Antonio Muñoz Molina (born 10 January 1956) is a Spanish writer and, since 8 June 1995, a full member of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

. He received the 1991

Premio Planeta The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish. It is one of about 16 literary prizes given by Planeta. Financially, it is the ...

, the 2013

Jerusalem Prize The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Forum (previously kn ...

, and the 2013

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

for literature.

Biography

Muñoz Molina was born in the town of

Úbeda Úbeda (; from Iberian ''Ibiut'') is a town in the province of Jaén in Spain's autonomous community of Andalusia, with 34,733 (data 2017) inhabitants. Both this city and the neighbouring city of Baeza benefited from extensive patronage in the ...

in Jaén province. He studied history of art at the

University of Granada The University of Granada ( es, Universidad de Granada, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Apar ...

and journalism in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. He began writing in the 1980s; his first published book, ''El Robinsón urbano'', a collection of his journalistic work, was published in 1984. His columns have regularly appeared in ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'' and ''

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

''. His first novel, ''Beatus ille'', appeared in 1986. It features the imaginary city of Mágina—a re-creation of his

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

n birthplace—which would reappear in some of his later works. In 1987 Muñoz Molina was awarded Spain's National Narrative Prize for ''El invierno en Lisboa'' (translated as ''Winter in Lisbon)'', a homage to the genres of

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

and

jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

. His ''El jinete polaco'' received the

Planeta Prize The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish. It is one of about 16 literary prizes given by Planeta. Financially, it is th ...

in 1991 and, again, the National Narrative Prize in 1992. His other novels include ''Beltenebros'' (1989), a story of love and political intrigue in post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Madrid, ''Los misterios de Madrid'' (1992), and ''El dueño del secreto'' (1994). Muñoz Molina was elected to Seat ''u'' of the

Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

on 8 June 1995; he took up his seat on 16 June 1996. Muñoz Molina is married to Spanish author and journalist,

Elvira Lindo Elvira Lindo (born 23 January 1962 in Cádiz, Spain) is a Spanish journalist and writer. At the age of 12 Lindo moved to Madrid, where she studied journalism at Complutense University of Madrid. She did not get her degree, as she began to work ...

. He currently resides in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States, where he served as the director of the

Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the government of Spain, Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the ...

from 2004 to 2005.

Margaret Sayers Peden Margaret ("Petch") Sayers Peden (May 10, 1927 – July 5, 2020) was an American translator and professor emerita of Spanish at the University of Missouri. Prior to her death in 2020, Peden lived and worked in Columbia, Missouri. Early life and ed ...

's English translation of Muñoz Molina's novel ''Sepharad'' won the

PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been pr ...

in 2004. He also won the

in 2013. Isabelle Gugnon's French translation of Muñoz Molina's novel ''Un andar solitario entre la gente'' won the 2020

Prix Médicis étranger Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

Bibliography

* ''El Robinsón urbano'', 1984. * ''Diario de Nautilus'', 1985. * ''Beatus Ille'', 1986. English translation: ''A Manuscript of Ashes''. Trans.

Edith Grossman Edith Grossman (born March 22, 1936) is an American Spanish-to-English literary translator. One of the most important contemporary translators of Latin American and Spanish literature, she has translated the works of Nobel laureate Mario Vargas ...

. Orlando: Harcourt, c2008. * ''El invierno en Lisboa'', 1987. English translation: ''Winter in Lisbon''. Trans. Sonia Soto. London: Granta, 1999. * ''Las otras vidas'', 1988. * ''Beltenebros'', 1989. English translation: ''Prince of Shadows''. London: Quartet, 1993 * ''Córdoba de los omeyas'', 1991. * '' El jinete polaco'', 1991. * ''Los misterios de Madrid'', 1992. * ''Nada del otro mundo'', 1993. * ''El dueño del secreto'', 1994. * ''Las apariencias'', 1995. * ''Ardor guerrero'', 1995. * ''La huerta del Edén'', 1996. * ''Pura alegría'', 1996. * ''Plenilunio'', 1997. * ''Carlota Fainberg'', 1999. * ''En ausencia de Blanca'', 2001. English translation: ''In her absence''. Trans.

Esther Allen Esther Allen (born June 29, 1962) is a writer, professor, and translator of French-language and Spanish-language literature into English. She is on the faculties of Baruch College (Department of Modern Languages & Comparative Literature) and the ...

. New York: Other Press, c2006. . * ''Sefarad'', 2001. English translation: ''Sepharad''. Trans.

. Orlando: Harcourt, ©2003. . * ''La vida por delante'', 2002. * ''Las ventanas de Manhattan'', 2004 * ''El viento de la luna'', 2006 * ''Días de diario'', 2007 * ''La noche de los tiempos'', 2009. English translation: ''In the Night of Time''. Trans. Edith Grossman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. . * ''Todo lo que era sólido'', 2013 * ''Como la sombra que se va'', 2014. English translation: ''Like a Fading Shadow''. Trans. Camilo A. Ramirez. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017. * ''Un andar solitario entre la gente'', 2018. English translation: ''To Walk Alone in the Crowd''. Trans. Guillermo Bleichmar. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021. ISBN 9780374190255.

References

External links

Official webpage
Includes articles, blog entries and a comprehensive bibliography.
English webpage
English link to the official webpage.
Books That Changed My Life
PEN World Voices at the New York Public Library May 4, 2008
Mumonline , Open Directory
the most comprehensive Internet directory about Antonio Muñoz Molina
'The Man of Proverbs' Muñoz Molina essay excerpt from 'Traces of Sepharad (Huellas de Sefarad), Etchings of Judeo-Spanish Proverbs
by Marc Shanker, essays by Muñoz Molina and T.A. Perry *

* ttps://www.loc.gov/item/2016686138 Antonio Muñoz Molina recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on Mar. 12, 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz Molina, Antonio 1956 births Living people People from Úbeda Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish novelists Spanish male novelists University of Granada alumni Prix Femina Étranger winners Jerusalem Prize recipients Articles containing video clips Prix Médicis étranger winners