Rosa Montero Gayo (; born 3 January 1951) is a Spanish journalist and author of
contemporary fiction.
Early life and education
The daughter of a
bullfighter
A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...
and a housewife, Montero was born in
Cuatro Caminos, a district of
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 ...
. The contraction of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
forced her to remain at home between the ages of five and nine, and she began reading and writing extensively during that time. She then entered the Beatriz Galindo Institute of Madrid, and at 17, she began her university studies in
Madrid University
The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...
's School of Philosophy and Arts (''Facultad de Filosofía y Letras''). The following year, she was admitted into the School of Journalism. During her university years, she participated in independent theatre groups.
Writing career
After school, she began working as a journalist, and in 1976, she began working at ''
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 ...
''. In 1977, she began publishing interviews in the Sunday edition of the paper, and the following year, she won the "Manuel del Arco" prize for her work, and was the first woman to receive it. She also published her first novel in 1979, ''Crónica del desamor'' (Chronicle of Enmity). In 1980, she won the National Journalism prize for her articles and literary reports, and that year, she was named editor in chief of ''El País Semanal''.
In 1981 she published ''La función Delta'' (The Delta Function), and the following year, a collection of her interviews previously published in ''El País'' was released, with the title "Cinco años de país" (Five Years of ''El País''). The novel ''Te trataré como una reina'' (I Will Treat You Like a Queen) followed in 1983 and was a commercial success. She was awarded the World Prize of interviews in 1987, and published ''Temblor'' (Tremor) in 1990.
Her first children's story, ''El nido de los sueños'' (The Nest of Dreams), was published in 1992, and in the following years, she released ''Bella y oscura'' (Beautiful and Dark, 1993) and ''La vida desnuda'' (The Naked Life, 1994). In 1994 she was awarded the Journalism Prize, and in 1997 she received the Spring Novel Prize for her work ''La hija del caníbal'' (The Cannibal's Daughter). In 1999, she published ''Pasiones'' (Passions), and in 2002, ''Estampas bostonianas y otros viajes''. In 2003, she published what she considers one of her best works, ''La loca de la casa'' (The Lunatic of the House). This book won the ''Qué Leer'' Prize to the best book published in Spain in 2003, and the
Grinzane Cavour Prize
The Grinzane Cavour Prize (1989–2009) was an Italian literary award established in 1982 by Francesco Meotto. The annual award ceremony took place in the medieval castle of Grinzane Cavour. The goal of the prize was to attract young people to re ...
for the best foreign book published in Italy in 2004. In 2005 she published ''Historia del Rey Transparente'' (Story of the Transparent King), which has also won the ''Qué Leer'' Prize as the best book published in Spain in 2005.
Her short story ''El abuelo (The Grandfather)'' was included in ''Rainy Days - Días de lluvia: Short Stories by Contemporary Spanish Women Writers'', an anthology edited by Montserrat Lunati, together with a translation into English.
Selected works
*''España para ti... para siempre'' (1976) A.Q. Ediciones, Madrid (Spain for you... forever)
*''Crónica del desamor'' (1979) Editorial Debate, Madrid (Chronicle of a heartbreak)
*''La función Delta'' (1981) Editorial Debate, Madrid (The Delta function)
*''Cinco años de país'' (1982) Editorial Debate, Madrid (Five years of a country)
*''Te trataré como a una reina'' (1983) Seix Barral, Barcelona (I will treat you like a queen)
*''Media naranja'' (1985) with Jesus Yagüe, Twelve episode television series
(Better half)
*''Amado Amo'' (1988) Editorial Debate, Madrid (Beloved master)
*''Temblor'' (1990) (Trembling)
*''El nido de los sueños'' (1991) (The dreams nest)
*''Bella y oscura'' (1993) (Beautiful and dark)
*''La vida desnuda'' (1994) (The naked life)
*''Historias de Mujeres'' (1995) (Stories of women)
*''Entrevistas'' (1996) (Interviews)
*''La hija del caníbal'' (1997) (The daughter of the cannibal)
*''Amantes y enemigos. Historias de parejas'' (1998) (Lovers and enemies. Tales of couples)
*''El viaje fantástico de Bárbara'' (1998) (Barbara's fantastic journey)
*''Las barbaridades de Bárbara'' (1998) (Barbara's barbarities)
*''Bárbara contra el doctor Colmillos'' (1998) (Barbara against Doctor Fangs)
*''Pasiones'' (1999) (Passions)
*''El corazón del Tártaro'' (2001) (The heart of the Tartarus)
*''La loca de la casa'' (2003) (The crazy of the house)
*''Historia del rey transparente'' (2005) (The story of the transparent king)
*''Instrucciones para salvar al mundo'' (2008) (Instructions to save the world)
*''Lágrimas en la lluvia'' (2011) (Bruna Husky 1) (Tears in the rain)
*''La ridícula idea de no volver a verte'' (2013) (The ridiculous idea of not seeing you again)
*''El peso del corazón'' (2015) (Bruna Husky 2) (The weight of the heart)
*''La carne'' (2016) (The flesh)
*''Los tiempos del odio'' (2018) (Bruna Husky 3) (The times of hate)
*''La buena suerte'' (2020) (Good luck)
Notes
References
Further reading
* Critical studies and reviews of Montero's work:
:* Review of ''Tears in rain''.
External links
Biography on Montero's Official SiteAccessed March 7, 2018
Short biography and list of worksLos replicantes: De Philip K. Dick y Ridle Scott a Rosa Montero(Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montero, Rosa
1951 births
Living people
Writers from Madrid
Spanish women journalists
Spanish women novelists
20th-century Spanish novelists
20th-century Spanish women writers
El País people