Project Description
HermanasGisela Antonuccio
Argentina / Mexico
Gisela Antonuccio was born in 1975 in Buenos Aires. A Journalism graduate from the University of Salvador, she has over two decades of experience as a writer and journalist. She was Chief Editor for the Italian news agency ANSA in Latin America and is a regular contributor to La Nación, Argentina’s leading newspaper. Living in Mexico for more than a decade, she has created original content for streaming, including the podcast Crímenes Por Arte and the HBO Max documentary Muxes. Her work has also appeared in Clarín, Milenio and Vogue. Praised by Tomás Eloy Martínez and Julio Ortega (Brown University), she received the Casa del Escritor Award of the Ministry of Culture of Buenos Aires for her debut novel La Hija. Her second novel, Hermanas—shortlisted as Las tardes a oscuras—was a finalist for the Premio Clarín de Novela.
© Mireia Rodríguez//
Sisters
In her novel Sisters (“Hermanas”), which draws on autobiographical elements, Gisela Antonuccio tells the story of two unequal sisters in Argentina at the turn of the millennium. Vanesa is the adopted daughter of a middle-class Italian couple. When she is three years old, the couple has a biological daughter, Lorena, who not only suffers from various health problems but also turns out to be the more challenging child in other aspects. The older sister, very obedient and rule-oriented, soon becomes the true caretaker and educator of Lore, as both parents spend their days away from home in pursuit of prosperity for the family. This tightens the bond between the sisters. However, when Lore reaches puberty, conflicts erupt, and Vanesa finds herself powerless against her sister’s verbal and physical attacks. The question of her own identity increasingly takes center stage. Vanesa leaves for Italy with a scholarship in search of her roots, while Lore deviates further from the path and even seeks treatment multiple times for her drug addiction. Despite all their outward distance, the sisters remain connected and ultimately reunite in a consolidated relationship, with the possibility of newfound happiness.
Antonuccio narrates this poignant story, written in concise prose, from the immediate perspective of experience. In brief chapters, she immerses Vanesa into the recalled scenes, giving them intense presence and significant psychological authenticity. The conflict with her sister and the feeling of being lost evolve into existential questions about one’s place in the world.
Sisters is the construction of two possibilities of being in a story, of the bifurcation of paths to find each other again, of love, finally, unconditional. With concise and forceful prose, Gisela Antonuccio creates a moving story of surrender, forgiveness and roots.
RIGHTS
NOVELS
Sisters (“Hermanas”)
Mexico City: Hachette 2024, 303 p.
The Daughter (“La hija”)
Buenos Aires: Norma 2008, 120 p.
Third prize from Casa del Escritor of the Secretaría de Cultura de Buenos Aires 2008. Jury composed of Martín Kohan and Tununa Mercado
PARTICIPATION IN ANTHOLOGIES
New Latin American Short Story (“Nuevo Cuento Latinoamericano”) (eds. Julian Ortega)
The Prize (“El premio”)
Madrid: Marenostrum 2009
Storytelling Competition for Young Narrators “Haroldo Conti”
Visits (“Visitas”)
Buenos Aires: Secretaría de Cultura del Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires 2009
Honorable mention in the Haroldo Conti Contest. Jury composed of Daniel Guebel, Guillermo Martínez and Angela Pradelli
In Heat: The Best Storytellers of the New Generation Write about Sex (“En celo: Los mejores narradores de la nueva generación escriben sobre sexo”) (eds. Diego Grillo Trubba)
The Setter Girl (“La chica del Setter”)
Buenos Aires: Mondadori 2007
In Flagrante: The Best Storytellers of the New Generation Write about Criminal Cases (“In fraganti: Los mejores narradores de la nueva generación escriben sobre casos policiales”) (eds. Diego Grillo Trubba)
The Secretary (“La Secretaria”)
Buenos Aires: Mondadori 2007
The Young Guard: New Argentine Narrative (“La joven guardia: nueva narrativa argentina”) (eds. Maximiliano Tomas)
“Siesta”
Buenos Aires: Norma 2006
AUDIOVISUAL WORKS
Muxes (Audiovisual)
HBO MAX 2022, 62 minutes
Author, scriptwriter, journalistic research
Crimes by Art (“Crímenes por Arte”) (Podcast)
Mexico: Podimo 2021
Author, scriptwriter, journalistic research
