Élmer Mendoza is a Mexican writer, playwright, and journalist, regarded as one of the leading voices in contemporary Mexican fiction. He has also successfully written children’s stories and short fiction, demonstrating remarkable literary versatility.
Born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, he studied Electronic Engineering at the National Polytechnic Institute, but his passion for literature led him to abandon his engineering career and devote himself entirely to writing. He later studied Literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), beginning a trajectory that would make him the first Mexican narrator to accurately portray narco culture in fiction.
He is currently a professor of literature at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, where he teaches reading and writing workshops for children, parents, and aspiring novelists. He is also a corresponding member of the Mexican Academy of Language, the National System of Art Creators, and El Colegio de Sinaloa. Widely recognized as an important mentor to writers and a promoter of reading and culture, he regularly contributes to various newspapers and magazines.
The author of more than a dozen novels, five plays, several short stories, and a work of nonfiction, Mendoza has been acclaimed by both critics and readers. His celebrated detective series featuring “El Zurdo Mendieta” established him as one of Mexico’s great storytellers, earning international recognition and the Tusquets Novel Prize, which positioned him as a key figure in Spanish-language narrative.
Among his many honors are the José Fuentes Mares National Literature Prize, the Sinaloa National Letters Prize, and being a finalist for the Dashiell Hammett Prize.
Critical Reception:
“Élmer Mendoza is a fundamental figure in Mexican narrative. He has forged literary paths through personal experience, local and national history, and an intuition that only his sensitivity could resolve in the creation of his novels.” — Javier Moro Hernández, Desocupado (literary blog)
“Élmer Mendoza has been a breath of freshness and originality in Mexican literature since his earliest books; faithful to his roots in Col Pop, Culiacán, he writes by ear, invents words, gives texture to his texts, and creates endearing characters in whom naturalness and persuasion go hand in hand.” — Mónica Lavín, El Universal México
