already finished and that perhaps the text can find a way, but that is always a dream. I did not believe it when they told me and above all I was very surprised to be the first woman to receive this recognition.
What is the biggest challenge of writing in a country that, according to the figures, hardly reads? How do you think the habit of reading can be implemented without it being an imposition?
I didn’t read fit until I got to college. There was a barrier with books, I studied in a public school in Bogotá and the library was closed, it had bars that separated children from books and browsing any book was a complex task. But little by little I started visiting libraries and realized that the library was a safe place for me, where I enjoyed going inside. Then I did writing workshops and started meeting people with my interests. So I think having open spaces is vital. I really admire the work that promoters of reading do in rural areas of the country. It is a great work that is changing the lives of the boys.
What is the importance of recognitions such as the La Cueva National Short Story Award and what do you think of this type of event?
I don’t write to win prizes, I write because I can’t do anything other than narrate. Acknowledgments are welcome, but following all that lasting moments, what you have to do is keep writing.
What projects do you have for 2022?
In February of this year I will be a resident intern at Can Serrat – International Art Residence, in a town called El Bruc in Barcelona (Spain), so I will dedicate myself to writing for a couple of months.
