Carlos Ruiz Zafón (25 September, 1964 – 19 June, 2020) is a Spanish author known for his The Shadow of the Wind (La sombra del viento), one of my favorite books.
According to the author, he knew that he wanted to write since age 5 or 6.
He studied Information Science, but after a year was offered a job in advertising / publicity, eventually becoming the creative directory of the agency.
His first book, The Prince of Mist (El príncipe de la niebla) won the 1993 Edebé literary prize for young adult fiction. With the prize money, and being fluent in English, Mr. Zafón moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1990 to write screenplays.
Mr. Zafón was also an accomplished amateur pianist and composer.
At first Mr. Zafón wrote successful YA novels, but in 2001 he released The Shadow of the Wind, his first novel aimed at adults.
Even though it The Shadow of the Wind has a rough start, it soon became the biggest selling Spanish language book and won prizes all over the world.
The author has said that he writes in three stages: preproduction, filming, and finally making all the narrative seem natural.
Mr. Zafón’s works have been published in 45 countries, and translated to over 40 languages.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón is currently considered to be the most widely published contemporary Spanish writer.
Zohar – Man of la Book
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Man of la Book
A father, husband, avid reader, blogger, software engineer & wood worker who is known the world over as a man of many interests and to his wife as “an idiot”.