Fresh Voices: A Debut Author Spotlight – Episode 3: Natalia Figueroa Barroso

Fresh Voices: A Debut Author Spotlight – Episode 3: Natalia Figueroa Barroso

Natalia Figueroa Barroso is a writer of Uruguayan descent with Charrúa, Yoruba and Iberian origins. She was born on Dharug Ngura, and was raised between her birthland and her homeland. She is a member of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and has degrees in communication, screenwriting and media production from UTS. Her essays, poems and short stories have been published widely, including in Sweatshop Women: Volume One, Between Two Worlds, Meanjin, Red Room Poetry, Povo, Overland and Griffith Review. Hailstones Fell without Rain is her debut work of semi-autobiographical fiction.

Natalia talks to Cheryl about her family’s immigration journey, the deep longing many migrants feel for their homeland, the influence of her childhood on her writing and the pivotal role her grandmother played in getting her published in The Spanish Herald. Her debut, Hailstones Fell without Rain, is out August 5, 2025. Fresh Voices: A Debut Author Spotlight is sponsored by the Copyright Agency’s The Cultural Fund.

Publisher details

Hailstones Fell without Rain
Author
Natalia Figueroa Barroso
Publisher
UQP
Genre
Fiction
Released
29 July, 2025
ISBN
9780702268816

Synopsis

Graciela is a Uruguayan migrant struggling to raise her three daughters in Western Sydney: her life feels like just one bill after another, and she’s reaching breaking point. Chula, her elderly aunt, is still waiting for justice after living through the civic-military coup of 1973 in Uruguay. And Rita, Graciela’s eldest daughter, wants to escape the constraints of her family but finds herself indelibly tied to the ghosts of her mother’s past.
Natalia Figueroa Barroso
About the author

Natalia Figueroa Barroso

Natalia Figueroa Barroso is a writer of Uruguayan descent with Charrúa, Yoruba and Iberian origins. She was born on Dharug Ngura, and was raised between her birthland and her homeland. She is a member of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and has degrees in communication, screenwriting and media production from UTS. Her essays, poems and short stories have been published widely, including in Sweatshop Women: Volume One, Between Two Worlds, Meanjin, Red Room Poetry, Povo, Overland and Griffith Review. Hailstones Fell without Rain is her debut work of semi-autobiographical fiction.

Books by Natalia Figueroa Barroso

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