Cristián Londoño Proaño: a voice of Ecuadorian science fiction

Kleo
22 hours ago
7 min read

A profile of the writer who brings Andean fantasy and Ecuadorian science fiction to the world stage

An Ecuadorian at Worldcon

In August 2024, the city of Glasgow hosted the 82nd World Science Fiction Convention, known as Worldcon, one of the most prestigious events of the genre worldwide. Among the hundreds of authors, artists, and fans who gathered from every continent, one name stood out for its uniqueness: Cristián Londoño Proaño , a writer from Quito born in 1973, became the first Ecuadorian to participate in a Worldcon .

Londoño Proaño participated in the panel “Near, Far, Whenever You Are,” alongside authors such as Alan Smale, Catriona Silvey, and Kelli Fitzpatrick, moderated by Wendy Van Camp. In his remarks, he emphasized the importance of using time travel as a narrative tool to explore human identity and destiny, highlighting how scientific verisimilitude enriches fiction and makes it emotionally resonant. He also gave a talk dedicated to Andean fantasy, a genre he invented and developed through his trilogy , The Instinct of Light .

A year later, in August 2025, Londoño Proaño reaffirmed his international presence by participating for the second time in Worldcon, this time at its 83rd edition held in Seattle. On that occasion, he participated virtually in the panel “What Does Everyone Get Wrong?” and gave a reading of “The Unproductive,” based on his dystopian novel Los Improductivos . His repeated participation in the most important event of the genre globally confirms that Ecuadorian science fiction now has a recognizable voice on the international stage.

The road to science fiction

Cristián Londoño Proaño didn't arrive at science fiction by a direct route. His creative journey began in poetry: he won the First Prize at the Jorge Carrera Andrade Biennial of Young Ecuadorian Poetry and the first prize at the Fifth Open-Air Festival of the Municipality of Guayaquil. He published the poetry collections Desojare and Luna de Solitarios . He also ventured into theater, writing and directing the plays Amantes azules and Los Cirios Negros .

His academic background is equally diverse: he holds a Master's degree in Screenwriting and Audiovisual Development, a Master's degree in Communication, and a PhD in Communication (Cum Laude) from the University of Los Andes in Chile. He is currently a Professor-Researcher and Associate Researcher 2 accredited by SENESCYT.

His first novel, Twelve Hours , was written in 2005, though it wasn't published until 2016 in digital format and 2019 in print by Libros Duendes. It's not a science fiction novel, but rather a political thriller that intertwines the struggle for power and the pacts between politicians and the media. In an interview with Letralia magazine, the author himself acknowledged that Twelve Hours was a novel of discovery, and that he later "steered the course toward science fiction and fantasy."

Two narrative universes: science fiction and Andean fantasy

Londoño Proaño's novelistic production is structured around two main branches which, although different in their setting, share a common concern: to question reality from the imaginary.

Science fiction. His first novel in the genre, The Unproductive (2014), presents a dystopia in which humanity lives subjected to a totalitarian “Productive Society,” based on technological advancement, genetics, and human cloning. Individuals considered inefficient are discarded as “unproductive.” The story follows a stockbroker who, after witnessing the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, awakens his conscience and embarks on a quest to discover his true destiny. This was followed by Underbreak (2015), a thriller that blends science fiction, crime fiction, and social commentary in a future where corporations have declared themselves autonomous “Corporate Territories.” He later published Mission Antares (2019),Dark Nights, Big Mouths (2022), and The Infinite Name of the Stars (2024).

The Andean fantasy

Perhaps Londoño Proaño's most unique contribution to Latin American literature is the invention and development of the concept of the Andean fantasy novel . Unlike traditional fantasy of European origin, with its elves, dragons, and Western magic systems, Andean fantasy incorporates the worldview of the indigenous peoples of the Andes: shamanism, journeys to ancestral worlds (Uku Pacha and Jahua Pacha), the figure of the yachac (shaman), the duality between good and evil, communion with the earth, and the ordering presence of Pachakamak (the Andean deity).

This proposal materialized in the trilogy The Instinct of Light , comprised of The Instinct of Light (2011), Dead Time (2015), and The Return of Light (2018). The trilogy narrates the adventures of Awi, a young apprentice yachac (shaman) who discovers his ability to travel to ancestral worlds and must confront Chusko, a shaman with a dark soul seeking revenge. The story's origin has an almost magical component: according to the author, a shaman approached him after a conversation and told him that he “would have a significant role to play on the path of light.” This spark led him to investigate the Andean worldview in depth. He won a grant from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Culture and began writing.

In 2024, Andean fantasy received international recognition when Londoño Proaño was a finalist in an international competition. More recently, Libresa—one of Latin America's leading publishers of children's and young adult literature—released *The Awakening of Sariri *, a young adult novel that expands the Andean fantasy universe to new readers and solidifies the author's commitment to the genre.

