Sergio Pitol wins the Alfonso Reyes Prize 2015
29/03/2016The Mexican writer and essayist Sergio Pitol will be awarded the International Prize Alfonso Reyes 2015, in virtue of his valuable cultural, artistic, and literary contributions, and his extensive experience. In a statement, the Organizing Committee of the International Prize Alfonso Reyes announced today that Sergio Pitol is the winner of the award this 2015. It also marks that Pitol is a citizen of the world and at the same time a profound expert on Mexican culture. “He’s the living example of passion for knowledge and implacable criticism, whose unmistakable voice amongst the Hispanic-American narrators is fundamental to the writing, owing to his originality,” declare the organizers. The prize was created by Francisco Zendejas in 1972. It aims to appreciate the work of the Monterrey-native writer Alfonso Reyes by distinguishing personalities with a vast trajectory in the field of humanities. Amongst the prize-winners are Mario Vargas Llosa, Eduardo Lizalde, Ignacio Bosque, Fernando del Paso and Ida Vitale (previously). Pitol was born in Puebla, March 18, 1993. He studied law and letters at the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and is a member of the National System of Creators of Art, as creator emeritus, since 1994. He has received the Xavier Villaurrutia Award 1981 for “Nocturno de Bujara,” the Herralde Novel Award in 1984 for “El desfile del amor” and the National Literature and Linguistic Award 1993; as well as those of the Latin-American Literature and the Caribbean Juan Rulfo 1999, and the Cervantes of Literature in 2005. His work is translated into French, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, Russian, Portuguese, and Chinese. And he as a translator has rendered into Spanish works of authors such as Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Robert Graves, Jane Austen, Witold Gombrowicz, Alexander Zeromsky, Kazimierz Brandys, Jerry Andrzejewski and Bruno Schulz. The Organizing Committee is formed by the Secretary of Culture of the Government of the Republic, the Government of the State of Nuevo León through the Council of Culture and Arts, the Alfonsina International Society, the Autonomous Univeristy of Nuevo Leon (UANL), the Monterrey Technological, The University of Monterrey and the University Regiomontana. (El Universal, Mexico)
[ ... ]
Cathedral of Rubble: An Anatomy of Collapse
Cathedral of Rubble is a work of literary nonfiction about collapse — or, more precisely, about the architectural, social, and political forms of disaster. But this is not a book of data, nor an extended piece of reportage: it is literary nonfiction in the fullest and most ambitious sense of the term. A narrative that is immersive and exacting, turning facts into lived experience, numbers into metaphor, and catastrophe into cultural reflection. Pedro Torrijos —a writer and architect known for his magnetic, rhythmic, image-rich prose— guides us through a fragmentary map of contemporary ruins. From the collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh to the 2024 flood in Valencia, from the Vajont Dam disaster in Italy to the Knickerbocker Theatre collapse in Washington, the book traces a constellation of real events in which disaster is not presented as exception, but as atmosphere. The logical consequence of a chain of decisions, omissions, inertias, and shared fictions. Far from academic essay or investigative journalism, Cathedral of Rubble inhabits a hybrid territory: that of narrative thought, where analysis is deliberately pierced by literature. Through a digressive, fragmented structure, the book constructs a language of collapse — one that is as emotional as it is political. The result is a sharp, hypnotic, and necessary text that offers no easy answers, no moral conclusions. Instead, it asks unsettling questions: How does the fiction of control survive in a world leaning toward collapse? What happens when the noise becomes constant, when everything is a red alert? How do we tell the story of the cracks before they become rubble?
