David Roas (born 1965 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) is a Spanish writer and literary critic, specialising in fantastic literature. He is currently a professor of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature at the

Autonomous University of Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona (; Spanish: ; ; UAB) is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. , the university consists of 57 departments in the experimental, lif ...

, where he heads up the Fantastic Literature Studies Group (Grupo de Estudios sobre lo Fantástico – GEF). He has published eight collections of short stories, the first in 1996 and the latest in April 2018, as well as several works of literary criticism, including an analysis of the influence of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

on the Spanish genre of fantastic literature and a biography of the writer

Enrique Jardiel Poncela Enrique Jardiel Poncela (15 October 1901 – 18 February 1952) was a Spanish playwright and novelist who wrote mostly humorous works. In 1932-33 and 1934 he was called to Hollywood to help with the Spanish-language versions shot in parallel to ...

, co-authored with . Roas has been described by the writer and journalist, Rubén Sánchez Trigos as "probably pain'sleading specialist in fantastic literature". His most recent collection of short stories was published by Editorial Páginas de Espuma, Madrid, in April 2018. In the words of Jose Oliva, in this latest collection Roas establishes "a permanent dialogue in the form of homages to other authors, such as

Cristina Fernández Cubas Cristina Fernández Cubas ( Arenys de Mar, Barcelona province, 1945) is a Spanish writer and journalist. She has been described as "one of the most important writers who have begun to publish since the end of the Franco dictatorship" and has been ...

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

(of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' fame), Mercedes Abad,

Eduardo Berti Eduardo Berti (1964) is an Argentine writer born in Buenos Aires. He has been living in Paris, France, since 1998. He also works as a cultural journalist. Biography His novel ''La mujer de Wakefield'', a re-write of Nathaniel Hawthorne's ''Wakefi ...

, or parodying George A. Romero." In this regard he has commented, "I don't know how to write in a vacuum. I read fantastic literature." In 2013 he published the novel ''La estrategia del Koala'' . According to the literary magazine ''Zona de Obras'' , this story "exudes a certain rage and uses humor to question one's own identity, the certainty of memory, and the influence of family on oneself.

Bibliography

Fiction * ''Los dichos de un necio'' (Manresa, 1996) * ''Celuloide sangriento'' (Diari de Sabadell, 1996) * ''Horrores cotidianos'' (Palencia, 2007 y Lima 2009) * ''Distorsiones'' (Páginas de Espuma, Madrid 2010) * ''Intuiciones y delirios'' (Editorial Micrópolis, Lima, 2012) * ''La estrategia de koala'' (Candaya, Barcelona, 2013) * ''Bienvenidos a Incaland'' (Páginas de Espuma, Madrid, 2014) * ''Invasión'' (Páginas de Espuma, Madrid, 2018) Non-fiction * ''Teorías de lo fantástico'' (Arco Libros, Madrid, 2001) * ''Enrique Jardiel Poncela'' (Eneida Editorial, Madrid, 2001) (Biography, co-authored with Fernando Valls) * ''Hoffmann en España'' (Biblioteca Nueva,Madrid, 2002) * ''De la maravilla al horror, Los orígenes de lo fantástico en la cultura española (1750-1860)'' (Mirabel, Vilagarcía de Arousa, 2006) * ''La sombra del cuervo. Edgar Allan Poe y la literatura fantástica española del siglo XIX'' (Madrid, 2011) * ''Tras los límites de lo real. Una definición de lo fantástico'' (Madrid, 2011). * ''Meditaciones de un arponero'' (E.D.A., Málaga, 2008) * ''La sombra del cuervo. Edgar Allan Poe y la literatura fantástica española del siglo XIX'' (Devenir, Madrid, 2011) * ''Tras los límites de lo real. Una definición de lo fantástico.'' (Páginas de Espuma, Madrid, 2011) Anthologies (as editor) * ''El castillo del espectro. Antología de relatos fantásticos españoles del siglo XIX'' (Barcelona, 2002) * ''Cuentos fantásticos del siglo XIX (España e Hispanoamérica)'' (Madrid, 2003) * ''La realidad oculta. Cuentos fantásticos españoles del siglo XX'' (Palencia, 2008) - with Ana Casas

Awards

Setenil Award The Setenil Award () is a literary prize for the best short story book published in Spain. Convened annually since 2004 by the municipality of Molina de Segura in Murcia, it is one of the most prestigious in the country. As of 2018 it confers an e ...

, 2011 for ''Distorsiones''

References

Writers from Barcelona Short story writers from Catalonia 1965 births Living people Academic staff of the Autonomous University of Barcelona Spanish male short story writers Anthologists {{catalonia-writer-stub