Judite Canha Fernandes, born in Funchal in 1971, is a writer and playwright. She has published
poetry, novels, short stories, and children’s literature.
Reading offers us a beauty that does not hide impurities and imperfections; on the contrary, it follows them, exposing them to our gaze, as if it were trying to demonstrate that literary beauty speaks of ugliness without succumbing, but recreating the language with original words
Review of Um passo para sul by Leonor Sampaio Silva
She holds a PhD in Information Science, a degree in Aquatic Sciences, and a postgraduate degree in Library and Archives. Between 2011 and 2016, she was the European representative on the International Committee of the World March of Women. Among other awards and special mentions from the jury, she has won the Agustina Bessa Luís Prize, was twice a semi-finalist for the Oceanos Prize, received an honourable mention in the Ferreira de Castro Literary Prize, and in the Dias de Melo Literary Prize. Her novel Um Passo para Sul was nominated as best narrative fiction book in 2019 by the Portuguese Society of Authors and is part of the National Reading Plan 2020-2027. O Mel sem Abelhas, her latest novel, won the Edmundo Bettencourt Literary Prize in 2024. She is one of the women portrayed in Women of my Country – 21st Century. She is published in Portugal by Gradiva, Companhia das Ilhas and Pato Lógico, in Spain by Caleidoscopio de Libros and Crea ediciones. In Brazil by Urutau, and in Italy by Asterisco Edizioni and Nazione Indiana. Her work, which has been adapted for film, radio and musical composition, is the subject of research at several universities.
«For a first novel, A Step to the South, by Judite Canha Fernandes, is, without exaggeration, perfect.»
– Miguel Real, Jornal de Letras
«in “the most difficult thing about capitalism is finding a place to put the bombs” there is also an alternate geography. A series of poems distributed throughout the work that are illuminated islands.»
–Rodrigo Herrera Alfaia, El Salto Diario, Galicia
Judite Canha Fernandes 