Beyond fiction: essay, film and audiovisual production

Londoño Proaño doesn't limit himself to fiction. In 2020, he published Between Science Fiction and Fantasy , a non-fiction book offering essays, reflections, and a history of the genre, with references to masters like Asimov, Heinlein, and Bradbury, as well as practical advice for writing science fiction and fantasy stories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4szygwDHu0

As a screenwriter, producer, and filmmaker, he has written, directed, and produced approximately 66 documentaries and documentary series that portray Ecuadorian literary and cultural events of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Among his productions are the documentary *Jorge Enrique Adoum: The Unearthed Poet* , dedicated to the celebrated Ecuadorian writer, and the series *The Beauty of Feeling *, * The Art of Feeling* , and *Literamania* . This audiovisual facet is not a minor complement: it constitutes an ongoing project documenting Ecuadorian culture that runs parallel to his literary work.

Science communication and science fiction

In addition to this work, he is a regular columnist for Diario La Hora , one of Ecuador's leading newspapers, where he writes a series of articles on science fiction and fantasy. In these columns, signed as a writer, academic, and researcher at Indoamérica University, Londoño Proaño addresses topics ranging from the history of the genre—the first science fiction revolution, the origin of the term "science fiction," and the differences between fantasy and science fiction—to analyses of emblematic works such as Back to the Future and the rise of science fiction in film and television, as well as reflections on dystopia and the importance of the genre in contemporary culture.

This journalistic collaboration serves a purpose that goes beyond mere dissemination: in a country where science fiction has historically been marginalized by the literary canon, having a regular column in a nationally circulated publication helps to legitimize the genre among a broad audience. Londoño Proaño doesn't just write science fiction: he explains it, contextualizes it, and defends it as a valuable literary form from the pages of the Ecuadorian press.

The Omicron Theory ecosystem: building fandom from Ecuador

In 2018, Londoño Proaño founded Teoría Ómicron , a digital science fiction and fantasy magazine that has become one of the most active publications in the genre in Spanish. The magazine, which will reach its eighth year of publication in 2026, receives contributions from authors in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, and other countries. It publishes in Spanish, with occasional content in English and Italian.

The publishing project has diversified into three complementary lines. First, the magazine itself, with its sections of articles, interviews, reviews, and essays. Second, the Teoría Ómicron Show , a streaming program in which Londoño Proaño interviews leading figures in Latin American and European science fiction and fantasy. And third, Ómicron Books , a publishing imprint that releases digital books by Latin American authors. Ómicron Books has published, among other titles, Cartografía de la imaginación by Mexican author Daniela Lomartti, and in partnership with Libros Duendes, made available for free anthology of Ecuadorian science fiction featuring 17 national authors.

The importance of this publishing ecosystem cannot be underestimated. In a literary landscape where, as Londoño Proaño himself has pointed out, “science fiction and fantasy are still not considered important in the national literary scene” and are “made invisible,” the existence of a magazine, a streaming program, and a publishing house dedicated exclusively to these genres represents an act of building cultural infrastructure.

Ecuadorian science fiction looks to the future

Ecuadorian science fiction has a longer history than is often thought. Its first novel, *La receta de Francisco Campos Coello*, was published in installments in 1893. Throughout the 20th century, authors such as Carlos Béjar Portilla, Abdón Ubidia, Fernando Naranjo, and Santiago Páez cultivated the genre in a context where the national literary canon tended to consider it a minor form of literature. In contemporary times, names like Leonardo Wild, Solange Rodríguez Pappe, JD Santibáñez, Jorge Miño, Henry Bäx, and Londoño-Proaño himself have broadened the landscape.

Londoño Proaño occupies a unique place on this map. Not only for his narrative output, which already includes more than ten published books among novels, poetry collections, and essays, but also for the convergence of roles he embodies: he is simultaneously a fiction writer, the inventor of a literary subgenre, an academic researcher with publications in Scopus and SciELO, an audiovisual producer with decades of documentary work, and the builder of a publishing platform that connects science fiction writers throughout Latin America.

She has over 32 academic publications. Her lines of academic research, which include the media industry, science fiction as a STEM educational methodology, artificial intelligence and communication, and digital narratives, reveal that her interest in the genre is not limited to creation, but extends to the rigorous analysis of how speculative fiction can transform education and culture.

From the Ecuadorian Andes to world conventions in Glasgow and Seattle, from the pages of a dystopian novel to the archives of a digital magazine, Cristián Londoño Proaño has demonstrated that science fiction and fantasy don't need permission to exist. He writes them, studies them, publishes them, promotes them, and brings them to the world. Ecuadorian science fiction, thanks in large part to his sustained efforts, is no longer an invisible literature.