[ ... ]
Abad, Mercedes
Mercedes Abad debuted as a writer with Ligeros libertinajes sabaticos (Light Sabbatical Libertinage, 1986), a book of short stories which was awarded the Premio La Sonrisa Vertical. She has published the short story books Felicidades conyugales (Marital Happiness), Soplando al viento (Blowing in the Wind, 1995), Amigos y fantasmas (Friends and Ghosts, 2004), winner of the NH Vargas Llosa Award, Media docena de robos y un par de mentiras (Half a Dozen Heists and a Couple of Lies, 2009), La niña gorda (The Fat Child, 2014) and Casa en venta (House for Sale, 2020). She is also the author of the novels Sangre (Blood, 2000), El vecino de abajo (Downstairs’ Neighbour, 2007) and the essay Solo dime donde lo hacemos (Just Tell where can we do it, 1991). She has also written radio and theater scripts such as Pretèrit perfecte (Present Perfect), Se non è vero (If it’s not True) and Bunyols de Quaresma (Lent Fritters). She has staged Dangerous Liaisons by Christopher Hampton, and has collaborated in the playwriting of the show XXX with the adaptation of Philosophy in the Bedroom, by the Marquis de Sade, produced by La Fura dels Baus. She regularly writes in a number of news media outlets. Her write-ups in the supplement Catalonia of El País have been compiled into the volume Titúlate Tú (Name Yourself, 2002). Her work has been translated into several languages.
[ ... ]
Aparicio, Juan Pedro
Juan Pedro Aparicio was born in León. Since 1975, the year he published "El origen del mono y otros relatos" (The Origin of the Monkey and Other Stories), he has written novels ("Lo que es del César", "El año del francés", "La forma de la noche", "Malo en Madrid o el caso de la viuda polaca", "El viajero de Leicester" and "La gran bruma") and short story collections. He has also delved into essays, travel books, and so far has compiled his journalistic articles into two collections. In 1989, he won the Nadal Prize with "Retratos de ambigú" (Portraits of Ambiguity), and more recently, in 2005, he received the II Setenil Prize for Short Stories for the best book of stories published that year for "La vida en blanco" (Life in White). He collaborates with various media outlets and is currently the director of the Cervantes Institute in London. "La mitad del diablo" (2008) is his first book of microfiction, or quantum literature, as he himself suggests.
[ ... ]
Sergio Ramírez was awarded the Carlos Fuentes International Prize
13/11/2014Tuesday November 11th, Sergio Ramírez was awarded the Carlos Fuentes International Prize for Creative Writing given by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM ) and the National Council for Culture and Arts (CONACULTA). The members of the jury were Juan Goytisolo, Mario Vargas Llosa (Nobel Prize and also awarded the first edition of this Prize), Soledad Puértolas, Margo Glantz and Gonzalo Celorio, who chose Sergio Ramirez for "Combining a high quality literature with a committed literature and its role as a free and critical intellectual with a civic high calling ". He has published over 50 titles in various genres such as novels, short stories, essays, and memoirs. His work has been translated into more than 15 languages and he has been awarded with the Dashiel Hammett Prize in 1990 for Castigo Divino (Divine Punishment), the Laure Bataillon Award in 1998 for the best foreign translated book into French for Un baile de máscaras (A mask dance), the Alfaguara International Prize, 1998, for Margarita está linda la mar (Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea), and the José Donoso Prize granted by the University of Talca, Chile. It´s an honor for the Antonia Kerrigan Literary Agency to represent this icon of Ibero-American literature.
[ ... ]
The Inextricable Case of the Gray Automobile Gang
How did organized crime and political power join forces in revolutionary Mexico? The Gray Automobile Gang tells one of the most shocking and fascinating episodes in Mexican history: a band of thieves, protected by the highest levels of power, spread terror throughout Mexico City while the nation struggled to reinvent itself amid betrayed ideals and boundless ambition. With a vibrant, sharp, and deeply researched narrative, Juan José Rodríguez reconstructs this extraordinary chapter where conspiracies, luxury cars, unsolved crimes, and historical figures like Emiliano Zapata, José Juan Tablada, and the men behind the Decena Trágica collide. Amid the chaos of the Revolution — with the capital besieged by violence, shortages, and epidemics — life went on: theaters were packed, audiences cheered the first national films, and the country was unknowingly heading toward the authoritarian future that would shape its destiny. Blending history, essay, and narrative nonfiction, Rodríguez weaves a gripping story that reveals how organized crime infiltrated the very heart of political power. A thrilling, eye-opening account that exposes the origins of modern Mexico and invites us to see our present through a new lens.
