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Javier Sierra and María Dueñas were two of the best selling authors in 2013 in Spain

We'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.

Entering "The Inmortal Pyramid" with Javier Sierra

This story starts in 2001, when its protagonist, Javier Sierra, by then already a promising young journalist, turned 30 and decided to become a full time writer. He had his will, he had his previous works and he had a theme that had been obsessing him for a long time: death as our inescapable destiny. Where do we go when we leave life? What remains of us after we’re gone? Is there a tiny little chance of avoiding our destiny? To deal with all these questions and write a novel that was just as profound as it was entertaining, Javier decided to set the action of his new work, which he planned to call The Immortal Pyramid, in ancient Egypt, a culture focused on death to which Giza’s pyramid acted as a symbol of the human will to transcend time. But Giza’s pyramid, as attractive a setting as it was, was not enough to catch the reader’s attention; so, exploring as he had been with fiction’s possibilities of dealing with History’s unsolved mysteries, Javier decided to use as a starting point something that had happened to Napoleon Bonaparte inside the pyramid. And, just as he did in The Master of El Prado, he linked the plot to a transforming personal experience he had in 1997, when he managed to spend a night inside the pyramid just like Napoleon had done centuries ago. So, following a friend’s advice, he made the book’s subtitle (Napoleon’s Egyptian Secret) turn into the actual title. And Napoleon’s Egyptian Secret was published by La Esfera de los Libros, translated into eight languages and reissued many times but, somehow, placed between The Templar Doors and The Secret Supper, two of his most well-known titles, failed to get the attention it deserved. Yet Javier Sierra always felt the book was worth a second life, just as the publishers in Planeta and we, here in Antonia Kerrigan Literary Agency, did. So, with the expert touch he had been developing throughout the years, he rewrote it, making it less dark, cutting out some of its characters, clarifying its plot; he renamed it, bringing The Immortal Pyramid title back; he turned it into a book that he asks readers to perceive as a novelty.  And we hope it happens that way; we really wish that The Immortal Pyramid reaches new readers. But the ones that have been following Javier Sierra’s career won’t be disappointed too: because this book is much more than a return to Napoleon’s Egyptian Secret; because here they’ll find all that made Sierra so popular: emotion, mysteries, big questions and unexpected answers. So, be ready to meet alchemists, sorcerers, dancers, old masters; prepare to be moved; save time for a book that you won’t be able to put down. You’re welcome to Javier Sierra’s territory; we’re heading for Egypt in a couple of minutes. Estimated arrival for the 27th of August...  

"El maestro del Prado" ("The Master of El Prado"), by Javier Sierra, the most sold national novel in Spain in 2013

El maestro del Prado (The Master of El Prado), sixth and last novel by Javier Sierra, was the most sold among the national fiction books in Spain in 2013, as revealed by Nielsen Bookscan. Published in February 2013 by Planeta, it has sold more than 150.000 copies in Spain and the same amount in Latin America, reaching its seventh edition and remaining on the best seller lists for more than 25 weeks in the sales lists. The novel, a mixture of art, history, suspense and conspiracies, crosses the limits between reality and fiction by placing Javier Sierra in the center of a mysterious tour around the Prado in which he is accompanied by an enigmatic master, who will show the author the secrets hidden in paintings by artists such as Raphael, Tiziano, El Bosco, Juan de Juanes, Botticelli, Brueghel or El Greco. By the end of 2014, El maestro del Prado (which has revived the attraction of the public for the museum, and aspires to become a book of reference for all those interested in it) will be published in English, Portuguese, Russian and Hungarian.

María Dueñas, Javier Sierra y Félix J. Palma galardonados

The Master Plan

The highly anticipated return of the master of mystery to bookstores. In 1990, Javier Sierra had an unexpected encounter at the Prado Museum with an enigmatic figure. This person revealed the existence of a secret society that, for centuries, had been safeguarding select works of art that serve as gateways between worlds. That revelation led to the creation of El maestro del Prado (Planeta, 2013). Since then, the author has been attempting to meet that mysterious figure once more and, along the way, has uncovered the existence of a "master plan" that gives art a profound meaning. For centuries, enigmatic masters have shaped humanity in unimaginable ways. Some myths refer to them as divine instructors, others as daimons, angels, or spirits. Their knowledge has been instrumental in developing agriculture, astronomy, mathematics, and artistic expression. But who are they, really? A captivating novel that will take you on a journey through art to uncover a hidden chapter of civilization.

Sierra, Javier

Javier Sierra (Teruel, 1971) is the only contemporary Spanish author to have placed his novels in the top ten of the best-selling books in the United States. His works have been translated into more than forty languages and serve as an inspiration for many readers who seek more than just entertainment in a thriller. Trained in journalism—he was the director of Más Allá de la Ciencia magazine for seven years, as well as a presenter and director of radio and television programs in Spain—he now dedicates his time to researching historical mysteries and writing about them. He has published several widely popular books, including The Secret Supper (published in 43 countries), The Blue Lady (published in 20 countries), The Forbidden Route, The Templar Doors, The Lost Angel, The Master of El Prado (the best-selling Spanish fiction book in 2013), and The Immortal Pyramid. His latest novel is The Master Plan. 

“The Master of the Prado” number one on the bestseller’s list

Since the day it was launched, February 5th 2013, Javier Sierra’s latest novel “The master of the Prado” (Editorial Planeta) has topped the bestseller’s lists in Spain, occupying the number one spot for seven consecutive weeks. “In the purest style of Javier Sierra and his stories of enigmas, “he master of the Prado” presents a passionate journey through the unknown stories and most kept secrets of one of the world’s most important art galleries, the Prado Musuem” Authors´ Web. Revista Qué leer (Febrero, 2013) La Razón (jueves 28 de marzo, 2013) ABC Cultural (viernes 29 de marzo, 2013) El Cultural (viernes 29 de marzo, 2013)