Juan Gabriel Vásquez (born 1973) is a Colombian writer, journalist and translator. He has written many novels, short stories, literary essays, and numerous articles of

political commentary Political criticism, also referred to as political commentary or political discussion, is a type of criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government. See also *Cr ...

. His novel '' The Sound of Things Falling'', published in Spanish in 2011, won the Alfaguara Novel Prize and the 2014

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

, 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 Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

Biography and literary career

Youth and studies in Bogotá

Juan Gabriel Vásquez was born in

in 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 García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

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 '' Christop ...

, 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 regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

and

Julio Cortázar Julio Florencio Cortázar (26 August 1914 – 12 February 1984; ) was an Argentine and naturalised French novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and translator. Known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, Cortázar influenc ...

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

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta 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 influentia ...

and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

. 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 Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for post-graduate studies in Latin American literature at

La Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, 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:

, 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 Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

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'')'', '' Tomorrow in the Battle Th ...

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

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

and

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

. 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 aw ...

and Catalan cultural critic Jordi Carrión. The Chilean novelist

Roberto Bolaño Roberto is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish variation of the male given name Robert. Notable people named Roberto include: * Roberto (footballer, born 1912) * Roberto (footballer, born 1977) * Roberto (footballer, born 1978) * Roberto (footb ...

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 published his first collection of stories, '' Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?'', in 1976. His breakout collection, '' What We Talk About ...

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 and

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized f ...

. 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 is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

'', 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 no ...

. 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, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

’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), ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a ...

’ ''Journeys Between Wars''. In 2003, Vásquez published ''Nowhere Man'' (''El hombre de ninguna parte''), a brief biography of

. The following year, Vásquez 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, Literary adaptation, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Marcel Proust, Proust, via Vladimir Nabokov, Nabokov", ...

, 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) is an American author and former 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 ...

, 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 (

'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 ''Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard'' is a 1904 novel by Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana". It was originally published serially in monthly instalments of '' T.P.'s Weekly''. In 1998, the Modern Libra ...

'', and with the Colombian history of the 19th century, especially the building of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. His narrator has a picaresque and sarcastic tone, constantly addressing the reader, having recourse to

anachronism An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

s, exaggerations, and improbability whenever it suits his yarn. According to Spanish novelists Juan Marsé and

Enrique Vila-Matas Enrique Vila-Matas (born 31 March 1948 in Barcelona) is a Spanish writer. He has written 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 found ...

, 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 (), 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, the festival was d ...

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'' () is a nationally circulated Colombian newspaper founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez in 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It was initially published twice a week, 500 issues each, but some years later became ...

'', 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 Department, Antioquia. H ...

in Colombia and

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

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 entitled ''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 Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, 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 () 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 the world. It is sponsored by Al ...

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 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 (January 13, 1940 – June 3, 2025) was an American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer, and essayist. A pioneering figure in LGBTQ and especially gay literature after the Stonewall riots, he wrote with ra ...

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 technolo ...

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

, another Latin American writer in full flight from magical realism. ��Like Bolaño, he is a master stylist and a virtuoso of patient pacing and intricate structure, and he uses the novel for much the same purpose as 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 Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, 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 ...

'' 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 (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...

guerrilla. 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 ...

'' (Madrid) and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' (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 (1914) and

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala (23 January 1903 – 9 April 1948) was a Colombian politician and statesman who was the leader of the Liberal Party. A nationalist, he served as the mayor of Bogotá from 1936–37, the national Education Minister ...

(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 plot.

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, as the Boo ...

. 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 s ...

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,

's ''

Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' is an 1899 novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgium, Belgian company in the African interior. Th ...

''. 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 (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

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- ...

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, 17 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 was scheduled for publication in the UK in 2020.

Recognition and awards

* 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 - International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award * 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 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 the recognition of significant co ...

(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 Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

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

for ''The Shape of the Ruins'' * 2022 -

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

International Writer

Works

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'' * 2023 - ''La traducción del mundo''

Journalism

* 2022 - ''Los desacuerdos de paz''

Poetry

* 2022 - ''Cuaderno de septiembre''

References

Sources

* *

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 atheists Colombian male novelists Colombian male writers Writers from Bogotá