Juan Goytisolo

Juan Goytisolo (1931–2017) was a Spanish novelist, essayist, and journalist. Born in Barcelona, he attended a Jesuit school and began studying law, but abandoned his studies in 1953. His first novel, Juegos de manos, was published in 1954. He later worked as an editor at Gallimard in Paris and helped promote Spanish literature in France before devoting himself entirely to writing. His notable novels include La reivindicación del conde don Julián (1970) and El sitio de los sitios (1995). His essays and reportage addressed, among other subjects, Islam and conflicts in Algeria, Sarajevo, and Chechnya. His work received numerous honors, including the Nelly Sachs Prize in 1993, the Octavio Paz Prize in 2002, and the Cervantes Prize in 2014.