Famous Argentine Writers

Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentine essayist, poet, short-story writer, and translator. An important figure in Spanish-language literature, Jorge Luis Borges' works have contributed immensely to fantasy and the philosophical literature genre. It is also said that his works, which incorporated themes like labyrinths, dreams, and mythology, marked the beginning of 20th-century Latin American literature's magic realist movement.

Julio Cortázar was an Argentine novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Counted among the founders of a literary movement called the Latin American Boom, Cortázar is credited with influencing a generation of Spanish-speaking writers and readers in Europe and America. He is also regarded as one of the most innovative authors of his time.

Alfonsina Storni was an Argentine playwright and poet of the modernist period. She was one of the first women to find success in the Argentine literature and theater scene, which were dominated by men. Her literary works not only inspired her readers but also inspired other writers. 

Alberto Granado was an Argentine-Cuban doctor, biochemist, scientist, and writer. He is credited with establishing the University of Santiago de Cuba School of Medicine. Alberto Granado was also a traveling companion and friend of Che Guevara. His memoir about the 1952 motorcycle tour with Che inspired the 2004 biopic, The Motorcycle Diaries.

Ernesto Laclau was an Argentine philosopher and political theorist. He is best remembered for his collaborations with Belgian political theorist and long-term partner, Chantal Mouffe. Ernesto Laclau is also remembered for serving as a professor at the University of Essex. 

Initially a physicist and mathematician, Ernesto Sabato did his postdoctoral research at prestigious institutes such as MIT. His articles opposing the Juan Peron government of Argentina in La Nación got him removed from his teaching posts. The Cervantes Prize-winning author is best remembered for his works such as El Túnel.

Argentine-Canadian philosopher, physicist, and educator Mario Bunge is best remembered for his work on social sciences, metaphysics, and the philosophy of the mind. Part of the school of scientific realism, he had published more than 400 papers and was named to Science magazine’s Science Hall of Fame.

Argentine Gestalt psychologist and psychodramatist Jorge Bucay is best known for his bestselling books, such as The Candidate. Starting to work at 13, he has worked a host of jobs, such as that of a taxi driver and a clown. He is also a qualified doctor, specializing in mental illnesses.

Born to German-Jewish immigrants in Argentina, Esther Vilar studied medicine before she moved to Germany to study psychology and sociology. After taking up scores of odd jobs, she soared to international fame with her bestselling book The Manipulated Man, which argues that women aren’t oppressed but control men in relationships.

Argentine author and diarist Adolfo Bioy Casares is best remembered for his collaborations with Jorge Luis Borges. He soared to fame with his short novel The Invention of Morel, which later inspired the movie Last Year at Marienbad. He also won the prestigious Cervantes Prize for Literature.

British-Argentine author, naturalist, and ornithologist William Henry Hudson not just published a number of ornithological studies but also several novels, such as Green Mansions. He criticized Darwinism and was inspired by Samuel Butler’s writings. He was also part of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Argentine author and scriptwriter Manuel Puig soared to fame with his novel Kiss of the Spider Woman, which was later made into a film and a Broadway musical. Many of his scripts won major awards. Some of his books showcased homosexuality as a theme, as he was himself a closet gay.

Initially a member of the Generation of ’37 intellectual movement, Juan Bautista Alberdi opposed Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas and was thus exiled. He later studied law in Uruguay. He is best remembered for his iconic book Bases and Starting Points for the Political Organization of the Argentine Republic.

Argentine poet José Hernández is best known for his long epic poem Martín Fierro. Having spent a part of his life in the pampas, he learned the ways and means of the gauchos and often described them in his works, such as The Gaucho Martin Fierro, a fine work of gaucho poetry.

A central figure in the history of Hispanic-American modernism, Leopoldo Lugones is remembered as much for his contributions towards formation of modern Spanish poetry as for his profound insight into Argentinean history. A well-Known poet-playwright-novelist, literary and social critic, and cultural ambassador, he later involved himself with national and international politics, leaving huge impact on the younger generation of writers.   

Argentine author Roberto Arlt brought in the genre of the novel of the absurd in Argentine literature. He is perhaps best known for his novels such as The Rabid Toy and False Love, and plays such as Three Hundred Million. His works have inspired the "Boom" generation of writers of Latin America.

Ricardo Piglia pioneered hard-boiled fiction in Argentine fiction. Known for his short story collections, such as La invasion and novels such as Blanco nocturno, he also taught Latin American literature at various prestigious universities, such as Harvard and Princeton. He also won several awards, such as the Casa de las Américas Prize.

Argentine poet Juan Gelman was also a left-wing activist and later moved to Mexico, hounded by the military junta. He tragically also lost both his son and his daughter-in-law to the killings by the junta. His poems depicted the socio-political scenario in Argentina and even won him awards like the Cervantes Prize.

Argentine publisher and journalist Jacobo Timerman was imprisoned and tortured for writing extensively on the Argentine military regime's Dirty War and human rights violations. After being sent into exile, he penned his experiences in prisons and house arrest in his memoir, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number.

Poet, author, and activist Esteban Echeverría is known as one of the most prominent figures of Romanticism in Latin American literature. He was also part of the group that launched the May Organization and joined the campaign to end the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas.

Latvian adventurer and hunter Sasha Siemel is best known for hunting down over 300 jaguars that were killing cattle in the Patanal region, mostly using just bows and arrows. He is also known for his books such as Tigrero! and Jungle Wife. He and his wife lived in the Brazilian jungles.

Brilliant storyteller, sharp and ironic thinker and also a master of understatement, Argentinean author Marco Denevi is internationally known as a novelist and short-storywriter. His debut novel, Rosa at Ten O’clock, was translated into several languages and adapted both for stage and screen. However, he had also written several essays and plays; but they never gained that much international exposure.

