Exploring language, memory, and belonging through poetry, fiction, and literary translation.

Hugo dos Santos is the author of Reduction in Force (Bauhan Publishing, 2026), winner of the May Sarter New Hampshire Poetry Prize, and Then, there (Spuyten Duyvil, 2019), a collection of Newark stories. He is the translator of Homecoming (Arquipelago Press, 2024) and A Child in Ruins (Writ Large Press, 2016), a staff pick at the Paris Review Daily. Born in Lisboa, Portugal, and raised in Newark, New Jersey, he writes toward questions of diaspora, belonging, and memory.

 
 

featured works

  • Read "We never said she was a maid," from DMQ Review in Fall 2016 (in PDF) — Nominee, Pushcart Prize 

  • Read "Borders," fiction from the collection Then, there (in PDF)

  • Read five poems, from A Child in Ruins, by José Luís Peixoto and translated by Hugo Dos Santos (in PDF)

 

News & Buzz

  • Reduction in Force, by Hugo dos Santos, won the May Sarter New Hampshire Poetry Prize, selected by Anthony Walton. It will be published by Bauhan Publishing.

    Read the full announcement here.

  • I will be teaching a workshop and running tutorial sessions at the 32nd Annual Winter Poetry and Prose Getaway by Murphy Writing of Stockton University, Jan 16-19, 2026.

    Read the full description here.

  • A poignant meditation on isolation, grief, and kinship by one of the most celebrated voices in Portuguese literature.

    In his latest collection of poetry, José Luís Peixoto, writing from the confines of his home during the height of the pandemic, embarks on a journey through his memories. Captured in a deft translation by Hugo Dos Santos, Homecoming is a tender evocation of a familiar world — a world of friends and family, beloved pets, small villages and busy streets — suspended in time. Like Ulysses on a perpetual voyage, Peixoto explores the essence of a room’s four walls and turns his gaze inward, journeying to places near and far but always leading back to the heart of it all: home. Memories serve as guiding stars; he recalls moments from his childhood, his time spent writing and collaborating with translators, and the freedom he once had to travel.

    These poems evoke the gravity of life without falling into despair. In turns sombre, joyful, tender, and elegiac, the journey ends with the last poem that gives this work its name, Homecoming. “Here I am again. Ready for Sunday dinner.”

    Learn more here.

 

  • January 16-19, 2026, Atlantic City area, NJ.

    Murphy Writing of Stockton University

    Advance your craft and energize your writing. Enjoy challenging and supportive workshops, insightful feedback and an encouraging community. Choose from workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoir, songwriting and storytelling. Early registration discounts and scholarships available.

    Learn more and register: stockton.edu/wintergetaway

  • See the Events page for the full description

  • DescriptionApril 23 - May 21, 2025

    Led by Hugo dos Santos
    Limited to 12 participants

    In this five-week creative nonfiction workshop, we will experiment with form, voice and structure to craft compelling narratives from our lives. Each week, you will receive an online lesson featuring curated readings, craft discussions and generative prompts designed to unearth the moments that demand to be told. We will engage with memoir techniques, from lyrical and braided essays to episodic and nonlinear storytelling. Whether you are beginning your writing journey or deepening a project already in progress, this workshop will provide the support and inspiration to transform lived experience into powerful storytelling.

    “Everything about the workshop exceeded my expectations.”

    ~ Laurel, New York, NY

    “I generated so much work in only five sessions. The assigned readings inspired and broadened my writing and creative methods.”

    ~ Kate, New York, NY text goes here