[ ... ]
Javier Sierra and María Dueñas were two of the best selling authors in 2013 in Spain
19/02/2014We're happy to see two of our titles in the best seller lists of 2013 published by Nielsen Bookscan. Javier Sierra, with his latest novel El maestro del Prado (The Master of El Prado), appears, in the sixth position, as the first Spanish author in the list, with almost 150.000 copies sold of this last book. María Dueñas is in the tenth position with Misión Olvido (Mission Oblivion), that sold almost 120.000 copies. Rights to El maestro del Prado (an intriguing mixture of fiction, essay and biography in which a mysterious master explains the works of the museum to the author) have been sold to the United States, Brazil, Russia, Poland and Romania, in translations that are in the works and will see the light of day at the end of this year. Misión Olvido blends love, intrigue and appealing characters through the story of Blanca Perea, a teacher that will come to surprising conclusions while working on a project that was thought to be boring and unsubstantial. The book has repeated the astounding success of El tiempo entre costuras (The Seamstress) and has been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Serbian, Swedish, Norwegian and Catalan.
[ ... ]
Cueto, Alonso
Perú Alonso Cueto (Lima, 1954) is the author of several novels, short stories, and essays. Cueto has won several distinctions for his literary work, including the prestigious Herralde Award (Spain 2005) for his novel La Hora Azul (The Blue Hour), the 2007 Casa de Ámericas-Planeta second-place prize for his novel Susurro de la Mujer Ballena (Sigh of the Whale Woman) and the Anna Seghers Prize for his body of work (Germany, 2000). In 2006, the Chinese based National Publishing House, considered La Hora Azul, the best novel published in spanish in the 2005-2006 period. He also received a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation grant in 2002. Filmmaker Francisco Lombardi adapted Cueto’s novel Grandes Miradas (Knowing Gazes) to the screen in “Mariposa Negra,” which won several international awards. Cueto’s work has been translated into 15 languages, including dutch, german, french, italian, rumanian, polish, chinese and korean. Random House published the English-language translation of La Hora Azul (The blue Hour, translated by Frank Wynne). His novel La Viajera del Viento (Voyager of the wind, Planeta) along with The Blue Hour and La Pasajera forms a trilogy around violence in recent Peruvian history. In the book fair of Lima in 2016, La Viajera del Tiempo was the most sold novel. His latest novel is Francisca: Princesa del Perú. Cueto, a graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, currently lives in Lima, Peru. He is a full professor of the Literature and Linguistics Department of the Universidad Católica. He is also a member of the peruvian chapter of the Academia de la Lengua of Spain. In 2017, he was awarded the title of meritorious personality of culture by the Peruvian government. alonsocueto.com/
[ ... ]
Mario Vargas Llosa: Words in the World
In this essay, Alonso Cueto guides readers through the obsessions, dilemmas, and passions that shaped the work of Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most influential figures in contemporary literature. Balancing the rigor of literary analysis with the intimacy of someone who knew the author since childhood, Cueto uncovers the essential features of his writing. Throughout its pages, he examines key concepts such as the ever-evolving novelistic totality, the theology of power, the subversive spirit of adventure, and the utopian journey, as well as the profound moral and existential quests present in his work. He also explores the influence of French literature, Quixotic idealism, and the narrative techniques that gave shape to his fictional worlds. This work is, at once, a tribute to Vargas Llosa and a reflection on his impact on Latin American literature and identity. An invitation to rediscover his legacy from new perspectives. The edition also includes a photographic dossier that traces the life journey of one of the great figures of world literature.
[ ... ]
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.
[ ... ]
AK Digital releases "The Remade Parent", by Brett Hetherington
20/12/2013After Matthew Tree’s SNUG’s success, and becoming the eighth title in a catalogue that includes works by authors such as Emilio Calderón or Pedro L. Yúfera, AK Digital releases its first essay: The Remade Parent, by Brett Hetherington. Staff writer for Catalonia Today magazine and commentator for Australia’s ABC radio, Hetherington, who has been living in Catalonia since 2006, explains in detail the challenges of parenthood today, analyzes the different roles and proposes a new type of parent: one that is «thoughtful, understanding and physically present». «An original and much-needed book», in Matthew Tree’s words, that will appeal to all those who are beginning the adventure of parenthood. The Remade Parent will be available soon on Amazon (print on demand).
