Marta Sanz

Invitado de Honor

(Madrid, 1967) has a PhD in Philology. She has published novels, stories, essays and poems. Her novels include: El frío; Los mejores tiempos (Ojo Crítico Award from RNE in 2001); Susana y los viejos (finalist of the 2006 Nadal Award), La lección de anatomía; the trilogy of detective Arturo Zarco, Black, black, black, Un buen detective no se casa jamás and pequeñas mujeres rojas (Tenerife Noir Award 2020); Daniela Astor y la caja negra (Tigre Juan, Cálamo-Otra mirada and Estado Crítico awards); Amor fou, Farándula (Herralde Award 2016), Clavícula and Parte de mí.

She has contributed stories to collections and has won the Vargas Llosa-NH Award. Her complete poems are collected under the title Corpórea and the book of poems Vintage received the Premio de la Crítica de Madrid. Her essays include No tan incendiario; Monstruas y centauras, which received the 2018 CEGAL Award, and Enciclopedia secreta.

She collaborates with El País, Cadena SER and teaches at the Escuela de Escritores. Her latest novel is Persianas metálicas bajan de golpe (Anagrama, 2023). At the end of 2024, she will publish her work Los íntimos, again with Anagrama publishers.

Other activities involving the participant:

Toxic relationships in literature

Nuria Barrios

Invitado de Honor

Writer and translator with a PhD in Philosophy. She is the author of the essay La impostora, winner of the Premio Málaga de Ensayo; of the novels Todo arde and El alfabeto de los pájaros; of the storybooks Ocho centímetros, El zoo sentimental, Amores patológicos and Balearia; and of the poetry books La luz de la dinamo, winner of the Premio Iberoamericano de Poesía Hermanos Machado, Nostalgia de Odiseo and El hilo de agua, winner of the Premio Ateneo de Sevilla.

Her first book, Amores patológicos, has been revised and d to commemorate its 25th anniversary.

Nuria Barrios is the translator into Spanish of Irish novelist John Banville/Benjamin Black. Her latest translations are The Dead, by James Joyce, and Call Us What We Carry, by Amanda Gorman. She is a professor in the Master's program in Literary Creation and Diploma in Writing, Style and Creativity at the Universidad Internacional de Valencia (VIU).

Other activities involving the participant:

In the lost footsteps of the family
Toxic relationships in literature

Manuel Vilas

Invitado de Honor

(Barbastro, 1962) is one of the most important Spanish writers of his generation. He is a poet and narrator. As a poet, he has won the Jaime Gil de Biedma and Generación del 27 awards, among others. Her fiction work began with España, followed by the novels Aire nuestro, El luminoso regalo and the books of short stories Zeta and Setecientos millones de rinocerontes. He is the author of the travel book América, Listen to me and of the novelized biography Lou Reed era español.

His novel Ordesa (2018) became a publishing phenomenon and was translated into over 20 languages and was chosen book of the year by the Babelia supplement of the El País newspaper. It also won the Femina Award, presented in France to the best foreign novel translated into French, garnering thousands of readers worldwide. 

His novel Alegría (2019) was a finalist in the Planeta Prize and has been translated into several languages, including French, German and Italian. In 2021, his novel Los besos was released. In 2022, an important anthology of his poetic work was published under the title Una sola vida.In 2023, he won the prestigious Nadal Award with the novel Nosotros, which is now its fifth edition, with translations into several European and Eastern languages, including Chinese. He collaborates with El País, La Vanguardia, Cadena SER and other media outlets.

Other activities involving the participant:

Poetry Room

Juan Cruz

Invitado de Honor

Cruz is from Tenerife, born in 1948. A journalist since the age of 13, he has been a sports commentator, reporter, interviewer, writer, and editor. I practiced my profession in newspapers on the island where I was born and later at El País for 46 years. I directed the Alfaguara publishing house and published novels and essays, some of which have won awards. I won the Premio Canarias de Literatura and Premio Nacional de Periodismo. Tusquets granted me the Premio Comillas de Memorias for Egos revueltos.I also won the Premio Benito Pérez Armas in the Canary Islands, and in Alicante, the Premio Azorín de Novela.

In reality, the greatest prize life has given me has been my passion for journalism, which has brought me close to great figures of our time, as well as making me a friend and companion, among other possible relationships, of significant personalities in this profession and the craft of writing. My passion has always been Latin America, and fortunately, I have had the chance to publish renowned authors from our language born on both sides of our literature. The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) has been a passion I have cultivated with joy and benefit since its inception.

I am currently writing a novel in which my mother is the main character; it will be titled Juana.In it, my mother is the one speaking, and her accent, rooted in the Canary Islands and therefore Latin American, replaces my own accent, which has always been of the islands and of any part of the Americas that I love.

Other activities involving the participant:

Meetings (and misunderstandings). Cultural journalism in an era of excess