Hilma Contreras Castillo (December 8, 1913 - January 15, 2006) was a Dominican

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

 writer, born in San Francisco de Macorís

San Francisco de Macorís

San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic. It is also the capital of the Duarte Province. It has had a very active role in the shaping of Dominican history, as it is known as one of, if not the most, politically active cities in the country. It is located in the northeast portion...

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Educated in Paris, where she studied French and English, as well as literature and archaeology

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

. She returned to the Dominican Republic in 1933. In 1937, at the encouragement of fellow writer Juan Bosch

Juan Bosch

Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was a politician, historian, short story writer, essayist, educator, and the first cleanly elected president of the Dominican Republic for a brief time in 1963. Previously, he had been the leader of the Dominican opposition in exile to the dictatorial regime of Rafael...

, she began writing stories, which were published in various newspapers.

In 2002 she became the first woman to receive the National Literature Award, which up until then had been awarded to men.

Contreras never married or had children, and died at her hometown in 2006.