[ ... ]
José María Merino awarded with the National Narrative Prize (Spain's Culture Ministery)
28/10/2013The Literary Agency Antonia Kerrigan wants to congratulate the author José María Merino for receiving, the well deserved, Premio Nacional de Narrativa 2013 (National Narrative Award 2013) for his novel; The River of Eden (El río de edén) published in 2012 by Editorial Alfaguara. José María Merino is a member of the Real Academia Española (Spanish Royal Academy) and has received various awards for his works that include, narrative, young adult literature, short stories, essays and poems. His first novel, The Novel by Andrés Choz, (La Novela de Andrés Choz) published in 1976, won the Novel and Short Story Award. In 1985 he was distinguished with the Critics Awards for his novel; The Dark Shore, (La orilla oscura). In 1993 he was given the National Young Adult and Children’s Literature Award for; I’m Not a Book, (No soy un libro). The novel Lucrecia’s Visions, (Las visiones de Lucrecia) (1996) received the Miguel Delibes Narrative award. In 2004, the novel The Heir, (El heredero) won the Ramón Gómez de la Serna Award and The Place without Guilt, (El lugar sin culpa), won the Torrente Ballester Award. The River of Eden; (El río del edén) has also won the critic Award of Castilla and León. The jury highlighted The River of Eden as: “a book in which the author has adopted a second auto-reflexive voice in order to bring life to a familiar micro-cosmos, that revolves around a boy with a disability and the crisis that his appearance provokes on family life. It is a technically risky work that has been well resolved, and that gains tension as the story advances and its crucial problems, like the right to a dignified death, find themselves perfectly exposed.”
[ ... ]
Freixas, Laura
Laura Freixas (Barcelona, 1958) studied in the French Licée in Barcelona. She got a degree in Law in 1980, but has always worked as a writer. She became known in 1988 with a collection of short stories; El asesino en la muñeca (Murder in the doll). In 1997 she published her first novel; Último domingo en Londres (The Last Sunday in London), followed by; Entre amigas (1998) (Between Friends), Amor o lo que sea (2005) (Love or whatever), Adolenscencia en Barcelona hacia 1970 (2007) (Adolenscence in Barcelona towards 1970), and Los otros son más felices (2011) (The Others are Happier). Her latest book is, Una vida subterráneo, Diario 1991-1994 (2013) (A Subterranean Life, Diary 1991-1994). Parallel to her narrative work, Laura Freixas has dedicated much time to women's studies. In 1996 she coordinated and wrote the prologue for an anthology of short stories by contemporary Spanish women writers; Madres e hijas (Mothers and Daughters) having nine editions published in the first year. In 2000 she published the influential Essay; Literatura y mujeres (Literature and Women). In 2009 brough light on another anthology of similar character; Cuentos de amigas (Stories of Friends) as well as the work; La novela femenil y sus Lectrices (The Feminine Novel and its Readers) winning the Leonor de Guzmán Award. She has also published the biography about the Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, titled Ladrona de rosas (2010) (The Rose Thief). Freixas gives literary workshops for diverse institutions and has been a professor, lecturer and invited writer in numerous Universities both in Spain and Iternationally. www.laurafreixas.com/
[ ... ]
Gómez Rufo, Antonio
Antonio Gómez Rufo (Spain, 1954) discovered his literary vocation in his early teenage years, and during his university studies wrote his first book, an essay titled Aproximación al concepto de Revolución Cultural, which was published many years later under the title El hombre asustado. Gómez Rufo studied Law at the Complutense University of Madrid, and during his studies began contributing journalistic articles to various media outlets. In 1978, he began his professional career as a lawyer and advisor to the Directorate-General for Cinema at the Ministry of Culture. Gradually, he consolidated his literary activity and published two books: a biography of Karl Marx and the essay Ecología y Constitución. In 1979, he joined the Spanish Film Archive (Filmoteca Española), founded a debate platform called Club Cultura y Sociedad, and participated in the creation of several associations and NGOs. In 1983, he was appointed director of the Aula de Cultura and the Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid. That same year, he published the short story collections Ópera 5 and El último verano de la familia Manela, as well as the novel El último goliardo, which was a finalist for the La Sonrisa Vertical Prize (Tusquets). He also continued his journalistic work as a contributor to El País, where he had been collaborating for several years. Between 1987 and 1992, he published several books: Así es Madrid; the novels Natalia, El Club de los Osos Traviesos, Aguas tranquilas, aguas profundas, and El carnaval perpetuo; the essays Madrid, bajos fondos and Juegos eróticos de salón; and the children’s story El cazador de nubes. From 1991 to 1994, he worked on his novel La leyenda del falso traidor and contributed to various media outlets. Over the past several years, he has delivered lectures, participated in roundtables and seminars, and engaged in literary discussions. His work during this period includes contributions to magazines such as Leer, La Gaceta del Libro, the books section of Guía del Ocio, and Revista del Sur, published in Malmö, Sweden. The novel La leyenda del falso traidor has been continuously reprinted since 1994 and has become a reference work on the Rome of Julius Caesar. In 2005, he won the Fernando Lara Novel Prize with El secreto del rey cautivo. His subsequent works include La noche del tamarindo (Planeta, 2008), La abadía de los crímenes (Planeta, 2011), La más bella historia de amor de Paula Cortázar (Planeta, 2012), La camarera de Bach (Planeta, 2014), and Madrid, la novela (Ediciones B, 2016). Gómez Rufo is a member of the Editorial Committee of GALERNA magazine (Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA). He is a Knight of the Francisco de Quevedo Literary Order and vice president of the Spanish Association of Writers (ACE). He has served as president of the Madrid Literary Circle and as a member of the board of the IPADE Foundation (Institute for Development). He is currently a member of the Spanish Section of the World Alliance Against Poverty (founder and coordinator of the Writers for Peace platform) and a member of the Spanish Association of Crime Writers.
[ ... ]
Gutiérrez, Xabier
Xabier Gutiérrez (San Sebastián, 1960) is a chef, psychologist, and writer. Since 1990, he has directed the innovation department at the Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastián. He also advises companies in the food industry, collaborates with media outlets, and teaches in the Master’s program in Innovation and Restaurant Management at the Basque Culinary Center. He has published twelve cookbooks and five essays on culinary aesthetics. He has been awarded the National Gastronomy Prize and the Best World Cookbook Award. After publishing his first novel, El aroma del crimen (The Scent of Crime, Destino, 2015), Gutiérrez returned to the same setting and characters in El bouquet del miedo (The Bouquet of Fear), the second installment of his gastronomic noir series featuring Deputy Inspector Vicente Parra. He continued the series with Sabor crítico (Critical Taste, 2017) and De entre el humo (Out of the Smoke, 2019).
[ ... ]
Queralt, María Pilar
María Pilar Queralt del Hierro, who holds a degree in Modern and Contemporary History from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, has worked as a university professor and editor. Since 2000, she has devoted herself exclusively to historical dissemination, contributing to various media outlets with the aim of bringing history closer to the general public. She does so through both biographical essays and historical novels, with a single central focus: the study of women’s roles throughout history. Among her works, the historical novel trilogy Inés de Castro, Leonor, and La rosa de Coimbra stands out, centered on three key figures in Portuguese history. The first of these has been the subject of study at several Portuguese universities and is required reading at the School of Education of the University of Lisbon. Her most recent novel, Las damas del rey (2011), was described by critics as “an enjoyable and instructive journey through Renaissance Europe, written with great literary precision and careful language, supported by thorough documentation.” In 2012, her biographical essay Las mujeres de Felipe II. Deber y pasión en la casa del rey (The Women of Philip II: Duty and Passion in the King’s Household) was awarded the IX Algaba Prize for Biography and Historical Research.
