Career
He is one of the key figures in the genre known as narcoliterature. A dramatist and short story writer, he is known above all for his novels, several of which feature the detective Edgar El Zurdo Mendieta. Élmer Mendoza appeared on the Mexican literary scene in 1978, publishing his first short story collection.
He followed his literary debut with a prolific career.
Between 1978 to 1995 he published five volumes of short stories. Then, in 1999, came his first novel, entitled Un asesino solitario (A Lone Murderer).
Beside being a best-selling author, Mendoza is also a professor of literature at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa. 2002 José Fuentes Mares for El amante de Janis Joplin.