Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Gerardo Sámano Córdova is a Mexican writer and artist based in Brooklyn. He is best known for his debut novel Monstrilio (2023), a work that blends elements of horror, folklore and family drama. In 2023 he was a fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and he is currently Writer in Residence at Fordham University.

Gerardo Sámano Córdova was born in Mexico City and later moved to the United States for his studies. He earned an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan. He went on to attend the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, first as a work/study scholar in 2019 and later as a fellow in 2023. In 2019, Sámano Córdova also studied at the Tin House Summer Workshop.

Before publishing his first novel, he wrote short fiction, exploring themes of grief, queerness and the supernatural. Speaking about his creative focus, he said, “There isn’t a specific event, but rather a question we all have, particularly queer people: Am I going to be loved no matter what?” He added, “I wanted to see how far love could be stretched. I wondered if it could break.”

His first novel, Monstrilio (2023), tells the story of a grieving family who, after the death of their son, nurture a small piece of his lung into a creature that grows into a boy. Using four distinct narrators, the novel examines grief, love and transformation.

Sámano Córdova described the approach by saying, “I wanted to capture a family’s experience of loving each other—how it changes. Does it vanish? Strengthen? Shape-shift?” Critics noted its unconventional use of multiple voices and its layering of horror with themes of identity and survival.

For Sámano Córdova, the novel also had a strong connection to queer representation. “I had two goals,” he explained, “one, to have queer characters exist in a world without prejudice, acceptance, or the need for explanation; two, to tell a story in a queer way, challenging what we think traditional narrative should be.”

Alongside his writing, Sámano Córdova has spoken about the challenges of working across genres. “Genres are not set in stone,” he advised. “Play. Create. Art should experiment, question, challenge.” His literary influences include Mariana Enriquez, Jeanette Winterson, Jonas Eika, Theodore McCombs and Daniel Saldaña París.

Gerardo Sámano Córdova is currently working on a second novel while continuing his teaching and artistic practice in New York.

Photo credit: gerardosamanocordova.com