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 (, ; ) 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 national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

. He received the 1991 Premio Planeta, 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 (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...

for literature.

Biography

Muñoz Molina was born in the town of

Úbeda Úbeda () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located in the Province of Jaén (Spain), province of Jaén, Andalusia. The town lies on the southern ridge of the so-called Loma de Úbeda, a Table (landform), table sandwiched in bet ...

in Jaén province. He studied history of art at the

University of Granada The University of 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. Apart from the city of Granad ...

and journalism in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. 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 (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. 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 . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' and ''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

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

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

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 style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, m ...

. His ''El jinete polaco'' received the

Planeta Prize The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary award, 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. Financ ...

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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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 (, ; ) 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 national language academies in 22 other Hispanopho ...

on 8 June 1995; he took up his seat on 16 June 1996. Muñoz Molina is married to the Spanish author and journalist, Elvira Lindo. He currently resides in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important fi ...

from 2004 to 2005. Margaret Sayers Peden's English translation of Muñoz Molina's novel ''Sepharad'' won the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize 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.

Bibliography

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

Edith Grossman Edith Marion Grossman (née Dorph; March 22, 1936 – September 4, 2023) was an American literary translator. Known for her work translating Latin American literature, Latin American and Spanish literature to English, she translated the works o ...

. Orlando: Harcourt, 2008. . * ''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''. Trans. Peter R. Bush. 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. New York: Other Press, 2006. . * ''Sefarad'', 2001. English translation: ''Sepharad''. Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. 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. . * ''Tus pasos en la escalera'', 2019. English translation: ''Your Steps on the Stairs''. Trans. Curtis Bauer. New York: Other Press, 2025. . * ''El miedo de los niños'', 2020. * ''Volver a dónde'', 2021. * ''No te veré morir'', 2023.

Notes

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