The Stirring of Thoughts and Ideas (2020–2021)
Hi. This is Pablo Alejos Flores, the founder of Aflore. Let me tell you why I started this project and what the purpose of this website truly is.
Not a single day goes by without me thinking about the existence of Taller Grafico Aflore. Because it consumes so much of my mind, I thought it was time to share its origin story and my personal goals openly.
In 2021, having finished my translation and interpreting studies in Peru, I was splitting my time working as a freelance interpreter here and there, and as a medical interpreter from home. Being honest, I didn’t enjoy it much. Up to that point in my life, I was afraid of committing to literature as a career path. Not just in Peru, but in most places around the world, making a living within the literary or language industry is an enormous gamble.
Yet, the appeal was always there. Throughout 2020, I spent complete weekends translating Machado de Assis’ short stories from Portuguese into Spanish. I remember sitting at my desk for hours using CAT tools, building literary glossaries, and diving deep into the cultural and historical background of those stories. That fulfilling experience kept fuelling my motivation.
In December 2021, I finally decided to go all-in on literary translation. At the time, my ambition was straightforward: I thought I would spend my days translating novels and poetry, focusing exclusively on classic literature, the nuances of language, literary devices, and authors’ biographies.
However, once you step inside this world, words stop being enough. I didn’t just want to translate anymore; I became obsessed with mastering—or at least truly understanding—the whole process a book goes through. I wanted to learn book design, typography, layout, publishing, marketing, and the art of bookbinding.
Moreover, I wanted a space that was entirely my own: a place to write, to translate, and to publish the poems and stories I fell in love with.
The Apprenticeship Era (2022–2023)
Between January 2022 and November 2023, I worked independently on translating O alienista by Machado de Assis, alongside other works by the same author, into Spanish. I wasn’t paid for it, but I knew that actually translating would be more beneficial for my growth than just waiting for literary translation offers to come.
During that time, I also wrote poetry and short stories. Most of them were later published in El ápice de lo absurdo (a self-published collection of poems) or through Letras & Poesía (an international collective of emerging authors in the Spanish-speaking world). To support myself, I worked as a Community Tutor on italki, which allowed me to manage my schedule perfectly and remain free to work on either my own projects or freelance translation and interpreting gigs.
During these two long years, I also studied literary translation theory in professional workshops and courses. The most useful of these was the “Itinerario de Traducción Editorial” by Escuela Cursiva, which is part of Penguin Random House. Taller Grafico Aflore couldn’t see the light of dawn yet, but I felt far more confident by the end of this period.
The Beginnings (2023–2024)
In December 2023, having all the necessary content to publish my first translated book, I started learning how to use design tools to create a beautiful layout for a new Spanish edition of O alienista. The book I had spent the previous years translating was finally reaching the final stages of the publishing process. At this point, I had to ingest a vast amount of information regarding Amazon KDP guidelines to ensure the final print and eBook files were optimal and of high quality.
In February 2024, I successfully published El alienista (Sui géneris) as an indie author-editor. Of course, looking back now, I think that edition could’ve been much more magnificent! Later that year, I also self-published my poetry collection, which included several collaborative poems written alongside six friends and colleagues. All of that experience was incredibly useful when I decided to go one step further and start an actual publishing house.
By October 2024, I had finished a new edition of Sobre vivir by Isabela Bosi—a poetry book containing eleven poems in Portuguese, complete with their respective translations into Spanish, illustrations by my sister Anette, and my own response writings. It was deeply special, and I wanted to print and hand-bind it myself.
However, I immediately encountered a problem. To print it the way I wanted, I had to register a formal business in Peru. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to secure an ISBN or legally distribute it in my country. This bureaucratic hurdle rapidly accelerated Aflore’s arrival into the world. Luckily, it didn’t take long to legally found Taller Grafico Aflore E.I.R.L., and we published Sobre vivir (Reflexiōperis) in December 2024 as a small, hand-stitched edition.
The Great Pause and The Lost World (2025)
Right after the launch, I received a huge literary translation offer: to translate my first full novel from English into Spanish. It was a complex, 19th-century work that required an immense amount of my time. Because of this, I had to set Aflore aside from 2025 up until early 2026. My focus was totally consumed by this first big translation job, though I was still quietly crafting, editing, correcting, and proofreading classics for other publishing houses behind the scenes.
Somehow, I managed to edit and publish The Lost World (Annotated and Illustrated) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in November 2025. That release was a turning point. It was when I decided to create Aflore Books—the specific imprint that will curate classic works and create exquisitely formatted editions with illustrations, notes, and rich additional content.
As a side note, the massive 19th-century novel I started translating back in late 2024 still hasn’t been published by that house yet. That is simply how long the traditional publishing industry takes. But I am hoping it will be available very soon, and it absolutely will be worth the wait.
The Reality of 2026: The Three Pillars
Now, back to the very website you are currently reading.
Launched in 2026, this digital space is the culmination of everything I have learned, failed at, and refined over the last four years. Aflore is no longer just a vague ambition; it has solidified into three distinct pillars that will expand alongside my literary career:
- The Digital Library: Meticulously edited editions of classic fiction—specifically the genres I love most: sci-fi, horror, and adventure.
- The Publishing House: Offering downloadable EPUBs packed with illustrations, footnotes, and introductions, alongside physical paperback and hardcover editions distributed via Amazon KDP and Draft2Digital’s partners.
- Language Learning: A dedicated space exploring the nuances of linguistics, featuring Learn Peruvian Spanish and historical academic transcriptions within the Diccionario XIX.
A Different Approach to the Classics
I chose to build this platform because I grew tired of seeing public domain books treated lazily online—cluttered with typos, broken formatting, and outdated text dumps.
I wanted to give these atmospheric stories the luxury treatment they deserve, making them completely accessible. On this website, you can read text set in superb, highly readable typography: Lora body font at 18px, a comfortable 1.65 line height, and a strict 700px maximum width container so your eyes don’t get tired tracking across a wide desktop monitor. It is set against a soothing light cream background with a built-in dark mode toggle.
You don’t need to download an e-reader app to enjoy these classics on a screen. And if you want to copy the corrected text into a document to print your own custom copy at home, you are entirely free to do so.
Why This Blog Matters
Aflore is a business, yes, but it is a deeply personal one. There is no corporate board or massive team behind the curtain. It is mainly just me, Pablo, managing the code, adjusting the margins, translating the prose, and hunting down rare 19th-century words.
In the near future, I’d like to collaborate with international writers, artists, and designers who want to be part of this journey. I’m completely open to it.
Because I am naturally inclined to learn about so many different facets of this industry, Aflore cannot be just one static thing. I want this website to be a living mural of everything I am achieving, creating, writing, and publishing.
This blog will serve as the bridge between my desk and your screen. It is a space to build a community of people who care about language learning, literature, and independent publishing.
Thank you for being here at the beginning of the chapter. Let’s see what we build next.