Sergio Vila-Sanjuán

Invitado de Honor

Sergio Vila‑Sanjuán is the author of a trilogy of novels – A Barcelona Heiress, It Was in the Air (2013 Nadal Prize) and El informe Casabona (The Casabona Report) – which weave together family memory and historical chronicle and have been translated into several languages. He has also written the plays El club de la escalera (The Staircase Club) and La agente literaria (The Literary Agent). A seasoned cultural journalist, he is the director of the Cultura/s supplement at La Vanguardia. He has published books on literary, publishing and artistic affairs, including Pasando página (Turning the Page), Código best seller (Bestseller Code) and Cultura española en democracia (Spanish Culture in Democracy). He was the curator of the Year of the Book and Reading 2005 and is a member of the Royal Academy of Belles-lettres of Barcelona. His accolades include the 2020 National Prize for Cultural Journalism, the Atlántida Prize and the Giménez Frontín Prize for Intercultural Dialogue. In 2025, he was awarded the Fernando Lara Novel Prize for Misterio en el Barrio Gótico (Mystery in the Gothic Quarter).

Other activities involving the participant:

X-ray of the Catalan publishing sector

Maria Carme Roca

Invitado de Honor

Maria Carme Roca (Barcelona, 1955) is a Catalan historian and philologist, and one of the country’s most widely read authors. After twelve years as a teacher, she has devoted herself exclusively to writing since 1997. She has published over seventy books, aimed at both children and young people as well as adults. Her work spans short stories, essays and novels, with a particular focus on historical fiction, including titles such as El pont de fusta (The Wooden Bridge) (2004), Bàrcino (2009) and L’enigma Colom (The Columbus Enigma) (2014). Her essays include Les dones de Jaume I (The Wives of James I) (2008) and Abadesses i priores a la Catalunya medieval (Abbesses and Prioresses in Medieval Catalonia) (2014).
Over the course of her career she has received numerous awards, including the Lola Anglada Prize for On s’amaga la por (Where Fear Hides) (2002), the Nèstor Luján Prize for Historical Fiction for Intrigues de palau (Palace Intrigues) (2006), the Joaquim Ruyra Prize for Katalepsis (2012), the Illa dels Llibres Prize for A punt d’estrena (Ready for Première) (2016), awarded by popular vote, the Barcanova Prize for Young People’s Literature for Selfies al cementiri (Selfies in the Cemetery) (2017) and the Prudenci Bertrana Girona Literary Prize for the novel El far (The Lighthouse) (2018). In 2025 she won the Santa Eulàlia Prize with El passatge (The Passage), adding yet another accolade to her distinguished record. Alongside writing, she regularly takes part in school reader forums, library discussions and literary walking tours based on her novels. 
 

Other activities involving the participant:

The seduction of historical figures
Enigma and betrayal: Reconstructing history

Maria Carme Roca

Invitado de Honor

Maria Carme Roca (Barcelona, 1955) is a Catalan historian and philologist, and one of the country’s most widely read authors. After twelve years as a teacher, she has devoted herself exclusively to writing since 1997. She has published over seventy books, aimed at both children and young people as well as adults. Her work spans short stories, essays and novels, with a particular focus on historical fiction, including titles such as El pont de fusta (The Wooden Bridge) (2004), Bàrcino (2009) and L’enigma Colom (The Columbus Enigma) (2014). Her essays include Les dones de Jaume I (The Wives of James I) (2008) and Abadesses i priores a la Catalunya medieval (Abbesses and Prioresses in Medieval Catalonia) (2014).
Over the course of her career she has received numerous awards, including the Lola Anglada Prize for On s’amaga la por (Where Fear Hides) (2002), the Nèstor Luján Prize for Historical Fiction for Intrigues de palau (Palace Intrigues) (2006), the Joaquim Ruyra Prize for Katalepsis (2012), the Illa dels Llibres Prize for A punt d’estrena (Ready for Première) (2016), awarded by popular vote, the Barcanova Prize for Young People’s Literature for Selfies al cementiri (Selfies in the Cemetery) (2017) and the Prudenci Bertrana Girona Literary Prize for the novel El far (The Lighthouse) (2018). In 2025 she won the Santa Eulàlia Prize with El passatge (The Passage), adding yet another accolade to her distinguished record. Alongside writing, she regularly takes part in school reader forums, library discussions and literary walking tours based on her novels. 
 

