Juan Gabriel Vásquez (born in Bogotá on January 1, 1973) is a Colombian writer, journalist and translator. Regarded as one of the most important Latin American novelists working today, he is the author of seven novels, two volumes of stories, two books of literary essays, and numerous articles of political commentary. His novel ''

The Sound of Things Falling ''The Sound of Things Falling'' ( es, El ruido de las cosas al caer) is the third novel of Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez. Originally published in Spanish in 2011, the book explores the Colombian drug trade. It won the 2011 Alfaguara Priz ...

'', published in Spanish in 2011, won the Alfaguara Novel Prize and the 2014

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

, among other prizes. His novels have been published in 28 languages. In 2012, after living in Europe for sixteen years, in Paris, the Belgian Ardennes, and Barcelona, Vásquez moved with his family back to Bogotá.

Biography and literary career

Youth and studies in Bogotá

Juan Gabriel Vásquez was born on January 1, 1973, to Alfredo Vásquez and Fanny Velandia, both lawyers. He began to write at an early age, publishing his first stories in a school magazine at the age of eight. During his teenage years, he began reading the Latin American writers of the ''boom'' generation:

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

and

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), ''Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christopher ...

, among others. In 1990 Vásquez began studying Law at the Universidad del Rosario. The university is located in downtown Bogotá, surrounded by the streets and historical sites where Vásquez’s novels are set. While studying for his law degree, he voraciously read

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

and Julio Cortázar, among other Latin American authors, and studied the works of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

. He graduated in 1996 with a thesis entitled ''Revenge as a legal prototype in the'' Iliad, later published by his alma mater. By the time he received his diploma, he had already decided to pursue a career as a writer.

The Parisian period (1996–1998)

Days after receiving his diploma, Vásquez traveled to Paris for post-graduate studies in Latin American literature at

La Sorbonne , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, which he never finished. He had literary reasons for choosing Paris, as Vásquez associated the city with the works of expatriate authors who had influenced him:

, Julio Cortázar, and

. But he also left Colombia because of the political violence and climate of fear that prevailed in the country since the 1980s. In Paris Vásquez finished his first novel, ''Persona'' (1997). A short novel set in Florence, it shows the influence of modernism and of

, an author to whose work Vásquez has always felt close. After his studies at the Sorbonne, Vásquez abandoned writing a thesis in order to concentrate on fiction. He finished a second novel, ''Alina suplicante'' in 1999. Vásquez later repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with his first two books, which he thought of as the works of an apprentice. He has refused to reissue them after their initial publication. Both are short novels with an intimate atmosphere, but otherwise have little in common. Vásquez has said that even before publishing ''Alina suplicante'', his dissatisfaction with these works pitched him into a deep crisis. He left Paris at the beginning of 1999, looking for a place to renew himself.

The season in the Ardennes (1999)

1999 was a crucial year for Vasquez, both professionally and personally. Between January and September, Vásquez lived near Xhoris, a small town in the Walloon area of Belgium in the home of an older couple in the Ardennes. He has frequently stressed the importance of this period."Escribimos porque la realidad nos parece imperfecta: Entrevista con Jasper Vervaeke y Rita de Maeseneer". ''Ciberletras'', 23 (2010). His short story 'The Messenger' was included in ''Líneas Aéreas'', an anthology that would be regarded as the main forecast of Spanish and Latin American literature in the 21st century. He read the work of novelists who would leave a strong mark on his own work, such as Joseph Conrad and

Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'' and '' Tomorrow in the Battle ...

, and also short story writers far from the Latin American tradition, like

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 ...

and

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro (; ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as revolutionizing the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move f ...

. His experiences, encounters and observations during that season became the material of his next book, the collection of stories ''The All Saints’ Day Lovers'' (2001). In September 1999 Vásquez married Mariana Montoya. They settled in Barcelona. Vásquez has invoked three reasons for choosing that destination: the link between Barcelona and the Latin American Boom, the opportunities the city offered to someone who wanted to earn a living by his pen, and the open spirit with which the new Latin American literature was being received in Spain.

