Since I’ve just recently hit a new milestone (11 published speculative fiction translations, with another 1 on the way!), I thought I’d highlight each of my published translations so far and why I love them. (I’ve also included the corresponding submission stats, for the curious.)
Based on my statistics for these translations, it usually takes me 15 or 16 tries to find a home for a story over ~1.5 years, with an average of 2 or 3 personal rejections and fewer than 1 hold per story.
MY PUBLISHED TRANSLATIONS
(In order by story title)
- History of a Piano in Spacetime by Isis Aquino 🇩🇴 (published in MAYDAY Magazine, 2023)
[FULL TEXT AVAILABLE ONLINE]
This translation was my first collaboration with Isis. The original Spanish-language version of this story received Honorable Mention in the 4th annual Supraversum contest for fantasy and science fiction stories. It’s been over 10 years since a literary agent told me that it’s hard to write music magic well, and ever since, I’ve been on the lookout for stories that prove him wrong. As someone who comes from family that has passed down a single clarinet across generations, I adore the concept of a piano witnessing past, present, and future of the Dominican Republic.
Submission stats: 37 submissions over 2.5 years (5 personal rejections) - Imilla by Vania T. Curtidor 🇪🇸 (published in Constelación Magazine, 2021)
[FULL TEXT AVAILABLE ONLINE]
Vania’s story was my very first published translation, and it appeared in the beloved, now-defunct Constelación Magazine (which simultaneously published the Spanish-language version of this story, too). I love how Vania immediately crafts an atmosphere of heartbreak and mystery as “Imilla” opens, transporting me back to when I lived and taught in South America. “Imilla” is infused with a deep layer of quiet peace and love that moved me to tears as I translated. Our collaboration in Constelación even received a shout-out in Reactor‘s list of “Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction: January 2021“!
Submission stats: N/A - An Interview with the Heroine of the Marianas by David Mancera 🇪🇸 (published in Cosmorama, 2024)
[FULL TEXT AVAILABLE ONLINE]
This story was my second collaboration with David. The Spanish-language version first appeared in the anthology Misterios entre las olas (2021) from Ediciones Dorna. I was immediately intrigued by the protagonist, the reporter Lana Sánchez. I found myself pulled deeper and deeper into the story as David adds layers on the world-building while Lana journey to the titular Heroine of the Marianas to interview her—and discover a deep, dark secret. I love this story because, at its core, it’s a story of defiant optimism.
Submission stats: 17 submissions over ~1.5 years (2 personal rejections, 1 hold) - Lamia by Cristina Jurado 🇪🇸 (published in Apex Magazine, 2022)
[FULL TEXT AVAILABLE ONLINE]
When I first read Cristina’s story, I was unfamiliar with the myths and legends about the titular creature. “Lamia” opens with an intimate energy, as if you’re about to be told a deep, dark secret—and it doesn’t disappoint. I love it! Cristina’s Lamia is young woman who knows hunger, whose family has been plagued by hardship, who thinks she might finally have found happiness when she encounters her future husband. The story takes a dark turn when she dies during childbirth, learns her husband wasn’t who he’d thought. When she’s brought back to life, Lamia’s thirst for vengeance has (completely understandably) turned her into the monster of folklore and legend. This story was originally published in Spanish by Tinta Púrpura Ediciones in the anthology Monstruosas (2019), and Cristina included my translation of “Lamia” in the updated edition of her collection Alphaland in 2023.
Submission stats: N/A. - My Rainy Season Diary by Antonio A. Huelgas 🇲🇽 (published in Merganser Magazine, 2025)
[FULL TEXT AVAILABLE ONLINE]
I love how the opening of this story yanks you into a world devastated by climate change, immediately confronting readers with the human consequences of apocalyptic flooding. This story is told through a child’s diary entries and follows one family’s struggle to survive as insanity, death, and the floodwaters seep ever closer. As a fan of unusual story-telling formats, I really enjoyed working on this translation. The Spanish version of this dystopian science fiction story was published by Revista Mordedor in 2021.
Submission stats: 23 submissions over ~1.5 years (4 personal rejections, 2 holds) - Seven by Gisela Lupiañez 🇦🇷 (published in Dark Dead Things, 2024)
I’ve read a lot of Snow White retellings, but I’ve never read a fantasy-horror one like Gisela’s. A member of the Spanish speculative fiction society Pórtico recommended her anthology Estamos llegando (2020), and this story was my favorite in the collection. It’s rather dark
— the seven dwarves are sadists, and Blancanieves (Snow White) is rotting away — but the narrative is compelling. You can’t help but want to know whether the poor Prince will escape his horrific predicament.
