Alicia C. Mercado-Harvey is a fiction writer and a PhD in Spanish (with a minor in Portuguese)
from the University of Florida. She is an Assistant Professor of Spanish, Portuguese and History
at New College of Florida. Alicia has published several articles in journals in Argentina, Chile,
Portugal, the US (Puerto Rico) and Uruguay. She has participated in conferences in 3 continents
as well as in Detective Fiction Festivals and Fairs such as Santiago Negro, Días Contados,
Miami Week Noir and Puerto Negro. She has published sort and micro stories in several journals
and in the book 175 relatos de escritoras latinoamericanas (Bogotá: Elipsis, 2021). Alicia has
also co-authored a novel with Carmen Flores T., El cajón del cóndor (Santiago de Chile:
Bolivariana, 2013). Her first single author novel, La muerte no tiene traducción (Madrid:
Pliegos, 2022), was the winner of two Fondart (National Book and Reading Council Award)
from the Chilean MInistry of Culture in 2019 and 2021. Her first academic book, Crímenes
dictatoriales: el género policial como literatura del trauma, was published en 2024 by Pliegos
(Madrid). She is currently working on her second academic book entitled Ficciones del trauma
chileno.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT?
This is the best Liberal Arts College in Florida and it is a place where you are taught by
professors; not TA’s. The professor to student ratio is about 8 to 1. New College is a unique place
where students can pursue many different interests and get educated by experts in their specific
fields.
WHAT MAKES NEW COLLEGE OF
FLORIDA SO UNIQUE?
NCF is a unique institution because students can explore and get narrative evaluations rather than
grades. It is also unique because of the small professor to student ratio. This is an institution that
teaches critical thinking across the board.
What made you decide to teach at New College of Florida?
The students and the overall mission.