Latinx Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with P.A. Cornell
What inspired you to start writing?
My parents are avid readers, so they instilled that in me from an early age. We always had lots of books in the house, and they would often read to me. Trips to the public library were frequent, and something I very much enjoyed. By age five I asked where books and stories came from, and my mother explained that there were these people called “writers” who created stories in their imaginations and wrote them down for other people to read. I knew instantly that this was what I wanted to do with my life.
Tell us about your work in 25 words or less.
I frequently blend genres. My stories often include strange occurrences but tend to be character-driven, and more about how these things impact regular people’s lives.
What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it?
I’ve always loved horror and probably came to it more through film than literature. There are a lot of great things about the genre and so many different subgenres within it, but I’d say my favorite type of horror is anything that truly scares me. I’m not that easy to scare, but when it happens, it’s a bonus. It’s chasing that feeling that was the initial draw for me, but of course, horror is also a great way to explore certain themes in a way that other genres can’t do—at least not in the same way. It’s a great lens through which to view the human experience.
Do you make a conscious effort to include LatinX characters and/or themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray?
Yes and no. There are certainly times I’ve deliberately included aspects of my background and culture in my writing when it serves the story I’m trying to tell. I recently wrote a horror story that incorporates Chilean myths, history, and even some personal family lore. In that case, it was very deliberate, but at other times I think it happens in less-conscious ways, simply because my background influences the way I see the world. In terms of incorporating Latinx culture with horror themes and tropes, I feel like it’s a very natural blend. This is partly because, in my experience, our cultures tend to view these things as part of life. For instance, you might be very well-educated and not superstitious at all but still allow space for the possibility of supernatural occurrences. Latinx people keep an open mind, knowing there are things beyond our understanding or that we can’t explain. In my fiction, a lot of strange things happen and often I won’t explain how they “work” because in real life we don’t always have all the answers. And as a Latinx person, I feel like we’re okay with not having all the answers.
What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself?
There are times I’ve written stories I personally didn’t think of as being horror or even dark, only to discover that readers received them as such. So what I’ve learned is that my tolerance for dark themes and horror tropes tends to be pretty high, and I think that has to do with how I was raised. For instance, I was taught to see death as a natural transition, not necessarily as something terrible. Talk of the supernatural was something I was surrounded by from an early age, with no one ever trying to shield me from that because I was too young. I’ve also personally lived through things that are hard or could be seen as traumatic. It’s an experience I’ve come to learn many Latinx horror writers have had, so we don’t shy away from the dark stuff, and I think that’s why our brand of horror has its own unique voice.
How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?
Representation is a big thing. Other than the few years I spent living in Chile, when I was growing up, I didn’t see people like me in media except as stereotypes, and that included horror. There wasn’t much representation for marginalized people, period. So it’s amazing to see how much that’s changed over the decades. These days you can read English-language horror books entirely about Latinx people, and that include Latinx lore or themes, and that’s exciting to me. I hope that will continue into the future.
Time to daydream: what are some aspects of LatinX history or culture – stories from your childhood, historical events, etc — that you really want our genre to tackle? (Whether or not you’re the one to tackle them!)
Like I said, I’m just happy to see people like me in stories these days, so that’s already a win. I don’t know that there are specific stories I want to see tackled, I just want the representations of Latinx people to be genuine, and well-written. And I’d like to see the stories that touch on our experiences be written by those who have lived them. Other than that, I’d love to see more Chilean writers crack the English market, just to have greater access to the wealth of fiction coming out of my birthplace. That said, I’m still thrilled to read the work of writers from across Latin America. Even if their stories aren’t based in my specific culture, there’s an approach and a style that to me feels familiar in the best way.
Who are some of your favorite LatinX characters in horror?
My memory’s terrible so I can’t name specific names, but generally speaking, I love it when writers use well-known legends or lore and make them their own. For instance, taking a character like La Llorona and giving it your own spin. I recently did this with some legends from the northern regions of Chile. There are so many mythical creatures, or monsters that haven’t been written about much and I love to see that in fiction. I especially love it when it’s something new to me and I get to learn about that for the first time.
Who are some LatinX horror authors you recommend our audience check out?
Not that they need my recommendation, but you can’t go wrong with writers like Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Gabino Iglesias. I’m sure their names are familiar to many readers. For me, I’ve also been trying to read more Chilean authors. They can be tough to come by in English, so fortunately I can read Spanish too, but there are many writing genre fiction these days, including horror. I’m especially seeing a lot of women horror writers come out of Chile. People like Francisca Solar, for instance. But even with someone like Isabel Allende, who isn’t known as a horror writer, you’ll still find supernatural elements in some of her work.
What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today?
Don’t be afraid to go dark, or even darker. Don’t be afraid to stretch the limits of weird. Basically, don’t limit your story because you’re afraid of how it will be received, just write the story you need to write.
What is one piece of craft advice you’ve gotten that has really worked for you? Alternatively, what’s one that you’ve happily rejected?
One that has worked for me is to give yourself permission to write something not-so-great. Not every story has to be an award-winner. The quest for perfection can really block you. So I think it’s good to try new things, take big swings, and even risk failing. You can still learn a ton from failure. If nothing else, you exercise that creative muscle. That time is never wasted.
One piece of advice I reject is, “Write every day.” I don’t write daily, and it hasn’t stopped me from being prolific or being nominated for awards. This is really privileged and ableist advice. Not all of us can write every day. If you just write as consistently as you’re able to, that’s enough.
And to the LatinX writers out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?
Don’t let other people dictate the kind of stories you should be telling. Just be genuine to the stories you want to tell, and the way you want to tell them. That’s how you find your voice— And your readers.
P.A. Cornell is a Chilean-Canadian speculative fiction writer. A graduate of the Odyssey workshop, her stories have been published in over fifty magazines and anthologies, including Lightspeed, Apex, and three “Best of” anthologies. In addition to becoming the first Chilean Nebula finalist in 2024, Cornell has been a finalist for the Aurora and World Fantasy Awards, was longlisted for the BSFA Awards and won Canada’s Short Works Prize. When not writing, she can be found assembling intricate Lego builds or drinking ridiculous quantities of tea. Sometimes both. For more on the author and her work, visit her website pacornell.com.