The Barcelona years (1999–2012)

In 2000, Vásquez began working as an editor at ''Lateral'', an independent Barcelona magazine that was published between 1994 and 2006. Under the direction of a Hungarian expatriate, Mihály Dés, the magazine brought together a generation of emerging writers such as French novelist

Mathias Énard Mathias Énard (born 1972) is a French novelist. He studied Persian and Arabic and spent long periods in the Middle East. He has lived in Barcelona for about fifteen years, interrupted in 2013 by a writing residency in Berlin. He won several awa ...

and Catalan cultural critic Jordi Carrión. The Chilean novelist

Roberto Bolaño Roberto Bolaño Ávalos (; 28 April 1953 – 15 July 2003) was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist. In 1999, Bolaño won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel ''Los detectives salvajes'' ('' The Savage Detectives ...

was also connected to the magazine. While working at ''Lateral'', Vásquez wrote a series of short stories based on his experiences during the years he spent in France and Belgium. ''Lovers on All Saints’ Day'' was published in Colombia in April 2001; although it was well received, evoking comparisons to

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mil ...

and

, critics were surprised by the fact that a Colombian author should write a book with Belgian or French characters. The few reviews that appeared in Spain praised the "subtleties of a Central European narrator" and discussed the simultaneous influence of

Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

and

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fi ...

. From then on Vásquez would consider ''Lovers on All Saints’ Day'' as his first mature book. During the early years in Barcelona Vásquez also worked as a translator. He was commissioned to do the first translation published in Spain of '' Hiroshima'', by

John Hersey John Richard Hersey (June 17, 1914 – March 24, 1993) was an American writer and journalist. He is considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling techniques of fiction are adapted to n ...

. In 2002, after leaving ''Lateral,'' he concentrated on translation and journalism as ways to earn a living. He wrote articles and book reviews for ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' and ''El País'', among others. He translated

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

’s ''Last Day of a Condemned Man'' and

John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a young man, visit ...

’ ''Journeys Between Wars''. In 2003, Vásquez published ''Nowhere Man'' (''El hombre de ninguna parte''), a brief biography of Joseph Conrad. The following year he published the novel he now regards as his first: ''The Informers''. Its critical reception was extraordinary. The novel was praised by

and

. ''Semana'' Magazine, one of the most influential Colombian publications, chose it as one of the most important novels published since 1981. In a few years, it was translated into more than a dozen languages. In England, where it was endorsed by

John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry ...

, it was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Its publication in the United States in 2009 had an unusual reception for a Latin American writer. In ''The New York Times'', Larry Rohter wrote: "Vasquez's career takes off remarkably."

Jonathan Yardley Jonathan Yardley (born October 27, 1939) was the book critic at ''The Washington Post'' from 1981 to December 2014, and held the same post from 1978 to 1981 at the ''Washington Star''. In 1981, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Bac ...

, in ''The Washington Post'', said it was "the best work of literary fiction to come my way since 2005". The novel was translated by Anne McLean, who has subsequently translated all of Vásquez’s books. In September 2005, his twin daughters Martina and Carlota were born in Bogotá. Vasquez’s next novel, ''The Secret History of Costaguana'', is dedicated to them. The novel, built on speculation (Joseph Conrad’s possible visit to Colombia in the 1870s), confirmed Vásquez's reputation. He establishes a dialogue with the life and work of Conrad, in particular his novel ''Nostromo'', and with the Colombian history of the 19th century, especially the building of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

. His narrator has a picaresque and sarcastic tone, constantly addressing the reader, having recourse to anachronisms, exaggerations and improbability whenever it suits his yarn; according to Spanish novelists

Juan Marsé Juan Marsé Carbó (8 January 1933 – 18 July 2020) was a Spanish novelist, journalist, and screenwriter who used Spanish as his literary language. In 2008, he was awarded the Cervantes Prize, "the Spanish-language equivalent" to the Nobel ...

and

Enrique Vila-Matas Enrique Vila-Matas (born 31 March 1948 in Barcelona) is a Spanish author. He has authored several award-winning books that mix genres and has been branded as one of the most original and prominent writers in the Spanish language. He is a foundi ...

