Micro-workshop “The Fantastic Gap: Reality Through the Unthinkable”, by Ismael Martínez Biurrun

On Thursday, March 6, 2025, starting at 6:30 PM, the free micro-workshop “The Fantastic Gap: Reality Through the Unthinkable”, led by Ismael Martínez Biurrun, will take place in the Mariana de Pineda Hall at the Palacio de la Madraza. The number of available spots is limited to 15.

Those interested can register at: talleres@granadaciudaddeliteratura.com.

This micro-workshop is part of the ongoing collaboration since 2018 between Granada UNESCO City of Literature and the Vice-Rectorate for University Extension of the UGR, through the Literature Department of La Madraza—UGR Center for Contemporary Culture—Federico García Lorca Chair.

The Workshop

It is often said that the first requirement for writing a good work of fantastic fiction is to anchor it firmly in reality, in the known world, so that the rupture caused by the extraordinary event has a greater impact on the reader. But one could argue the opposite: to write a truly real story, it is essential to pass through the fantastic gap—that is, to look at and name what lies hidden beneath the illusion of our conventional reality: the unconscious, the ineffable, the numinous, the unthinkable. In this micro-workshop, we will reflect on the possibilities of the fantastic as a tool for peeling back layers and exploring reality, examining texts from the genre and engaging in a writing exercise that the instructor will review and return with comments in the following days.

Ismael Martínez Biurrun

Ismael Martínez Biurrun (Pamplona, 1972) is the author of nine novels and works as an adjunct professor at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas and the Escuela de Escritores in Madrid. Although he strongly believes in the hybridization of genres and is wary of labels, his nine works of fiction have always explored the realms of the fantastic and horror: Infierno nevado, Rojo alma, negro sombra, Mujer abrazada a un cuervo, El escondite de Grisha, Un minuto antes de la oscuridad, Invasiones, Sigilo, Solo los vivos perdonan, and Duración de un fantasma.

He has also co-authored the essay Soy lo que me persigue: el terror como ficción del trauma in collaboration with Carlos Pitillas Salvá.