Begoña Huertas Uhagón (1965–2022) was a Spanish writer and journalist. She won the

Casa de las Américas Prize The Casa de las Américas Prize (''Premio Literario Casa de las Américas'') is a literary award given by the Cuban Casa de las Américas. Established in 1959, it is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. The award ...

for her essay ''Ensayo de un cambio: la narrativa cubana en la década de los 80.''

Biography

Begoña Huertas was born on 4 August 1965 in

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

. She completed her doctorate in Spanish philology at the

Autonomous University of Madrid The Autonomous University of Madrid (; UAM), commonly known as la Autónoma, is a Spanish public university located in Madrid, Spain. The university was founded in 1968 by royal decree. UAM is widely respected as one of the most prestigious univ ...

, specializing in

Latin American literature Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of Latin America. Latin American literature rose to particular pro ...

. Huertas was a visiting lecturer at

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, then continued as a research fellow at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

. Huertas worked as an editor at various publishing houses and also taught

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

at the Autonomous University of Madrid. She wrote for Spanish cultural magazines and in 2010–2012 wrote opinion pieces for the ''Público'', later becoming a columnist for '' ElDiario.es''. In 1993, Huertas won the

for the essay ''Ensayo de un cambio: la narrativa cubana en la década de los 80''. She then published a short story collection called ''A tragos'' (1996) and continued writing fiction with a number of novels, such as ''Una noche en Amalfi'' which was compared by

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

to the works of

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...

. Her last novel, ''El sótano'', was published posthumously by

Editorial Anagrama Anagrama is a Spanish publisher founded in 1969 by Jorge Herralde, later sold to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli. History Anagrama was founded in 1969 by Jorge Herralde. In 2010, it was sold to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli. A Catalan l ...

in 2023. Writing for ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'', called it a "beautiful testament", while described it in ''El Mundo'' as a "wonderful invitation to reflect on the uncertainty of life and writing". Huertas died on 25 December 2022, in Madrid.

Works

Essays

* ''Ensayo de un cambio: la narrativa cubana en la década de los 80'', 1994

Short story collections

* ''A tragos'', 1996

Novels

* ''Déjenme dormir en paz'', 1998 * ''Por eso envejecemos tan deprisa'', 2001 * ''En el fondo. Pide una copa paga Proust'', 2009 * ''Una noche en Amalfi'', 2012 * ''El desconcierto,'' 2017 * ''El sótano'', 2023

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huertas, Begona 1965 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Spanish women writers 21st-century Spanish women writers 20th-century Spanish novelists 21st-century Spanish novelists Writers from Asturias Autonomous University of Madrid alumni Spanish philologists Spanish women essayists 20th-century Spanish journalists 21st-century Spanish journalists 21st-century Spanish women journalists Spanish women columnists People from Gijón 20th-century Spanish women journalists