Kiko Amat

Invitado de Honor

Kiko Amat (Sant Boi, 1971) is the author of seven novels and three works of non-fiction. Published by Anagrama, his books include El día que me vaya no se lo diré a nadie (The Day I Leave I Won’t Tell Anyone) (2003): ‘An intense, angry and stylised tale, like a Small Faces single’ (Ramón Vendrell, El Periódico); Cosas que hacen BUM (Things that go BOOM) (2007): ‘With invigorating humour, Kiko Amat evokes the desperate attempts of an anti-hero to be accepted by the clan. A generational self-portrait full of mockery and nostalgia’ (Ariane Singer, Le Monde); Rompepistas (Trackbreaker) (2009): ‘A Trainspotting (almost) without drugs. A Catcher in the Rye et in the La Seda factory. A Graham Swift without Guinness (but with Estrella). An excellent novel’ (Carlos Zanón); Eres el mejor, Cienfuegos (You’re the Best, Cienfuegos) (2012): ‘In literature, at least, Amat is probably the best there is’ (Javier Calvo); Antes del huracán (Before the Hurricane) (2018): ‘Extraordinary. This novel belongs to the realm of high-brow literature’ (Jordi Gracia, El País); Revancha (Revenge) (2021): ‘Tough, fast, violent – Revancha is a perfect bullet, the literary reverse of hypocrisy’ (Lucía Lijtmaer). He is also the author of the handbook Los enemigos (The Enemies) (2022): ‘A book that combines humour, seriousness and bile to reflect on the value of certain “bad” feelings’ (Carmen López, El Periódico de España). His latest novel is Dick o la tristeza del sexo (Dick or the Sadness of Sex) (2025). He is also the author of two non-fiction books, Mil violines (A Thousand Violins) and Chap chap.
He currently co-writes and co-hosts the podcast Pop y muerte on Radio Primavera Sound.

Other activities involving the participant:

Sexual awakening
The Pleasure of Reading Gala

Mónica Ojeda

(Ecuador, 1988)

Es autora de las novelas La desfiguración Silva (Premio Alba Narrativa, 2014), Nefando (Candaya, 2016), Mandíbula (Candaya, 2018) y Chamanes eléctricos en la fiesta del sol (Random House, 2024), así como de los poemarios El ciclo de las piedras (Rastro de la Iguana, 2015) e Historia de la leche (Candaya, 2020). Sus cuentos han sido recogidos en Caninos (Editorial Turbina, 2017) y Las voladoras (Páginas de Espuma, 2020). Ha sido seleccionada como una de las voces literarias más relevantes de Latinoamérica por el Hay Festival, Bogotá39 2017, y por la lista Granta en español 2021.

Other activities involving the participant:

The literature that disturbs

Julián Herbert

Acapulco, Guerrero, 1971. Es poeta, novelista, cuentista y ensayista. Ha recibido el Premio Nacional de Literatura Gilberto Owen, el Premio Nacional de Cuento Juan José Arreola, el Premio Jaén de Novela y el Premio de Novela Elena Poniatowska, entre otros. Es autor de una decena de libros de poesía, entre los que se cuentan Kubla Khan (2005), Pastilla camaleón (2009) y Las azules baladas (vienen del sueño) (2014). Su libro más reciente es Suerte de principiante. Once ideas sobre el oficio (2024).

Other activities involving the participant:

Award Ceremony Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize 2025
The Poetry Room
Central America in Mexico, and Mexico in Central America: a literary round trip

Carlos Zanón

Invitado de Honor

Carlos Zanón (Barcelona, 1966) is the author of several poetry collections, the short‑story volume Marley estaba muerto (Marley Was Dead); the chronicle volume Cien formas de romper un glaciar (One Hundred Ways to Break a Glacier) (Salamandra, 2023) and the novel, Nadie ama a un hombre bueno (Nobody Loves a Good Man); Tarde, mal y nunca (Late, Bad and Never) (Salamandra, 2019), winner of the Brigada 21 Prize for Best First Novel of the Year; No llames a casa (Don’t Call Home), winner of the Valencia Negra Prize for Best Noir Novel of the Year; Yo fui Johnny Thunders (I Was Johnny Thunders) (Salamandra, 2023), recipient of the Salamanca Negra, Novelpol and Dashiell Hammett Prizes at the Gijón Semana Negra Festival; Taxi (Salamandra, 2017); and Love Song (Salamandra, 2022). In 2019, he published Problemas de identidad (Identity Problems), a continuation of the Carvalho detective series. His narrative work has been translated into US English, German, French, Dutch, Greek and Italian. He also contributes as an essayist and critic to newspapers, magazines and cultural supplements, and since 2017 he has served as the curator of the BCNegra literary festival.

Other activities involving the participant:

Expanded noir literature
(Literally) killers in Barcelona

El Aletz

Aletz Carrillo (CDMX, 1981) es escritor, bellako onírico y punk imaginal. Mezcla letras con box, rap y reguetón. Escribe desde la banqueta, cruzando ciencia ficción, trauma y perreo literario. Es autor también de Adiós a Dylan (premio Mauricio Achar).