Argentine-born French author and filmmaker Nelly Kaplan began her career as an assistant of Abel Gance and later worked him on Austerlitz. She won several international awards for her short films, often focusing on women’s issues. She also taught at the Institut des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques.

Born in Argentina and educated in France and England, Argentinean poet Oliverio Girondo traveled back and forth to Europe as a young man, exploring the continent, traveling to find the source of the Nile in Africa. Very soon, he started writing poems that displayed symbolism, an avant-garde imagery and metrical complexity, helping the Ultraism movement to settle down in Argentina.

Argentine journalist and author Tomás Eloy Martínez started as a film critic and then launched various newspapers, such as El Diario de Caracas and Siglo 21. Best known for his novels such as The Flight of the Queen. He was also a human rights activist and also taught at universities, such as Rutgers.

By profession an art critic and journalist, Manuel Mujica Láinez is internationally famous as an award-winning author, whose works highlight a fascinating blend of history and fantasy. A prolific writer, he has authored several historical novels, biographies, chronicles, essays and short stories. Nicknamed Manucho, he is also known for his successful translation of Shakespeare, Molière, Pierre de Marivaux etc.  

Horacio Ferrer was a Uruguayan-Argentine poet, reciter, broadcaster, and tango lyricist. He is best remembered for his collaboration with tango composer Astor Piazzolla; Ferrer contributed by composing the lyrics for many of Piazzolla's tangos, such as Chiquilín de Bachín and Balada para un loco.

Manuel Rojas was an Argentine-born Chilean journalist and writer whose works earned him the prestigious Chilean National Prize for Literature in the year 1957. A respected writer, he served as a professor in the US. In 2012, the Manuel Rojas Ibero-American Narrative Award was established by Chile's National Council of Culture and the Arts to honor his life and career.

Leopoldo Marechal was an Argentine writer best remembered for his work Adam Buenosayres, which is widely regarded as Argentine literature's fundamental novel. Regarded as one of the most prominent Argentine writers of the 20th century, Leopoldo Marechal gained popularity only after the reprint of Adam Buenosayres in 1965.

Argentine author, playwright, and cartoonist Copi initially contributed to his father’s magazine. After being exiled to several countries, due to his father’s political activities, he began his career in Paris. He was also part of the literary groups Tse and Pánico, and created the iconic character La Femme assise.

Hugo Wast was an Argentine script writer and novelist. He is best remembered for his realist novel Stone Desert, which earned him the prestigious National Literary Prize. Hugo Wast also served as the director of the Mariano Moreno National Library from 1931 to 1955.

Ezequiel Martínez Estrada was an Argentine poet, essayist, writer, and literary critic. A well-known and respected biographer and critic, Martínez Estrada was a recipient of several prestigious awards and honors such as the National Prize for Literature and National Prize for Letters. 

For Eduardo Mallea, language was not only a means of communication, but also a vital creative tool. A prolific writer, he has numerous novels, short stories and essays to his credit. Also a cultural critic,, he regularly contributed to La Nación, serving as its editor for some period, being invited to give lectures at many international universities on regular basis.

A member of Tercera Vanguardia generation and a pivotal figure in Argentine poetry, Olga Bronco started writing poems as a student, successfully publishing her early work in the literary magazine, Canto. Olga published her first collection at the age of 26. Marked by a sense of magic and spirituality, her works are noted for exploring a dimension which lied beyond the everyday physical world.

Carlos Maria Dominguez is an Argentine journalist and writer who specializes in literary criticism. Apart from writing novels, biographies, plays, travel chronicles, and short stories, Dominguez has also contributed to the success of popular newspapers like Búsqueda and Brecha. Carlos Maria Dominguez has received several prestigious awards, including the National Essay Prize for his 2002 chronicle Escritos en el agua.

Benito Lynch was an Argentine short story writer and novelist. An eccentric, Lynch spent most of his life with his two unmarried sisters in an old palatial house in La Plata where he wrote quirky short stories which have been dramatized and filmed on many occasions. Benito Lynch also played professional soccer for Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.

Estanislao del Campo was an Argentine poet best remembered for his satirical poem Fausto which was published in 1866. Born into a unitarian family, Estanislao del Campo also fought in the battles of Pavón and Cepeda, defending Buenos Aires' rights. A street and a town in Argentina are named in his honor.

José Mármol was an Argentine politician, journalist, writer, and librarian of the Romantic school. His lyric poems showcase his unique descriptive sensibility. After being in exile for 13 years, Mármol returned to his homeland where he was elected a senator from the province of Buenos Aires. José Mármol is also credited with founding three journals, including the famous La Semana.

Manuel Gálvez was an Argentine poet, novelist, biographer, essayist, and historian. A prolific writer, Gálvez explored a number of genres and styles and produced classics like Historia de arrabal and Nacha Regules. Manuel Gálvez also received a couple of literary prizes for his works, El general Quiroga and Los caminos de la muerte.   

José Narosky is an Argentine writer and notary public. An exponent of aphorisms, José Narosky is best known for his 1975 book Si todos los hombres, which has earned him the José Hernández Prize for Literature. More than 670,000 copies of the book had been sold worldwide as of 2007.

Enrique Larreta was an Argentine writer, diplomat, academic, and art collector. Over the course of his illustrious career, Larreta had received 10 nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. Enrique Larreta also worked as a history teacher at the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires. Many streets in Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, and Segovia have been named in his honor.

Mostly remembered as a translator and essayist, José Bianco was also an important literally critic and served as editorial director of Victoria Ocampo's literary magazine Sur for twenty-three years. He also played an important role in the development of the University of Buenos Aires Press, thus contributing significantly to Argentina's cultural development, concurrently publishing his essays on diverse forums.