Other activities involving the participant:

The secret Barcelona
Enigma and betrayal: Reconstructing history

Núria Cadenes

Invitado de Honor

Núria Cadenes is a writer and journalist and has worked as a bookseller. She has been living in the Valencian Country for 25 years. She has written a dozen books, including non-fiction and novels, and short stories for various anthologies. The documentary novel Guillem, won her the Lletra d’Or Award and the València Negra Award for the best novel. Tiberi Cèsar was a finalist for the Finestres and Llibreter Awards, among other prizes.
This year, she published En carn i ossos with Ara Llibres.
 

Other activities involving the participant:

Girls that broke the mold. The legacy of Catalan women writers
Contemporary Catalan literature at a glance

Álvaro Colomer

Invitado de Honor

Writer and journalist. He is the author of a trilogy on the death of the city – La calle de los suicidios (Suicide Street) (Círculo de Lectores, 2000), Mimodrama de una ciudad muerta (Mimodrama of a Dead City) (Siruela, 2004) and Los bosques de Upsala (The Forests of Uppsala) (Alfaguara, 2009) – as well as Aunque caminen por el valle de la muerte (Even Though They Walk Through the Valley of Death) (Random House, 2017), a novel based on real events which reconstructs the Battle of Najaf (Iraq). He has also published the non-fiction works Se alquila una mujer (Woman for Hire) (MR, 2002) and Guardianes de la memoria (Guardians of Memory) (MR, 2008; Fórcola, 2020), a travel book that earned him the International Award for Excellence in Journalism. He is also the author of books for children and young adults.
After three decades contributing to a range of media outlets, he is now editorial coordinator at Zenda magazine, a regular contributor to the ‘Cultura/s’ supplement (La Vanguardia) and a frequent guest on the radio programme A vivir (Cadena Ser). He also teaches in the Master’s in Publishing at the UPF School of Management, among other roles.
 

Other activities involving the participant:

Writing to acknowledge 50 years of loyalty
Barcelona today: a transformation
Learn how to write
Sustainable narratives
Expanded noir literature
Tribute to Ana María Matute. Grand literature
(Literally) killers in Barcelona
From where one writes
Literary agencies in Barcelona

Maria Carme Roca

Invitado de Honor

Maria Carme Roca (Barcelona, 1955) is a Catalan historian and philologist, and one of the country’s most widely read authors. After twelve years as a teacher, she has devoted herself exclusively to writing since 1997. She has published over seventy books, aimed at both children and young people as well as adults. Her work spans short stories, essays and novels, with a particular focus on historical fiction, including titles such as El pont de fusta (The Wooden Bridge) (2004), Bàrcino (2009) and L’enigma Colom (The Columbus Enigma) (2014). Her essays include Les dones de Jaume I (The Wives of James I) (2008) and Abadesses i priores a la Catalunya medieval (Abbesses and Prioresses in Medieval Catalonia) (2014).
Over the course of her career she has received numerous awards, including the Lola Anglada Prize for On s’amaga la por (Where Fear Hides) (2002), the Nèstor Luján Prize for Historical Fiction for Intrigues de palau (Palace Intrigues) (2006), the Joaquim Ruyra Prize for Katalepsis (2012), the Illa dels Llibres Prize for A punt d’estrena (Ready for Première) (2016), awarded by popular vote, the Barcanova Prize for Young People’s Literature for Selfies al cementiri (Selfies in the Cemetery) (2017) and the Prudenci Bertrana Girona Literary Prize for the novel El far (The Lighthouse) (2018). In 2025 she won the Santa Eulàlia Prize with El passatge (The Passage), adding yet another accolade to her distinguished record. Alongside writing, she regularly takes part in school reader forums, library discussions and literary walking tours based on her novels. 
 

Other activities involving the participant:

The secret Barcelona
The seduction of historical figures

Javier Sierra

Comenzó su carrera como escritor viajando por medio mundo en busca de pruebas que sustentan en la idea de que, antes de las civilizaciones antiguas que conocemos, hubo una cultura madre avanzada, hoy desaparecida, de la que éstas heredaron la mayoría de sus sorprendentes conocimientos. Como reportero de varias revistas especializadas españolas recorrió cuatro continentes tomando nota cuidadosa de cuanto veía.

Other activities involving the participant:

Science and art