Mercè Ibarz

Mercè Ibarz, born in Zaidín in 1954, is a storyteller, cultural critic, essayist and researcher. She is the author of La terra retirada (1993) and La palmera de blat (1995), which together with Labor inacabada make up the Tríptic de la terra trilogy (2020): ‘If there was any doubt that Mercè Ibarz is one of the greats of contemporary Catalan literature, a pioneer in so many ways, it will be laid to rest immediately with Tríptic de la terra.’ (Andreu Gomila, Time Out); ‘Ibarz is brilliant and, here, she shows it more than ever, because it is not the story that dominates, but rather the characters and the experience.’ (David Castillo, La República). She also published the short story collections A la ciutat en obres (2002) and Febre de carrer (2005), which have now been compiled in Contes urbans: ‘In Mercè Ibarz’s stories, real experience is transfigured, like images from dreams.’ (Julià Guillamon, La Vanguardia), No parlis de mi quan me’n vagi (2010), Vine com estàs (2013), L’amic de la Finca Roja (2017) and Retrat de Mercè Rodoreda (2022). In 2023, she won the Career Award thanks to the pioneering nature of her work, characterised by a fusion of genres and disciplines. Her most recent book is No pensis, mira.