Guests - aldecoafestibala

Isaac Rosa

(b. Seville, 1974)

 

Isaac Rosa has written a number of novels, including El vano ayer, El país del miedo, Feliz Final and Lugar Seguro. He has also authored books of short stories, novels for young people and scripts for graphic novels. He has won a number of prizes including the Rómulo Gallegos, El Ojo Crítico and Biblioteca Breve awards. He contributes to several media outlets and is currently a columnist at eldiario.es

 

Aixa de la Cruz

(b. Bilbao, 1988)

 

Aixa de la Cruz is a writer and translator. She holds a PhD in literary theory and comparative literature. Aixa began her literary career with backing from the Antonio Gala Foundation, which she joined when she was 18 years old. Since then, she has published several books: a collection of short stories, Modelos animales (Salto de Página, 2015), an essay Diccionario en guerra (La Caja Books, 2018), and novels When We Were the Best (Almuzara, 2007), Of Light Music (451 Editores), The Front Line (Salto de Página, 2017) and Cambiar de idea (Caballo de Troya, 2019), which won the Euskadi Award for Literature in Spanish and the Librotea Tapado Award. Her latest book is Las herederas (b. Alfaguara, 2022). For almost ten years, she has been teaching creative writing, mentoring writers in their artistic processes.

 

Mariasun Landa

(b. Errenteria, 1949)

 

Mariasun Landa has a BA in Philosophy and Arts. For a number of years, she has lectured in literature teaching at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

She is a multifaceted author and has won some major prizes for children's and young adult literature, including the Lizardi Award in 1982, the Euskadi Award in 1991 and the National Award in 2003. She was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards in 2008 and won the Eusko Ikaskuntza/Basque Studies Award 2014, the Emakunde Award 2023 and the Gutun Zuria Award 2024.

She has organised storywriting workshops at the UPV/EHU Summer Courses. Mariasun is a member of Jakiunde (the Basque Academy of Science and the Arts).

 

Eloy Tizón

(b. Madrid, 1964)

 

Eloy Tizón has written four books of short stories (Plegaria para pirómanos (2023), Técnicas de iluminación (2013), Parpadeos (2006) and Velocidad de los jardines (1992 and 2017)); three novels: (La voz cantante (2004), Labia (2001) and Seda salvaje (1995)); and a literary essay (Herido leve. Treinta años de memoria lectora (2019)).

One of his stories was included in the collection Best European Fiction 2013, with a preface by John Banville. His works have featured in numerous anthologies and have been translated into English, French, Italian, German, Slovenian, Finnish and Arabic.

From an early age, he has been a regular press contributor and for four years wrote a column entitled Vértigos in El Cultural.

He has taught short storytelling workshops at the University of Almeria (UAL) and at different educational centres including Fuentetaja and Hotel Kafka.

Since 2022 he has directed the TorrijosCuenta short story festival held in the town of Torrijos, Toledo (Spain).

 

Ana Malagon

(b. Donostia, 1978)

 

Ana Malagon has a BA in audiovisual communication. She works in digital project design.

To date, she has published three books of narrative works: Lasai, ez da ezer gertatzen (Elkar, 2014), Gelditu zaitezte gurekin (Elkar, 2017) and Ez dakit zertaz ari zaren (Elkar, 2021). The latter received a silver Euskadi award from the Gipuzkoa Booksellers Association in 2022.

She is also a columnist for Berria newspaper

 

Joseba Sarrionandia

(b. Iurreta-Durango, 1958)

 

Joseba Sarrionandia studied sociology and philology in Bilbao. He was active in the band Pott and spent time in prison between 1980 and 1985. He then began a long period of exile before returning to the Basque Country in 2021. He has published numerous books, including: Ni ez naiz hemengoa (1985); Izkiriaturik aurkitu ditudan ene poemak (1985); Atabala eta euria (1986); Marginalia (1988); Hezurrezko xirulak (1991); Hnuy illa nyha majah yahoo (1995); Hitzen ondoeza (1997); Hau da ene ondasun guzia (1999); Lagun izoztua (2001); Idazlea zeu zara, irakurtzen duzulako (2010); Moroak gara behelaino artean? (2010); Lapur banden etika ala politika? (2015); Bizitzea ez al da oso arriskutsua? (2018); Airea ez da debalde (2019); Markos Gimenoren 101 letrakartel (2023).