Submission stats: 6 submissions over ~3 months (1 personal rejection) - The Three Tests by David Mancera 🇪🇸 (published by Futura House, 2023)
This was the first translation I worked on with David. I love the slow burn of this Scheherezade-esque story, and how artfully David introduces, presents, and weaves together the distinct tales within it. The imagery is delightful (and, in some cases, terrifying!), and the narrative is spell-binding. The Spanish-language version of this story was a finalist for Domingo Santos prize in 2021, and Ediciones El Transbordador printed it in 2021.
Submission stats: 27 submissions over ~1.5 years (4 personal rejections, 1 hold) - Through the Crimson Forest by David Mancera 🇪🇸 (published in Vivid Worlds by Slab Press, 2025)
This solarpunk fantasy was my third published collaboration with David, who has a knack for writing slow-burn stories with embedded narrative structures. I love the vivid imagery in this story, particularly Ouma Bootshou’s recollection of peering into the mouth of a dormant volcano and the strange encounters both Ouma Bootshou and T’shamiie have with mysterious beings. This story follows a tribe trying preserve its nomadic lifestyle in a world ravaged by colonization and climate change. The Spanish-language version of this story was originally published in the anthology Corrientes de cambio in 2023 by Ediciones Dorna.
Submission stats: 11 submissions over ~1.5 years (2 personal rejections) - The Train by Isis Aquino 🇩🇴 (published in Extrasensory Overload: An anthology of speculative excess by Angry Gable Press, 2024)
This story was my second published collaboration with Isis, and the original Spanish-language version appeared in her collection Relatos de la Tierra y sus Colonias (2020). “The Train” is a very short story, and I enjoyed how Isis shifts the atmosphere in it from calm and lulling to dark and horrific while connecting two seemingly disparate narratives and sets of characters. It’s a fun piece of flash fiction with an unusual narrative structure!
Submission stats: 9 submissions over ~2 years (2 personal rejections) - Trophic Catharsis by Rafael Díaz Gaztelu 🇪🇸 (published in Triangulation: Energy by Parsec Ink, 2022)
I love stories told with unusual formats, and it’s even better when those stories are told as found footage that makes me laugh. The documentary about humanity learned to photosynthesize is immediately interrupted by several commercials that set the stage, presenting readers with a ravaged Earth—as seen through the corporate lens. When the documentary resumes, it features interviews with characters such as the author of the fictional book Alimentocracy, someone holding the title “Grand Sandwich of the Historic Lodge of the Salthead Cabal”, and—of course—more commercial breaks. Rafa’s hilarious solarpunk tale was originally published in SuperSonic Magazine (2019).
Submission stats: 18 submissions over ~1.5 years (3 personal rejections) - The Word Thief by Silvina Palmiero 🇦🇷 (published in OTHER: the 2024 speculative fiction anthology by Bannister Press, 2024)
Silvina’s story opens with a mystery (where are the words going?!) and the majesty of the Andes. I love how relatable the protagonist is in this story. I, too, struggle with finding the right word (particularly when I’m trying to pick the right colloquialism or find the most precise way to translate a word while still preserving the author’s intended meaning). I, too, struggle with perfectionism and being too hard on myself. I’ll never forget the first time the Andes stole my breath away, or how much I loved frequenting the numerous small bookstores and second-hand booksellers of Buenos Aires when I lived there. That said, you don’t have to have visited Buenos Aires to appreciate how skillfully Silvina crafts a cozy atmosphere of nostalgia interwoven with mystery as the protagonist searches for the titular Word Thief. The Spanish-language version of this story first appeared in Revista Mordedor in 2021.
Submission stats: 8 submissions over ~1 year (1 personal rejection, 3 holds)
COMING SOON:
- The Arrendatario by Susana Calvo 🇪🇸 (coming soon in Salvage Magazine!)
Winner of the first El Yunque de Hefesto prize for science fiction, Susana’s story is a compelling story set in a world where the wealthy rent out the bodies of those in lower social classes to play at being poor for a day. Hoping to be able to afford to spend more time with her baby daughter, the protagonist rents out her life—and comes up with a way to break the unfair social system keeping her trapped in poverty. Like I said before, I love tales of defiant optimism, and I’m so excited that you’ll be able to read this one soon!
Submission stats: 15 submissions over ~1 year (2 personal rejections)
I’m currently shopping around 10 speculative fiction translations (2 of which have been held for further consideration at two very exciting publications!) and I’m in various stages of the drafting/editing process for several more.
I hope you’ll have the chance to read more of my beloved translations soon!
MOLO WRITES 