Raúl Aguiar Álvarez

Writer. Bachelor's degree in Geography from the University of Havana.

Currently works as a professor of narrative techniques for young writers at the "Onelio Jorge Cardoso" Literary Training Center.

Has published La hora fantasma de cada cual, (novel), David Prize 1989, Editorial Unión, 1994; Mata (novella), Pinos Nuevos Prize 1994, Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1995; Editorial Unicornio, 2004), Daleth, (short stories), Luis Rogelio Nogueras Prize 1993, Editorial Extramuros, 1995 and Realidad virtual y cultura ciberpunk, Abril Prize 1994, Editorial Abril, 1995 and La estrella bocarriba (novel), Editorial Letras Cubanas, 2001 and Figuras (short story), Julio Cortázar Ibero-American Short Story Prize 2003, Editorial Letras Cubanas 2003. Anthology "Escritos con guitarra. Cuentos cubanos sobre el rock", selection and introduction co-authored with José Miguel Sánchez (Yoss) Ediciones Unión, 2005. Publication of the novella "La guerre n'est pas finie", MEET Editorial, Les bilingues collection, Saint Nazaire, France.

His short stories have also appeared in numerous anthologies from Cuba and abroad such as Los últimos serán los primeros, Recurso extremo, Contactos, Fábula de Ángeles, El ánfora del diablo (Mexico), UNEAC Yearbook 1994, El cuerpo inmortal (Cuban Erotic Stories), Toda esa gente solitaria (Cuban Stories about AIDS) (Spain), Aire de Luz, Polvo en el viento (Argentina) "Bersi la morte. 10 racconti cubani di fine millennio", by Baldini & Castoldi editorial, Milano, Italy, and others, as well as stories, book reviews, articles and literary essays in the magazines Muchacha, La Gaceta de Cuba, Casa de las Américas, Letras Cubanas, Juventud Técnica, Revista del libro cubano, Exégesis (Puerto Rico), Camión de ruta (Peru) and others.

Cultural promoter and literary advisor. Casa de la Cultura Roberto Branly, (Patio de María), Rock Against AIDS Project. Plaza Municipality, 1994.

Cultural promoter, Cuban Book Institute, San Isidro neighborhood project, Old Havana. (1997). Project "The Book in the Mountains", teaching reading workshops in different communities in the mountains of central and eastern Cuba.

Analyst of cultural activities, Literary producer of the television program "Entre libros" Cuban Book Institute, (1998-1999)

Reading promoter in different communities of Amazonas and Monagas states, Venezuela, during August, September and October 2007, teaching courses on reading, film screenwriting, history of literature and narrative techniques.

Has given numerous lectures and presentations on different aspects of current Cuban literature at universities, international book fairs and artistic-literary congresses in Cuba, France, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Venezuela. He is a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC).

What stands out above all in Aguiar's work is his excellent structure, the capacity for description of situations and environments and the psychological development of his characters. The author, in a language full of mythopoetic keys, establishes a very special congruence with cyberpunk culture. His style is harsh, of great realism, at times Joycean. It is an enhanced world, created from the perspective of dimensions characterized by their dualism: myth and the everyday, the virtual and the real.

Has won numerous mentions and literary prizes in Cuba, among which are:
-Mention in the Science Fiction category in the "David" Contest of 1984;
-2nd Prize in the Science Fiction Contest of Juventud Técnica Magazine, 1986;
-"Pinos Nuevos" Prize 1994; "Luis Rogelio Nogueras" Prize 1993, "Abril" Prize 1994.
- Julio Cortázar Ibero-American Short Story Prize 2003, for his work Figuras.

Has served as a judge in numerous important literary prizes and contests in the country.

Published Works:
Has published short stories in numerous anthologies from Cuba and abroad such as Los últimos serán los primeros, Recurso extremo, Contactos, Fábula de Ángeles, El ánfora del diablo, UNEAC Yearbook 1994; El cuerpo inmortal (Cuban Erotic Stories); Toda esa gente solitaria (Cuban Stories about AIDS); short story "Sustitución" in the anthology Polvo en el viento. Anthology of Cuban Science Fiction, Editions of the Mobilizing Institute of Cooperative Funds, Buenos Aires, Argentina; the short stories "Num" and "Alicia" in the anthology Bersi la morte. 10 racconti cubani di fine millennio, by Baldini & Castoldi editorial, Milano, Italy. Publication of the short story "BTH" in Casa de las Américas magazine, n. 215, 1999; the short story "Hoguera" in the anthology Aire de Luz. Cuban Stories of the Twentieth Century, from Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1999, as well as in the magazines Muchacha, La Gaceta de Cuba, Letras Cubanas, Juventud Técnica, Exégesis (Puerto Rico), Camión de ruta (Peru); and others.

Has published the books:
La hora fantasma de cada cual, Ediciones Unión, 1995;
Mata, in the Pinos Nuevos collection of Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1995;
Realidad Virtual y Cultura Ciberpunk, by Editorial Abril, 1995;
Daleth, in Ediciones Extramuros, 1996
La estrella bocarriba, (novel). Letras Cubanas, 1999.