Writing for the Times Literary Supplement - a PhD student’s perspective

It was while promoting her novel Juego de mujeres in 2015 that Inés Arteta first met Miranda France, writer, University of Edinburgh graduate, and TLS consultant editor for Spanish-language literature. They stayed in touch, and Miranda became aware of Inés’ literary criticism, as well as her fiction. 

For a pilot review, Inés pitched two books to Miranda that she thought would interest English-speaking readers - Fresh Dirt from the Grave by the Bolivian writer Giovanna Rivero, and Diego Angelino's Cuentos completes.

Rivero’s work is another Charco Press title, translated into English by Edinburgh languages graduate Isabel Adey. Angelino’s is the first complete edition of the Argentinian writer’s short stories. Both reviews were published in the Times Literary Supplement in October 2025 and Inés was commissioned to review La Lucha. She says of the book choices:

"I'm particularly drawn to contemporary Latin American writers who have not yet been translated into English, as well as works that challenge our understanding of Latin American literary culture. There's a renewed interest [in this culture] that feels more mature. English-language audiences are moving beyond the exoticism that once dominated reception and engaging more deeply with Latin American literature's capacity to reveal uncomfortable truths in profoundly innovative ways."

In the same year she met Miranda, Inés was also introduced to the woman who would become her principal PhD supervisor, Fiona Mackintosh. She describes being “immediately struck by [Fiona’s] expertise in Argentine women's literature” and knowing then and there that “if I were to pursue a PhD, I'd want her as my supervisor.” 

Nevertheless it took a few more years after “juggling work, studies, and raising my family”, before she finally felt it was the right time to become a full-time student again, and embarked on her PhD. Describing the return as “challenging in two ways”, she reflects:

“Intellectually, I'm shifting from fiction writing (I've published eight books) to academic writing in English rather than Spanish and engaging with feminist theory and abstract philosophical texts, a very different kind of reading from literature.” 

“Personally, there's a surreal contrast; my friends and partner are all retiring, and I have nine grandchildren, yet here I am in my third year of a PhD. But it's also been a gift: the chance to be intellectually curious full-time, to explore questions about Latin American women's literature in depth. It feels like reclaiming something I couldn't fully access when I was younger.”

Over a century since Spanish was first taught at the University of Edinburgh, we offer a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate study options. We teach courses and supervise research in Catalan, Basque, Latin American, Portuguese and Spanish studies. In 2016, graduate Carolina Orloff co-founded Charco Press to promote English language translations of contemporary Latin American literature. In 2020, the Press' edition of The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Inés' supervisors Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.

Read our interview with Charco Press' Carolina Orloff

Read extracts from Inés' reviews on the TLS website