[ ... ]
Ramírez, Sergio
Nicaragua, 1942 Sergio Ramírez was born in 1942 in Masatepe, Nicaragua. He published his first short stories at the age of eighteen. Whilst studying law he founded the literary magazine “Ventana” (“Window”) and in 1970 published his first novel, Tiempo de fulgor (Glaring Times). Since then till Tongolele no sabía bailar (Tongolele did not know how to dance) there have appeared Ya nadie llora por mí (No One No Longer Cries for Me, Alfaguara, 2017), Un baile de mascaras (Masked Ball), Castigo Divino (Divine Punishment) (Premio Dashiel Hammett in 1990), Margarita está linda la mar (Margarita How Beautiful the Sea) (Premio Alfaguara in 1998), Mil y una muertes (One Thousand and One Deaths), La Fugitiva, (The Fugitive), or the detective novel El cielo llora por mi (The Sky Cries for Me). Another of his constant genres has been the short story, of which stand out the volumes El reino animal (Animal Kingdom), Perdón y olvido (Forgivness and Oblivion), Flores oscuras (Dark Flowers) and his Personal Anthology, 50 Years of Short Stories (Oceáno Mexico, 2017). But also the recollection, Adiós muchachos (Goodbye Fellows, 1999), the essay Mentiras verdaderas (True Lies, 2001) and the indefatigable oped writer. His books have been translated into 20 languages. His latest novel is Ese día cayó en domingo (That Day Fell on a Sunday, 2022). • Cervantes Prize 2017 • Premio Iberoamericano de Letras José Donoso, awarded by the Universidad de Talca, Chile, 2011 • Premio Panamá Negro. Feria Internacional del Libro, Panamá, 2017. • Premio Carlos Fuentes a la Creación Literaria (Spanish language), awarded in México, 2014. • Premio del Festival Internacional Metrópolis Bleu, Montreal, Canadá, 2011 • Premio Latinoamericano José María Arguedas, 2000 • Premio Alfaguara de Novela, 1998 • Prix Laure Bataillon, 1998 • Premio Internacional Dashiel Hammett de Novela ,1995 • Named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 1993) www.sergioramirez.com/
[ ... ]
Sietecase, Reynaldo
© Gentileza Alejandra López Reynaldo Sietecasas was born in Rosario, Argentina. He is a writer and journalist. Author of the novels "Un crimen argentino" (An Argentine Crime) (2002, Alfaguara), "A cuántos hay que matar" (How Many Must We Kill) (2010, Alfaguara), "No pidas nada" (Ask for Nothing) (2017, Alfaguara), and "La Rey" (2024, Alfaguara). He published the short story collection "Pendejos" (Fools) (2007, Alfaguara) and eight poetry books. Much of this work was compiled in the anthologies: "Nadie es de nadie" (No One Belongs to Anyone) (2019, Sial Pigmalión, Spain) and "Lengua Sucia" (Dirty Language) (2020, Lumen). The book "No hay tiempo que perder" (There's No Time to Lose) (2011, Aguilar) brings together a selection of his best chronicles. He also published the journalistic investigation "Kamikazes, los mejores peores años de la Argentina" (Kamikazes, the Best Worst Years of Argentina) (2013, Aguilar) and the photographic essay "Desnudos de vidriera" (Naked Shop Windows) (2017, Reservoir). In 2022, the film adaptation of "Un crimen argentino" was released, produced by Pampa Films and Warner Bros (currently on HBO Max and Filmin platforms). https://reynaldosietecase.com.ar/
[ ... ]
Solares, Martín
Martín Solares (Tampico, Tamaulipas, 1970) has published a book of essays, Cómo dibujar una novela (How to Draw a Novel); a children's book, Los monstruos y tú (The Monsters and You); and two novels set in the Gulf of Mexico: No manden flores (Don't Send Flowers), translated into English, French, and Polish, and a finalist for the Violet Noir Prize, as well as Los minutos negros (The Black Minutes), translated into six languages, a finalist for the Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize, the Antonin Artaud Prize, and the Bibliothèque des Littératures Policières Prize. The Black Minutes was selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the best novels of the year and was adapted into a film in 2022. He has won three national literature awards: the José Revueltas Fine Arts Prize for Literary Essay, the Juan de la Cabada National Prize for Children's Short Stories, and the Efraín Huerta National Short Story Prize, as well as the International Book Award for Best Mystery Novel. This year, the third installment of the Catorce colmillos (Fourteen Fangs) trilogy will be published. These three detective novels blend historical accuracy with the freedom of fantastic imagination and take place in the turbulent Paris of the 1920s, a city teeming with spies, anarchists, and assassins.
