The career of the most recent winner of the Premio Planeta reached a turning point in 2001 when his novel Soldiers of Salamis (Soldados de Salamina) was published in more than 20 countries and translated into 30 languages, spring-boarding him to international fame and prestige. Hitherto known as a doctor in Spanish Philology, he combined his fictional endeavours with the publication of articles in specialised media and literature lessons at the University of Girona. He would subsequently publish The Speed of Light (La velocidad de la luz), The Anatomy of a Moment (Anatomía de un instante) which earned him the National Prize for Narrative, among other awards, The Impostor (El impostor), El monarca de las sombras, and then Terra alta, for which he received the most important literary award in Spanish, the Premio Planeta. In this novel, Cercas ventures into the realm of thrillers in a story about the value of law and possibility of justice. Las leyes de la frontera, is a testimonial novel in which reality melds with fiction. Recent historical events such as the Civil War and the Transition frame stories in which characters seek to find their place in the world. This writer from Extremadura who settled in Catalonia at the age of four is a columnist for the daily El País, has also written essays (El cine de Gonzalo Suárez) and translated work by H. G. Wells and Sergi Pámies, among others. Javier Cercas talks with Ana Gavín, Director of Editorial Affairs for Grupo Planeta.

In case of rain, the event will take place at the same time in Vicerrector Santiago Hidalgo, old Escuela Universitaria de Magisterio (Plaza Colmenares, 1). This building is located in front of Jardín de los Zuloaga.

Photography of Javier Cercas: © Arduino Vannucchi, courtesy of Grupo Planeta

Photography of Ana Gavín: © Ricardo Martín, courtesy of Grupo Planeta