, Vásquez creates a powerful dialogue between the narrator and the reader, as well as between fiction and history. ''The Secret History of Costaguana'' is also an indirect comment on Vásquez's relationship with the work of

. It is an issue to which he has returned many times discussing the idea of influence. In one of his articles he wrote:

That right to mix traditions and languages with impunity - to unapologetically look for contamination, to break with the staggered national or linguistic loyalties that tormented Colombian writers until recently - is, perhaps, the great legacy of García Márquez … ''One Hundred Years of Solitude'' is a book that can be admired infinitely, but whose teachings are hardly applicable (the proof is what happens to its copycats). So I will repeat here what I have said elsewhere: no Colombian writer with a minimum of ambition would dare to follow through the paths already explored by the works of García Márquez; but no writer with a minimum of common sense would underestimate the possibilities that this work has opened for us.

In 2007 Vásquez was included in Bogotá 39, a

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Y Gelli), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, ...

project that brought together the most notable Latin American writers under 39 years of age. That same year he began writing opinion pieces for ''

El Espectador ''El Espectador'' (meaning "The Spectator") is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It changed from a daily to a weekly editio ...

'', the most prominent liberal Colombian newspaper. In his columns he was deeply critical of the governments of

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in t ...

in Colombia and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. His political positions seem to defend freedom as a supreme value and an open, secular and liberal society:

For me it is still relevant for a novelist to participate in the social debate. For a philosopher too, for that matter; in any case, someone who thinks about reality in moral terms. Politicians do not usually do it, least of all in my country. The great contemporary debates in societies such as mine, about the legalization of drugs, about gay marriage, about abortion - politicians are never able to take them to the field of moral discussion, which is where they should be discussed. They discuss them in religious terms, they discuss them in political terms (in the most banal sense of the word). But they rarely try to understand these things from the point of view of individuals. Who are we hurting? Whose lives are we destroying or seriously affecting with a decision? This is not what they talk about.

In 2008 Vásquez published a compilation of literary essays, ''The Art of Distortion'' (''El arte de la distorsión'' in Spanish). That same year he was invited to the Santa Maddalena Foundation, a retreat for writers located in Tuscany, Italy. There he began writing his novel ''The Sound of Things Falling''. Published in April 2011, ''The Sound of Things Falling'' was awarded the

Alfaguara Prize The Alfaguara Novel Prize ( es, Premio Alfaguara de Novela) is a Spanish-language literary award. The award is one of the most prestigious in the Spanish language. It includes a prize of (about ) making it one of the richest literary prizes in th ...

and became one of the major Colombian novels of recent decades. The Colombian writer Héctor Abad Faciolince saluted it as “the best verbal creation I have read in all the Colombian literature of recent times”. The novel provoked similar enthusiasm in translation. In Italy, it won the Premio Gregor von Rezzori-Città di Firenze; with the English translation, Vásquez became the first Latin American and the second Spanish-language author to win the

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

. The French translation was instrumental to Vásquez being awarded the Prix Roger Caillois; in the United States, the novel appeared on the cover of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', where

Edmund White Edmund Valentine White III (born 1940) is an American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer and an essayist on literary and social topics. Since 1999 he has been a professor at Princeton University. France made him (and later ) de l'Ordr ...

called it “A brilliant new novel...gripping...absorbing right to the end”.

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), ''The Magician King'' (2011), and ''The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technology ...

