Shipwrecks, dive bars, possession, and science – this is where contemporary horrors and ancient terrors meet. In Fresh Dirt from the Grave , a hillside is “an emerald saddle teeming with evil and beauty.” It is this collision of harshness and tenderness that animates Giovanna Rivero’s short stories, where no degree of darkness (buried bodies, lost children, wild paroxysms of violence) can take away from the gentleness she shows all violated creatures. A mad aunt haunts her family, two Bolivian children are left on the outskirts of a Metis reservation outside Winnipeg, a widow teaches origami in a women’s prison and murders, housefires, and poisonings abound, but so does the persistent bravery of people trying to forge ahead in the face of the world. They are offered cruelty, often, indifference at best, and yet they keep going. Rivero has reworked the boundaries of the gothic to engage with pre-Columbian ritual, folk tales, sci-fi and eroticism, and found in the wound their humanity and the possibility of hope. Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize (Longlist) "Rivero confidently and credibly gives voice to characters in harrowing situations." ―Publishers Weekly "These are visceral tales of betrayal both personal and societal, some of which cross over into the realm of the uncanny.”" ―Words Without Borders "An intriguing and discomforting set of stories, each with its own particular bite, and more than a twist or two along the way." ―Tony's Reading List ************ Praise for Giovanna Rivero Giovanna Rivero was born in the city of Montero, Santa Cruz, Bolivia in 1972 and is a writer of short stories and novels. She holds a doctorate in Hispano-American literature. In 2004, she studied on the Iowa Writing Program and in 2006 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship that enabled her to take a masters in Latin American literature at the University of Florida. In 2014, she received her doctorate from the same university.​ In 2011, she was selected by the Guadalajara Book Fair as one of the 25 upcoming stars of Latin American literature.She is the author of the books of short stories  Las bestias  (1997, Premio Municipal Santa Cruz),  Contraluna  (2005),  Sangre dulce (2006),  Niñas y detectives  (2009),  Para comerte mejor  (2015, Premio Dante Alighieri 2018) and  Tierra Fresca de su Tumba (2021, published by Charco as  Fresh Dirt from the Grave , 2023). She has also published the books for children  La dueña de nuestros sueños  (2005), which received the Premio en Cuentos Franz Tamayo, and  Lo más oscuro del bosque  (2015, recommended book of the year by the Bolivian Academy of Children’s Literature). She has published four novels:  Las camaleonas  (2001),  Tukzon  (2008),  Helena 2022  (2011) and  98 segundos sin sombra  (2014, made into a feature film by Bolivian director Juan Pablo Richter and forthcoming from Charco Press as 98 Seconds Without a Shadow ). Her literary work, which moves between horror and science fiction, is regarded as an immense contribution to the renewal of the genre in Latin America. Isabel Adey is a translator (Spanish and German to English) and editor based in Edinburgh. She has taught translation at the postgraduate level and has been translating professionally since 2011. Former winner of the Goethe-Institut Emerging Translators’ Program, she has a passion for unusual books that deal with cultural identity, women’s rights, and migration. Her debut translation of Marc Raabe’s novel_Homesick_ (Zaffre Publishing) appeared in 2018. She has also translated  December Breeze  (Europa Editions, 2022) by Colombian writer Marvel Moreno, in collaboration with Charlotte Coombe.