[ ... ]
Torrijos, Pedro
Pedro Torrijos is an architect and writer. He has published five books—three narrative essays, one novel, and a children’s illustrated album—which have reached 26 editions, including a translation into Italian. His work explores the invisible relationships between time, space, and human beings. From a deeply personal and literary perspective, Torrijos works with memory and experience to construct narratives that bridge the intimate and the collective, where the world is transformed into storytelling without regard for the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. With a prose style recognized for its precise rhythm, evocative density, and attention to detail, he consistently seeks a narrative truth that goes beyond the plot, allowing readers to sense what lies beneath it. He regularly writes for El País and contributes weekly to El Ojo Crítico on Spain’s National Radio (RNE). Atolón will be his second novel.
[ ... ]
Tree, Matthew
Matthew Tree (London, 1958) learned Catalan, became a teacher of the language in 1979, and moved to Barcelona in 1984. He has published the novels Fora de lloc (Cafè Central, 1996) and Privilegiat (Columna Prize, 2001), the short story collection Ella ve quan vol (October Narrative Prize, 1999), and the travel book CAT. Un anglès viatja per Catalunya per veure si existeix (CAT. An Englishman Travels Through Catalonia to See if It Exists, Columna, 2000). He is a member of the Hermanos Miranda collective, contributing to all of their short story collections, including Aaaahhh... Dotze contes eròtics (Columna, 1998), El Barça o la vida (Columna, 1999), Tocats d'amor (Columna, 2000), Contes per a nenes dolentes (Columna, 2001), La vida sexual dels Germans Miranda (Columna, 2002), and Adeu, Pujol (Columna, 2003). He has contributed to various English and Catalan publications and currently writes a monthly column for the newspapers El Punt and Diari de Barcelona (online). He has also participated in numerous radio and television programs. His book Memòries! 1974-1989 (Columna, 2004) remained his most recent work for many years. In recent years, he has expanded his body of work with essays, novels, and autobiographical texts that have cemented his position as one of the most distinctive British voices in Catalan literature. Among his most notable titles are Negre de merda (2005), La puta feina (2007), Com explicar aquest país als estrangers (2011), No sóc racista, però… (2018), and De fora vingueren (2020). In English, he has published the novels If Only (2021), Just Looking (2022), The Last Person in the World (2023), and We’ll Never Know (2024). In addition to his literary work, Tree remains active in the media as a regular columnist for El Punt Avui and a contributor to cultural magazines and publications in both Catalan and English. He has also worked as a screenwriter and presenter for the TV3 program Passatgers and actively participates in debates on language, identity, and society within the Catalan context.
[ ... ]
Urroz, Eloy
Eloy Urroz is the author of the novels Las leyes que el amor elige (1993), Las rémoras (1996), Herir tu fiera carne (1997), Las almas abatidas (2000), Un siglo tras de mí (2004), Fricción (2008), La familia interrumpida (2011), and Nudo de alacranes (2019). He is also co-author of Tres bosquejos del mal (1994) and Crack. Instrucciones de uso (2004). He has written several essays, including Las formas de la inteligencia amorosa: D. H. Lawrence y James Joyce (1999), La silenciosa herejía: forma y contrautopía en las novelas de Jorge Volpi (2000), Siete ensayos capitales (2004), and Êthos, forma, deseo entre España y México (2007). Urroz has also published poetry collections such as Ver de viento (1988), Sobre cómo apresar la vida de las estrellas (1989), Yo soy ella (1998), Poemas en exhibición (2003), and Yer blues (2011), as well as the political chronicle El águila, la serpiente y el tucán (2000). Several of his novels have been translated into English, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. He is currently a professor of Latin American literature at The Citadel College in South Carolina.
[ ... ]