Origins & Early Life

Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos rwiθ θaˈfon]; 25 September 1964 – 19 June 2020) was a Spanish novelist known for his 2001 novel La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind). The novel sold 15 million copies and was winner of numerous awards; it was included in a list of the 100 best books in Spanish of the last 25 years, made in 2007 by 81 Spanish and Hispanic American writers and critics. Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona. His grandparents had worked in a factory and his father sold insurance.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Ruiz Zafón began his working life in advertising. In the 1990s he moved to Los Angeles where he worked briefly in screen writing. He was fluent in English. Ruiz Zafón died of colorectal cancer in Los Angeles on 19 June 2020. Ruiz Zafón's first novel, El príncipe de la niebla 1993 (The Prince of Mist, published in English in 2010), earned the Edebé literary prize for young adult fiction.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He was also the author of three additional young adult novels, El palacio de la medianoche (1994), Las luces de septiembre (1995) and Marina (1999). In 2001 he published his first adult novel La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind, Lucia Graves's English...

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