, in ''Time'' magazine, wrote about Vásquez: He's often compared to

, another Latin American writer in full flight from magical realism. ��Like Bolaño, he's a master stylist and a virtuoso of patient pacing and intricate structure, and he uses the novel for much the same purpose Bolaño did: to map the deep, cascading damage done to our world by greed and violence and to concede that even love can't repair it.

The return to Bogotá (2012)

In 2012, after sixteen years in Europe, Vásquez returned with his family to Colombia. The following year he was writer in residence at Stanford University, in California, United States. There he finished the short novel ''Reputations'', the story of a political cartoonist. The book was published in April 2013 and went to win the Royal Spanish Academy Award and the Prémio Casa de América Latina de Lisboa, among others. After publication in the United States, ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'' called it Vásquez's "most intelligent and persuasive work":

With his book of Belgian short stories and his five Colombian novels, Vásquez has accumulated an impressive body of work, one of the most striking to have emerged in Latin America so far this century … Like Conrad’s best novels, Vásquez’s are tautly written—every line is charged with acute observation and analysis. In this he also recalls Borges, albeit in a more down-to-earth, nonmetaphysical mode.

In August 2014, Vásquez left his weekly column in ''

'', but continues to write occasional opinion pieces. He was frequently moved to write by the peace negotiations that the Colombian government was carrying out in Havana, Cuba, with the

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

guerrilla. In '' El País'' (Madrid) and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' (London), he repeatedly defended the peace process and the need to put an end to the war that has ravaged his country during the last decades. He has been one of the most vocal supporters of the peace agreements. In 2015, Vásquez published ''The Shape of the Ruins''. It is his most challenging novel, as it mixes various genres to explore the consequences of two murders that have marked Colombian history: those of

Rafael Uribe Uribe Rafael Victor Zenón Uribe Uribe (born April 12, 1859 – died October 15, 1914, in Bogotá) was a Colombian lawyer, journalist, and general in the liberal party rebel army. Uribe Uribe is best known for his political ideas in favor of the est ...

(1914) and Jorge Eliécer Gaitán (1948). The novel was very well received both in Colombia and abroad. Interviewed by Colombian magazine ''Arcadia'', Vásquez said:

''The Shape of the Ruins'' is by far the most difficult challenge that I have faced as a novelist. In part, this is due to everything the novel tries to do at the same time: it is an autobiography, a historical exploration, a criminal novel, a conspiracy theory, a meditation on what we are as a country ... I had to write 26 different versions to discover the one that best suited the book. Or rather: the one that was able to put everything together in the same plotJuan David Correa. "Los hechos que marcaron nuestra historia son momentos de engaños". ''Arcadia'', November 20, 2015..

With the novel, Vásquez became the first Latin American to win the Premio Casino da Póvoa, Portugal’s most prestigious award for fiction in translation. The novel was also shortlisted for the Premio Bienal de Novela Mario Vargas Llosa and for the

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

. In ''

'',

Ariel Dorfman Vladimiro Ariel Dorfman (born May 6, 1942) is an Argentine-Chilean-American novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. A citizen of the United States since 2004, he has been a professor of literature and Latin American ...

wrote:

Juan Gabriel Vásquez … has succeeded García Márquez as the literary grandmaster of Colombia, a country that can boast of many eminent authors … Readers might expect that Vásquez has written a noir detective novel that investigates a crime that has gone unpunished for seventy years and restores some semblance of justice. Nothing, however, is that orderly in ''The Shape of the Ruins'', which subverts the crime genre, presenting the hunt for culprits within the frame of what seems to be a Sebaldian memoir.

In 2016 the Barcelona-based publisher Navona commissioned Vásquez to translate one of his favorite novels, Joseph Conrad’s '' Heart of Darkness''. The same translation was published by Angosta Editores, a small Colombian press owned by the writer Héctor Abad Faciolince. In February 2017, Vásquez was invited by the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...

to occupy the

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...

chair. The result of these courses was a collection of essays around the art of the novel: ''Travels with a Blank Map'' (''Viajes con un mapa en blanco'' in Spanish). The book was published in November of that same year. In 2018, seventeen years after ''Lovers on All Saint's Day'', Vásquez published his second collection of short stories, ''Songs for the Flames'' (''Canciones para el incendio'' in Spanish). It is scheduled for publication in the UK in the fall of 2020. Publication date in the United States is yet to be determined.

