Spanish Women Writers

Known for her roles in the popular television series like Locked Up and in films like Isla Bonita and Lejos del mar, Olivia Delcan is a popular Spanish actress, who is proficient in English, Spanish and Catalan. An alumnus from William Esper Studio (Manhattan) and William Layton Studio (Madrid), she also wrote and directed a play entitled About Last Night

Spanish countess and novelist Emilia Pardo Bazán had initially gained fame with the essay The Critical Issue. She was an advocate of naturalism and free will. Known for novels such as The House of Ulloa, she also taught Romance literature and was divorced by her husband because of her literary success.

Franciscan abbess and spiritual-writer María de Agreda was a noted mystic of her era. She served as the spiritual and at times political advisor to King Philip IV of Spain for over two decades and is best-known for the correspondence she had with the King besides reports of her bilocation. She penned 14 books, including the most notable Mystical City of God.    

Legendary Galician poet Rosalía de Castro was a significant figure of the Galician Romantic movement and mostly wrote on themes such as nostalgia and melancholy. She had also written quite a few novels but remains best known for her poetry collections such as Cantares Gallegos and Follas novas.

Corín Tellado held a Guinness World Record for selling the most titles in the Spanish language. The author of over 4,000 titles, Tellado specialized in romance novels and photonovels. She included feminist elements, such as working women, and also penned several erotic novels under the pseudonym Ada Miller.

Spanish writer Ana María Matute is counted among leading novelists of the posguerra. A member of Real Academia Española, Matute’s rich body of work, including novels like Fiesta al noroeste and short stories like El árbol de oro, helped her become the third woman to receive the Cervantes Prize. She also received Premio Nadal for the novel Primera memoria.

María Zambrano was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. She was part of the Generation of '36, a group of writers and artists who were active during the Spanish Civil War. María Zambrano's work achieved popularity in the late-20th century and she was honored with several prestigious awards such as the Miguel de Cervantes Prize and the Prince of Asturias Award.

Premio Nadal-winning Spanish author Carmen Laforet is remembered for developing Spanish Existentialist literature. Best known for her first and most popular novel, Nada, she used the tremendismo narrative in her works. Suffering from Alzheimer's disease in later years, she eventually lost the ability to speak.

Federica Montseny was a Spanish intellectual and anarchist. She is best remembered for her service as the Minister of Health and Social Policy from 4 November 1936 to 17 May 1937. One of Western Europe's first female ministers, Federica Montseny was also known as an essayist and novelist. 

Spanish Catalan novelist Mercè Rodoreda is best remembered for her novel The Time of the Doves. While she had initially begun writing to escape her unhappy marriage, she took it up as a serious career while in exile in France and Switzerland after the Spanish Civil War.

María de Zayas was a Spanish author who was active during Spain's Golden Age of literature. Many modern critics consider her one of the pioneers of modern literary feminism. She highlighted the multiple issues faced by women through the female characters in her stories. She was a much-respected writer. Not much is known about her personal life. 

Carmen Martín Gaite graduated with romance philology when it was rare for women to attend universities. The Premio Nadal-winning author is best remembered for her iconic works such as Entre visillos and El balneario. She was also one of only two female Spanish Royal Academy members back in her time.

Elena Santiago was a Spanish writer best remembered for writing novels, children's literature, and short stories. Over the course of her career, which spanned more than four decades, Elena Santiago received several prestigious awards like the Rosa Chacel Award, the Castile and León Award for Letters, and Novelas y Cuentos Award.

Planeta Prize-winning Uruguayan poet Carmen Posadas is best known for her internationally popular novels and children’s books. Born to a diplomat, she traveled around the world with her father, as a child. An Oxford drop-out, she later soared to fame with books such as Five Blue Flies.

Born into an affluent family, Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza, remembered for her mystical poetry, lost her parents as a child. She later took her vows and also established a Jesuit college with the fortune her parents left her. She came under suspicion during the Gunpowder Plot and was imprisoned, too.

Rosario de Acuña was a Spanish author best remembered for writing poetry, short stories, essays, and dramas. Regarded as a bold freethinker and a controversial writer, Rosario de Acuña created quite a stir with her controversial dramas and poems. She is known to have voiced her opinion on many sensitive subjects, such as religion, civil marriage, and illegitimate births.

Josefina Plá was a Spanish-born Paraguayan dramatist, poet, historian and sculptor, who yielded great influence on the 20th century Paraguayan culture. Gaining fame for her earliest poems like El precio de los sueños, she began operating a radio theater for the soldiers in the field during the Chaco War and later wrote many historical works including El barroco Hispano-guaraní .