Writers and Barcelona
Barcelona has been and keeps being a perfect scene for literary works, a source of inspiration for writers who were born here and a welcoming place for writers from around the world who have described it in their books.
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Mercedes ABAD
(Barcelona, 1965)
A writer and playwright, she graduated in Journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and is a lecturer in writing techniques at the Barcelona Ateneu School of Writing. She is author of short story books such as Ligeros libertinajes sabáticos (1986, awarded La Sonrisa Vertical prize for erotic writing), Soplando al viento (1995) and Media docena de robos y un par de mentiras (2009), as well as novels Sangre (2000) and El vecino de abajo (2007). She is also a translator for Georges Simenon and a theatre adaptor.
Sam ABRAMS
(Beckley, 1952)
Poet, essayist and literary critic, he is a professor at the Barcelona School of Writing at L’Ateneu and co-director of Barcelona Poetry Week and the Barcelona International Poetry Festival. He graduated in Hispanic studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and has been living in Catalonia since 1970. He is author of the poetry books Calculations... (1997), Into Footnotes All Their Lust (2002) and The Weeping Angel (2010) and of essays such as Llegir Maragall, ara (2010).
Miquel ADAM
(Barcelona, 1979)
Professional publisher, he has worked in several publishing houses, such as Edicions del 1984, LaBreu, Laertes and Ara Llibres. In 2015 he published his fiirst short stories collection, Torero d'hivern.
Ignacio AGUSTÍ
(Lliçà de Vall, 1913 – Barcelona, 1974)
Writer and journalist, Swiss correspondent for newspaper La Vanguardia, co-founder and director of magazine Destino and promoter of the award Premio Nadal. His novel Mariona Rebull (1944) is set in the Barcelona of the beginning of the twentieth century.
Joan AGUT
Barcelona, 1934 – Caldes de Montbui, 2011)
A writer, literary critic and editor at Bruguera, Edhasa, and Thaessàlia. In La Via Làctia (2001) he portrays the district of Sants during the post-war years.
Pep ALBANELL
(Vic, 1945)
Graduated in Philology and Literature from the University of Barcelona, he is author of children’s and young people’s literature under the pen name Joles Senell. His novel El Barcelonauta (1977) is set in the Barcelona of the seventies.
Antonio ALTADILL
(Tortosa, 1828 – Barcelona, 1880)
Writer, journalist, playwright, and political activist, he is author of the realism novel in the Spanish language, Barcelona y sus misterios (1860). Set in the Catalan capital city, the work was an outstanding success at the time, and was subsequently made into a film.
Kiko AMAT
(Sant Boi, 1971)
Writer and regular contributor to magazines and cultural supplements such as daily newspaper La Vanguardia’s Cultura/S, El País's Babelia, Jot Down and Rockdelux, among others, his novels The day I leave I won't tell anyone (2003) and You are the Best, Cienfuegos (2012) are both based in Barcelona.
Rafael d’AMAT i CORTADA (Baró de Maldà)
(Barcelona, 1746 – 1819)
Author of the diary Calaix de sastre (1769 – 1816), a leading work of Catalan literature from the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century. Written virtually continuously between the years 1769 and 1816, it is a unique and extremely valuable document as a historic source of knowledge on Barcelona during that period.
Hans Christian ANDERSEN
(Odense, 1805 – Copenhaguen, 1875)
Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen is especially well-known as an author of children's stories such as The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Ugly Duckling and The Snow Queen. In 1862, he travelled to Barcelona and stayed at the Hotel Oriente on La Rambla, from which he witnessed a famous flood. The episode can be read in his travel book In Spain (1863).