Juan Esteban Peláez

Juan Esteban Peláez was born in 1986 in Bogotá, Colombia, and writes horror and mystery fiction. He began writing—drawing inspiration from dreams and travels—at the age of sixteen. His literary career launched with the publication of the short story La Bruja (The Witch). He subsequently published Los Jardines Rojos y otros nocturnos (The Red Gardens and Other Nocturnes), a short story collection that won ITA Editorial’s 2022 call for independent authors. He has published short stories in anthologies and poems via Dantebus (Italy), where he was the only foreign author included in the collection. In 2024, he won first place for Breakout Author from ITA Editorial. He has also participated as a speaker at FILBo (2023 and 2024). In 2025, he was a finalist in Gold Editorial’s International Novel Competition with El insondable horror de revivir (The Unfathomable Horror of Reliving). His style draws upon elements of both classic and contemporary horror. His works are characterized by their handling of tension and eerie atmosphere, and—above all—by unexpected, memorable endings that invite the reader to reflect.