Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez

Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez (Barquisimeto, Venezuela, 1967) is one of the leading voices of contemporary Venezuelan literature. Through dark humor, his work explores themes of rootlessness, travel, relationships, and politics. A prolific writer, he has published eight novels, from Retrato de Abel con isla volcánica al fondo (1997) to Los maletines (2014), six short story collections, two children’s books, and most recently the travel book Y recuerda que te espero (2015). He won the Premio de los Libreros (Booksellers’ Prize) in 2013 for his novel Arena Negra and the City of Barbastro International Prize in 2009 for Tal vaz la lluvia. Four of his novels have been translated into French. Méndez Guédez has lived in Spain since 1996 and holds a PhD in Latin American literature from the Universidad de Salamanca.