 

Tina Vallès

(b. Barcelona, 1976)

 

Tina Vallès writes in Catalan. Her first book of short stories (L'aeroplà del Raval) was published in 2006. She writes short stories for adults and children as well as novels. Her best known work is La memoria del árbol, winner of two awards in Catalonia and one in France. It has been translated into nineteen languages. In 2013, she won the Mercè Rodoreda Award, the most important prize for short stories in Catalan, with El paréntesis más largo (Godall Edicions, 2017, Spanish translation by Gonzalo Torné). 
 

Pedro Ugarte

(b. Bilbao, 1963)

 

Throughout his literary career, Pedro Ugarte has concentrated largely on short fiction, writing books such as Los traficantes de palabras, Manual para extranjeros, La isla de Komodo and Mañana será otro día. More recently, several of his books have been published by Páginas de Espuma, including El mundo de los Cabezas Vacías (a number of the stories in which previously won the NH Award for unpublished books), Nuestra historia (which received the Setenil Award for the year's best book of short stories), and Antes del Paraíso.

 

Mari Jose Olaziregi

(b. Donostia/San Sebastián, 1963)

 

Mari José Olaziregi. Mari José Olaziregi holds a PhD in Basque Philology and is a professor at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). She has worked abroad as a lecturer and researcher at several universities (University of Chicago, CUNY, Universität Konstanz, CBS). Her work has largely centred on criticism and historiography of Basque literature, memory studies and gender studies. Since 2013 she has headed the MHLI Research Team and between 2010-2016 she was director of Basque at the Etxepare Basque Institute. She has written 11 books and edited another 18. She has also published 92 book chapters and 80 articles.

 

 

Harkaitz Cano

(b. Lasarte-Oria, 1975)

 

Harkaitz Cano has worked in almost every genre of writing, including novels (Twist, Fakirraren ahotsa), short stories (Neguko zirkua, Beti oporretan), theatre (Sisiforen paperak, Hondamendia) and poetry (Norbait dabil sute-eskaileran, Pozaren erdia, Ulu egiteko bolondres bila). As an audiovisual scriptwriter, he has worked especially in the area of graphic novels (Amets alokatuak, Antzara eguna, Ni ez naiz Mikel Laboa, etc.). His books have been translated into a dozen different languages.

 

Irati Majuelo Itoiz

(b. Iruñea/Pamplona, 1993)

 

Irati Majuelo Itoiz has a BA in translation and interpretation from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). She completed her master's degree in literary theory and comparative literature at the University of Barcelona. She received a PhD from the UPV/EHU in Comparative Literature and Literary Studies, with a thesis entitled ‘A Feminist Reading of Basque Urban Fiction’. She also writes literary reviews for Berria newspaper.

 

Aintzane Usandizaga Lopez

(b. Lasarte-Oria, 1988)

 

Aintzane Usandizaga Lopez has written two books of short stories, Zomorrotu (Elkar, 2023) and Kabitu ezina (Elkar, 2019). She has also published the illustrated albums Etxe honetan (Pamiela 2019) and (Ia) guztia moztu eta itsats daiteke. Esther Ferrer eta denbora (Pamiela, 2022); and her latest work, Ez duzu sinetsiko (Txalaparta, 2023), for children. She has worked as a scriptwriter, in the press and on collaborative projects such as Tupust!, an anthology of feminist graphic novels

 

Beñat Goitia

(b. Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1991)

 

Beñat Goitia performs music under the pseudonym Benizze. Having played in the groups Expolio and Montauk and collaborated with Isturitzetik Etiopian Barrena, he launched a solo project centring on the world of electronic music. French electronic music, reggaeton pesado in a thick layer of words.

 

Nagore Fernandez-Zabala

(b. Bermeo, 1997)

 

Nagore Fernandez-Zabala is working on her thesis on contemporary Basque narrative with a predoctoral scholarship from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). She is a member of the MHLI research group. Since 2020 she has been writing literary reviews for Berria newspaper. Her publications include an article in Egan magazine (2021) on the storytelling of Eider Rodríguez, and a chapter in the study of post-Franco censorship edited by MHLI (UPV/EHU, 2022), with fellow researchers Ainhoa Urzelai-Vicente and Ane Villagran-Arrastoa.