Héctor Abad (Colombia, 1958) Writer, translator and journalist, he studied Philosophy and Medicine and later specialized in Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Turin, where he graduated cum laude. He has translated Italian authors of the stature of Umberto Eco, Leonardo Sciascia, Italo Calvino, Tomasi di Lampedusa, among others. Winner of the Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize (1998 and 2006), First Prize in the Casa de América Innovative Fiction award (2004), Best Foreign Novel of the Year (China, 2006), and he was awarded a DAAD fellowship, which consisted of a year in Berlin. He is currently a columnist and editorial advisor at El Espectador newspaper. He also contributed to Spain’s El País, the NZZ of Zurich and other Colombian and international publications. His novels have been translated into different languages, including English, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, French and German. One of his most celebrated books, Oblivion: A Memoir, has recently been made into a film directed by the Spanish director Fernando Trueba (1955), winning Best Ibero-American Film at the Spanish Goya Awards (2021). In 2021 a graphic version of the book was published with illustrations by Tyto Alba.
Photo: Marina García Burgos