María Fernanda Heredia Pacheco (1970) is an Ecuadorian writer and graphic designer famous for her work dedicated to children and young people. Her first steps were in advertising, but then she found her true calling in the lyrics.
Heredia did not intend to dedicate himself to writing. However, he used the lyrics to approximate the problems he faced at one point in his life. Thanks to this approach, she discovered that she was called to practice the literary profession.
María Fernanda Heredia, from Wikimedia Commons
The Quito-born writer said her passion for reading started late, since it happened after the age of 11. Around the same time, María Fernanda Heredia began to keep a journal as a hobby.
He began his career at age 22 with short stories for children. It was not until 2001 that Heredia published his first novel called Amigo is written with H, which was rejected at first, but later became a great success. This work deserved several recognitions to the Ecuadorian author.
Since 2008 Heredia has been a columnist for Hogar magazine with a column aimed at adult audiences. In 2018 María Fernanda Heredia published a book called Let the birds fly, in this work the author compiled 41 of the texts she has written in that space during the last 10 years.
She is one of the most recognized Quito writers today in her area. She has received the Darío Guevara Mayorga National Prize for Children's and Youth Literature, and Heredia also obtained the Norma-Fundalectura Latin American Award for Children's and Youth Literature.
Biography
Early years
María Fernanda Heredia was born on March 1, 1970 in Quito, Ecuador. She is the second of four sisters. She was a very shy young woman who found comfort in writing and reading after the age of 11, when she came across the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
With that book came to Heredia the will to imagine universes in which she was not the same girl she saw in the mirror, but the one she wanted to become. Soon the young woman learned that she could become someone else. Furthermore, she managed to explore her own problems from different perspectives.
The author felt that through writing she could present herself in a more sincere way. Thus, she eliminated the fears that she had when facing society and connected with the depths of her own being to get answers to her doubts, without feeling ashamed when raising them.
He studied at the Colegio La Dolorosa. Later, María Fernanda Heredia attended college at the Metropolitan Institute of Design, located in Quito, Ecuador. It was there that she graduated as a graphic designer, a profession she practiced for ten years in the field of advertising and illustration.
Beginnings in literature
His first contact with literature came formally when Heredia was 27 years old.
At that time, the Ecuadorian wrote Gracias, a story dedicated to her grandfather Fausto in which she expressed everything she thought he needed to know, as she realized that the physical disappearance of her grandfather would be imminent.
In that first work he addressed the feelings generated by the possible loss of one of the fundamental figures in his life.
When he brought it to his editor, he referred to the text as a book for preschool-age children, and Heredia was puzzled, since he had not written for a young audience.
However, the writer realized then that the area in which her performance really stood out was not illustration, but literature. Heredia assured that it was the letters that seized her and not the other way around.
Present
The Ecuadorian author, for more than a decade, has been based in Lima, Peru. From there she dedicated herself to her literary work, she also collaborated in the magazine Hogar since 2008 in a column directed to the adult public.
In 2018 he published Let the birds fly, a compilation of 41 of the columns he has written for Hogar magazine. He assures that he chose those that he felt he would like to remember, that they were full of humor and that, in addition, they left an interesting message, but that the number of articles had no special meaning.
She chose that title because a teacher told her when discovering one of her texts that her head was full of birds, with the intention of ridiculing her when she was a young girl.
Today Heredia is grateful to continue with a lively imagination and the enthusiasm necessary to continue bringing stories to readers around the world.
In another of his more recent works, Los fantasmas have good lyrics, Heredia addressed the issue of child sexual abuse. She explained that sensitive conversations about complex situations must be had in order to be prepared.
Work
Style
In her narration, María Fernanda Heredia uses humor as a bridge to establish a bond with her readers. Although she never had in mind to write for children or young people, her texts seemed aimed at children.
The simplicity in the language and in the metaphors that Heredia chooses to capture his stories are one of the factors of his success among young people. However, she continues to address issues that are sensitive to an audience of any age.
Publications
- Thank you (1997).
- Latin American Prize for Children and Youth Literature Norma - Fundalectura. Awarded by Editorial Norma and the Fundalectura Foundation in 2003 to the novel Amigo is written with H.
- Benny Award, named after Benjamin Franklin. It is assigned by Printing Industries of America (PIA) and awards the world graphic arts in 2003. To the work In case they haven't told you.
- At the edge of the wind Prize, awarded by the Economic Culture Fund for his book Los Días Raros, co-written by Roger Ycaza.
María Fernanda Heredia's books are recommended by various organizations, including the Banco del Libro, the Cuatro Gatos Foundation, Fundalectura, the International Board on Books for Young People and many others that are dedicated to to promote reading in young people.
References
- Santillana, L. (2018). Maria Fernanda Heredia. Loqueleo.com. Available at: loqueleo.com.
- Ecuador., C. (2018). Write and defeat invisibility. The universe. Available at: eluniverso.com.
- The Hour (2018). Interview: María Fernanda Heredia: 'This book is a shout of joy'. La Hora Noticias from Ecuador, its provinces and the world. Available at: lahora.com.ec.
- The Hour (2018). 'Let the birds fly' compiles the best of a decade by María Fernanda Heredia. La Hora Noticias from Ecuador, its provinces and the world. Available at: lahora.com.ec.
- Imaginaria.com.ar. (2018). "I want books to have a meaning beyond reading, that they can transform whoever reads them." Interview with the Ecuadorian writer María Fernanda Heredia. Available at: imaginaria.com.ar.
- Arealibros.republica.com. (2018). The lyrics that are able to interest young people. Available at: arealibros.republica.com.
- Librerianorma.com. (2018). Maria Fernanda Heredia. Available at: librerianorma.com.
- Matavilela. (2018). María Fernanda Heredia: «When I read and when I write there is always a moment when everything hurts». Available at: matavilela.com.
- The universe. (2018). María Fernanda Heredia: May the monsters not take away your joy. Available at: eluniverso.com.
- Imaginaria.com.ar. (2018). María Fernanda Heredia Pacheco won the Norma Fundalectura 2003 Award - Imaginaria No. 91 - December 4, 2002. Available at: imaginaria.com.ar.
- What to Read (2018). María Fernanda Heredia - What to Read.. Available at: queleerlibros.com.