Alberto José Barrera Tyszka (born 18 February 1960) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n writer. In 2006, he received the Herralde Prize for his novel ''La enfermedad'' ("The Sickness").

Life and career

Barrera Tyszka was born in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, and grew up in Venezuela. He graduated from the

Central University of Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in L ...

, where he is now a professor in the Department of Literature. In the 1980s, he participated in the poetry movements ''Tráfico'' and ''Guaire''. His collaborations have appeared in diverse anthologies and publications from Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Cuba, and Venezuela. He is a regular columnist (since 1996) for the daily newspaper ''El Nacional'', and a regular contributor to the magazine ''

Letras Libres ''Letras Libres'' is a Spanish-language monthly literary magazine published in Mexico and Spain. History and profile ''Letras Libres'', printed since 1999 in Mexico and since 2001 in Spain, has an average of eighteen to twenty articles per issue ...

''. He has written

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

screenplays in Argentina,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Mexico, and Venezuela. He has published four novels, a poetry collection, and three books of history, including ''Hugo Chávez sin uniforme: una historia personal'' (2005), the first biography of the late Venezuelan president

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

(co-authored with journalist

Cristina Marcano Cristina Marcano (born 1960), is a biographer of former Venezuelan President of Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez. Along with Alberto Barrera Tyszka, she authored ''Hugo Chávez Sin Uniforme: Una Historia Personal'', which was published in 2005 by ...

).Alberto Barrera Tyszka - ANAGRAMA
His literary influences include Fedor Dostoyevski,

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

César Vallejo César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza (March 16, 1892 – April 15, 1938) was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only two books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators ...

, Salvador Garmendia, and

José Ignacio Cabrujas José Ignacio Cabrujas Lofiego (July 17, 1937 – October 21, 1995 in Porlamar, Margarita Island) was a Venezuelan playwright, theater director, chronicler, soap opera writer, drama librettist, screenplay writer, radio moderator, humanist and poli ...

. In 2015 his novel ''Patria o muerte'' ("The Last Days of El Comandante") about Venezuelan leader

and his battle with cancer between 2011 and 2013, won the XI Premio Tusquets de Novela. Barrera's works have been translated into Mandarin, Portuguese, French, English, and Italian.Alberto Barrera Tyszka, ''"Los Imposibles"''. ''Unión Radio Medios''. 6 January 2012
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List of works

;Novels * ''También el corazón es un descuido'' (2001). Mexico: Plaza & Janés. * ''La enfermedad'' (2006). Barcelona:

Anagrama Anagrama is a Spanish publisher founded in 1969 by Jorge Herralde. In 2010 it was sold to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli. Since 1969, Anagrama has published over 3,500 titles. currently, Anagrama publishes around 100 books annually, between t ...

. ** Published in English as ''The Sickness'' (2010). London:

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

. Translated by

Margaret Jull Costa Margaret Elisabeth Jull Costa OBE, OIH (born 2 May 1949) is a British translator of Portuguese- and Spanish-language fiction and poetry, including the works of Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, Eça de Queiroz, Fernando Pessoa, Paulo Coelho, B ...

. * ''Rating'' (2011). Barcelona:

. * ''Patria o muerte'' (2015). Barcelona: Tusquets. ** Published as ''The Last Days of El Comandante'' (2020). Austin: University of Texas Press. Translated by Rosalind Harvey and Jesse Mendez Sayer. * ''Mujeres que matan'' (2019). Barcelona : Literatura Random House ;Collections of short stories * ''Edición de lujo'' (1990). Fundarte. * ''Perros'' (2006). Camelia Ediciones. * ''Crímenes'' (2009). Barcelona:

. ;Poetry * ''Amor que por demás'' (1985) * ''Coyote de ventanas'' (1993)

Monte Ávila Editores Monte Ávila Editores is the largest and most important publishing house in Venezuela. Between 1980 and 2000 it published over 300 titles, largely by Venezuelan authors, producing over 1.2m copies. Founded in 1968 on the initiative of author Sim� ...

* ''Tal vez el frío'' (2000) Pequeña Venecia * ''La inquietud''. Anthology (1985-2012) (2013) Lugar Común ;Non-fiction * ''Hugo Chávez sin uniforme: una historia personal'' (2005) Madrid: Debate. * ''Alta Traición'' (chronicles) (2008) Caracas: Debate. * ''Un país a la semana'' (chronicles) (2013) Caracas: ''El Nacional'' Books. ;Telenovelas * '' Amanda Sabater'' (1989).

Radio Caracas Televisión Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) was a Venezuelan free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, Radio Caracas Televisió ...

* ''

Aunque mal paguen ''Aunque mal paguen'' (English title: ''Destiny'') is a Venezuelan telenovela written by Alberto Barrera Tyszka and produced by Venevisión in 2007. María Antonieta Castillo and Miguel de León star as the main protagonists while Ana Karina Manco ...

'' (2007). Venevision * ''

Los misterios del amor ''Los misterios del amor'' (English title: ''The mysteries of love'') is a Venezuelan telenovela written by Alberto Barrera Tyszka and produced by Venevisión in 2009. On May 13, 2008, Venevisión started broadcasting ''Los misterios del amor'' ...

'' (2009). Venevision * ''

El árbol de Gabriel ''El árbol de Gabriel'' (English title: ''Gabriel's Family Tree'') is a Venezuelan telenovela written by Alberto Barrera Tyszka and produced by Venevisión. Jorge Reyes and Daniela Bascopé star as the main protagonists, while Cristobal Lander ...

'' (2011). Venevision

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrera Tyszka, Alberto 1960 births Living people Central University of Venezuela alumni Central University of Venezuela faculty People from Caracas Male novelists 20th-century Venezuelan poets Venezuelan screenwriters 21st-century novelists Venezuelan male poets 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers 20th-century Venezuelan novelists 21st-century Venezuelan novelists 20th-century screenwriters 21st-century screenwriters Male screenwriters