Carlos Martín Briceño
Carlos Martín Briceño (born August 10, 1966) is a Mexican writer, narrator and essayist from Mérida, Yucatán. He is a member of Mexico’s National System of Art Creators. Although he studied business administration and runs a business, his true passion is literature. He still lives in Mérida because he dislikes cold weather. He is a father of two and says having children in a dark world is brave.
Briceño began publishing in 2003. He says his love for reading and telling stories shaped his path. A storytelling workshop with Agustín Monsreal and encouragement from Rafael Ramírez Heredia helped him start his career. He believes a writer needs to read a lot, learn technique, work hard, and have talent. He tries to write a couple of hours each day despite a busy schedule and reads a few books each week.
Beyond his own books, he helps collect and promote works by writers from the Yucatán and serves on the editorial board of the Navegaciones Zur magazine. He also teaches writing workshops in Mérida.
His awards include an honorary mention in the Carmen Baez National Short Story Competition (1999), the Beatriz Espejo National Short Story Prize (2003), the Yucatán Autonomous University National Prize in short stories (2004), and an honorable mention at the San Luis Potosí National Short Story Competition (2008) for Caída Libre. His main honor is the 2012 Max Aub International Short Story Prize in Spain for Montezuma's Revenge, which he presented at Mérida Fest. Reforma newspaper later listed Caída Libre and Montezuma's Revenge among the best Mexican books of 2010 and 2012.
Briceño specializes in short stories and short novels. His recurring themes include eroticism, life as a couple, and the need for companionship. His characters often fight against loneliness. He draws on influences such as Beatriz Espejo, Gonzalo Rojas, John Banville, and admires Thomas Mann, Paul Auster, John Cheever, Hemingway, and Juan Rulfo. His style is said to be close to Raymond Carver, Enrique Serna, and Agustín Monsreal. Rafael Ramírez Heredia notes that Briceño focuses on people and their passions, pains, loves and losses, rather than offering spiritual comfort. Some relatives avoid his literary events because his work can be very dark. Montezuma's Revenge is a bloody and erotic story set in Mérida, Playa del Carmen and Holbox, and Montezuma's Revenge y otras deleites follows a Mexican man and a foreign woman exploring attitudes toward foreigners. His writings appear in many journals and anthologies.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:09 (CET).