Sonia Coutinho


Sônia Coutinho was a Brazilian journalist, short story writer and novelist.
The daughter of Nathan Coutinho, a poet, she was born in Itabuna, Bahia and moved to Salvador while still young. She left school at the age of 20, returning later returning to earn a Master's degree in Communication Theory. Her first published short stories appeared in the collections Reuniao in 1961 and in Histórias da Bahia e doze Contistas da Bahia in 1969. In 1968, she moved to Rio de Janeiro, where she worked as a translator for Reuters and as a contributor to various newspapers. Coutinho also wrote for the magazines Nova and Status.
Her short story Cordelia, a caçadora won the Status Prize for erotic literature. It was later included in the collection Os Venenos de Lucrécia which was awarded the Prêmio Jabuti in 1979.
In 1994, she published the critical study Rainhas do Crime Otica Feminina no Romance Policial.
Coutinho was Visiting Writer at the University of Texas at Austin and Writer in Residence at the University of Iowa. In 1989, she began working as a translator of English literary works into Spanish.
She married the poet and journalist Florisvaldo Mattos; the couple had a daughter but later divorced.
She died in Rio de Janeiro of a heart attack at the age of 74.

Selected works