"Baudelaire's Flowers", by Gonzalo Garrido, reissued in DeBolsillo
08/03/2014Las flores de Baudelaire (Baudelaire's Flowers), the first novel by Gonzalo Garrido, published in 2012 by Alrevés, was reprinted last month in its paperback edition by DeBolsillo, which is part of Penguin Random House group. This news just goes to prove how Garrido's career is growing. His first novel, a blend of mistery and history that deals with treason and its presence as a guiding force in our lives, became an unexpected success. The novel (now, in its third edition) has appeared repeatedly in the best seller lists, has been finalist of awards such as the Memorial Silverio Cañada (granted by the Semana Negra de Gijón) and has received the praise of brilliant authors such as Eduardo Mendoza. Las flores de Baudelaire is just the first step in a career that we predict as more than solid, and that has a bright future.
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Freire, Espido
Espido Freire (Spain, 1974) studied music from an early age and earned a degree in English Philology from the University of Deusto, where she also completed a diploma in Editing and Text Publishing. She made her literary debut with Irlanda (Planeta, 1998), a novel that received the French Millepage Prize. In 1999, she published Donde siempre es octubre (Seix Barral, 1999), and just six months later won the prestigious Premio Planeta for her novel Melocotones helados (1999), becoming the youngest recipient of the award. The novel also earned her the Qué Leer Prize for Best Spanish Novel in 2000. She subsequently published Diabulus in musica (Planeta, 2001), Nos espera la noche (Alfaguara, 2003), the second installment of a trilogy that began with Donde siempre es octubre, and Soria Moria (Algaida, 2007), which won the Ateneo de Sevilla Prize that same year. In 2011, she released the historical novel La flor del Norte, followed by Llamadme Alejandra (2017) and De la melancolía (2019). She is also the author of five essays: Primer amor (Temas de Hoy, 2000), on fairy tales and love; Cuando comer es un infierno (Aguilar, 2002), on eating disorders; Querida Jane, querida Charlotte (Aguilar, 2004), about the life and work of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters; Mileuristas: la generación de los mil euros (Ariel, 2006), on contemporary Spanish youth; and Mileuristas II: la generación de las mil emociones (Ariel, 2008), which explores the personal relationships of that generation. Espido is also a prolific short story writer and has published several collections, including El tiempo huye (2001), winner of the NH Short Story Prize; Cuentos malvados (Punto de Lectura, 2003); and Juegos míos (Alfaguara, 2004). She is the author of a young adult novel, La última batalla de Vincavec el bandido (SM, 2001), the poetry collection Aland la blanca (Debolsillo, 2001), and a crime novel co-written with Raúl del Pozo, La diosa del pubis azul. She contributes regularly to several national media outlets, including Público, ADN, El Mundo, Onda Cero (Julia en la Onda), and works in television (Paramount Comedy, Tele Aragón), as well as magazines such as Yo Dona, Jano, and Psychologies. She has also worked as a literary translator. Over the past decade, she has taught creative writing courses at leading Spanish and international universities, developed her own teaching methodology, and opened her own literary school in Madrid.
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