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

Photo: Grant McMillan

Hugo dos Santos is the author of Reduction in Force (Bauhan Publishing, 2026), winner of the May Sarton 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.

 
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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)

Read my poetry
read my fiction
read my translations
 

News & Buzz

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

    Read the full announcement here.

  • “Homecoming, translated by Hugo dos Santos (Arquipélago Press, 2024), is a collection of poetry that oscillates between different genres; it is poetry, it is travelogue, it is autobiographical creative nonfiction, it is deeply reflective philosophical inquiry.“

    Read the full article here.

    A huge thank you to Irene Marques for this generous review.

  • My review of paula neves’s Passaic is up at Cultural Daily.

    You can read it here.

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Events

  • 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 this amazing recap on Instagram.

    Visit the Events page for the full description

  • See the Events page for the full description.

  • Thursday, March 19 – Thursday, April 16, 2026
    Each Thursday, 7:30pm EDT

    Flash fiction proves that the smallest stories can hold the greatest weight. In this generative workshop, we’ll explore how compression, image and rhythm can give short prose extraordinary depth and resonance. Each week, we’ll read and discuss short works by contemporary writers to examine how voice, structure and omission shape meaning. Through guided prompts and in-class exercises, we’ll experiment with form and tone, generating new drafts that surprise us. We’ll also discuss strategies for revising short work and preparing it for publication. Open to writers of all levels who want to sharpen their prose and discover how to make a few hundred words feel infinite.

    More info here.

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