Juan Gómez-Jurado (born 16 December 1977) is a Spanish journalist and author. He is a columnist in "La Voz de Galicia" and "ABC", distributed in Spain, and he participates in multiple radio and TV programs. His books have been translated into 42 languages and he is one of the most successful living Spanish authors, along with Javier Sierra and Carlos Ruiz Zafón. His writing has been described by critics as "energetic and cinematographic". Born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, Spain, Gómez-Jurado worked in various Spanish media outlets, including 40 Principales, Cadena Ser, Cadena Cope, Radio España, Canal + and ABC, before publishing his debut novel, '' God's Spy'' (''Espía de Dios''). ''God's Spy'' is a contemporary thriller set in the Vatican, where, in the aftermath of Pope John Paul II's death, the hunt for a serial killer reveals a conspiracy. On 27 September 2008, Gómez-Jurado won the

Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja The Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja was a Spanish literary award, literary prize, awarded since 2001 by the publisher Plaza & Janés (subsidiary of Random House) to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish (Castilian). It was created i ...

for his novel ''

The Traitor's Emblem ''The Traitor's Emblem'' (El emblema del traidor in Spanish) is a bestselling thriller novel by Juan Gómez-Jurado originally published in Spain in 2008, with the English version published in 2011. It has become an instant bestseller throughout ...

''. Kirkus Reviews praised the novel as a "riveting thriller with a redeeming love story".Kirkus Reviews on The Traitor's Emblem
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Writings

*White King (Rey Blanco) (Ediciones B, 2020) *Black wolf (Loba Negra) (Ediciones B, 2019) *Red Queen (Reina Roja) (Ediciones B, 2018) *Alex Colt, Space Cadet (2017) *Scar (Cicatriz) (2016) *Point of Balance (Atria, 2016) *The Tipping Point (El paciente) (Planeta, 2014) *''

'' (Atria, 2011) *'' The Moses Expedition'' (Atria, 2010. Published by Orion, 2010 as ''Contract with God'') *'' God's Spy'' (Dutton, 2007), English translation of ''Espía de Dios'' by James Graham *''La Masacre de Virginia Tech: Anatomía de una mente torturada'' (El Andén, 2007) *''Identidad Secreta'' (Lago Ediciones, 2007) *''Otras voces'' (Alfaguara, 1996)

Controversies

Gómez-Jurado's novel '' God's Spy'' generated controversy in Spain, as the book's antagonist, Viktor Karoski, is a serial killer and pedophile priest. The book contains a detailed portrait of Saint Luke’s Institute, a

carbon copy Before the development of photographic copiers, a carbon copy was the under-copy of a typed or written document placed over carbon paper and the under-copy sheet itself (not to be confused with the carbon print family of photographic reproduc ...

of an American institution (based in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

) dedicated to the rehabilitation of sex-offender priests. This led some Catholic organizations in Spain and Poland to protest against the novel. Nevertheless, critics from both countries gave the book mostly positive reviews. American reviews were also positive; ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', for example, praised it as a "first-rate thriller".

Personal life and philanthropy

Juan Gómez-Jurado is divorced and has two children. He lives in Madrid, Spain. After his ex-wife was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, Gómez-Jurado became an activist dedicated to fighting colon cancer. He is also an ambassador of

Save The Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

. He led campaigns as "1 libro 1 euro", a website where internet users can download books in exchange for a voluntary donation to Save the Children.

List of works

* ''Espía de Dios'' ("God's Spy", a novel), Roca Editorial, 2006, Spain. Translated into English, Danish, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Italian, German, Serbian, Dutch and Finnish * ''La masacre de Virginia Tech'' ("The Virginia Tech Massacre", a chronicle), El Anden, 2007, Spain * ''Contrato con Dios'' ("Contract with God", a novel), also published as "The Moses Expedition", a novel, El Anden, 2007, Spain * ''El emblema del traidor'', Plaza & Janés, 2008, Spain. ''Winner of the 2008 Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja''

Awards and nominations

* VII

, ''

'' * International Latino Book Awards 2011, Best Adventure Novel, '' The Moses Expedition'' * International Latino Book Awards 2011, Best Popular Fiction Novel, '' The Moses Expedition'' * Nominated to CrimeFest's eDunnit Award, '' The Moses Expedition''

References

External links

''The Moses Expedition'' official website''The Traitor's Emblem'' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez-Jurado, Juan 1977 births Living people Spanish journalists 20th-century Spanish novelists 21st-century Spanish novelists Spanish male novelists Writers from Madrid Spanish mystery writers 20th-century Spanish male writers 21st-century Spanish male writers