Works

Vasquez, Juan Gabriel (& Hasbun, Rodrigo)

Novels

* 1997 ''- Persona'' * 1999 ''- Alina suplicante'' * 2004 ''- Los informantes'' (''The Informers'', 2008) * 2007 ''- Historia secreta de Costaguana'' (''The Secret History of Costaguana'', 2010) * 2011 ''- El ruido de las cosas al caer'' (''The Sound of Things Falling,'' 2013) * 2013 ''- Las reputaciones'' (''Reputations,'' 2015) * 2015 ''- La forma de las ruinas'' (''The Shape of the Ruins,'' 2018) * 2020 - ''Volver la vista atrás'' (''Retrospective,'' 2022)

Short stories

* 2001 (Colombia; 2008, expanded version, Spain) ''- Los amantes de Todos los Santos'' (UK: ''The All Saints’ Day Lovers''; US: ''Lovers on All Saints’ Day'', 2016) * 2018 ''- Canciones para el incendio''

Essays

* 2004 ''- Joseph Conrad. El hombre de ninguna parte'' * 2009 ''- El arte de la distorsión'' * 2011 ''- La venganza como prototipo legal alrededor de la'' Ilíada * 2017 - ''Viajes con un mapa en blanco''

Awards and distinctions

* 2009 - Shortlisted for the ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize for ''The Informers'' * 2007 - Premio Qwerty, (Spain) for ''The Secret History of Costaguana'' * 2007 - Premio Fundación Libros & Letras (Colombia) for ''The Secret History of Costaguana'' * 2007 - Premio Nacional de Periodismo Simón Bolívar (Colombia) for “The Art of Distortion” (essay) * 2011 -

(Spain) for ''The Sound of Things Falling'' * 2012 - Prix Roger Caillois (France) * 2012 - Premio Nacional de Periodismo Simón Bolívar (Colombia) for "Una charla entre pájaros" (essay) * 2013 - Gregor von Rezzori Award (Italy) for ''The Sound of Things Falling'' * 2014 -

* 2014 - Shortlisted for the Premio Bienal de Novela Mario Vargas Llosa (Perú) for ''Reputations'' * 2014 - Premio Literario Arzobispo Juan de San Clemente, (Spain) for ''Reputations'' * 2014 - Premio Real Academia Española (Spain) for ''Reputations'' * 2016 - Chevalier de

l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

(France) * 2016 - Prémio Casa de América Latina de Lisboa (Portugal) for ''Reputations'' * 2016 - Prix Carbet des Lycéens (Martinique) for ''Reputations'' * 2016 - Shortlisted for the Premio Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana (Colombia) for ''The Shape of the Ruins'' * 2016 - Shortlisted for the Premio Bienal de Novela Mario Vargas Llosa (Perú) for ''The Shape of the Ruins'' * 2018 - Officer's Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

(Spain) * 2018 - Prémio Literário Casino da Póvoa (Portugal) for ''The Shape of the Ruins'' * 2019 - Shortlisted for the

for ''The Shape of the Ruins''

References

External links

The Guardian Books podcast: Juan Gabriel Vásquez at A Room for London.Juan Gabriel Vásquez at MacLehose PressJuan Gabriel Vásquez at Riverhead Books , Penguin Random House
*Juan Gabriel Vásquez a
Casanovas & Lynch Literary AgencyJuan Gabriel Vásquez at Alfaguara
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasquez, Juan Gabriel 1973 births Living people 20th-century Colombian novelists 21st-century Colombian novelists Colombian male novelists Colombian male writers Prix Roger Caillois recipients People from Bogotá Colombian atheists