Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1964. The close proximity of his parents’ house to Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia cathedral and the years he spent at the Gothic Jesuit school of Sarría made a lasting impression on the child’s imagination. Even as a 10 year-old, he wrote Gothic tales which kept his schoolmates up all night – a talent which would later help him to achieve great success. After his student days, he worked in advertising for a few years, which he finally gave up so that he could thoroughly devote himself to literature. In 1993 Ruiz Zafón received the Edebè Prize for his first novel 'El príncipe de la niebla'. Against the historical background of the time after the Spanish Civil War, the author develops a novel which borrows from fantastic literature. Sunken ships, a mysterious sculpture garden, and a lighthouse keeper who refuses to tell what he knows are only some of the challenges that the young protagonist has to face together with his sister before the novel ends in a final confrontation with evil.
Ruiz Zafón’s most recent novel 'La sombra del viento' also takes place in the post-war years of the Franco regime. But this time the setting is the author’s hometown, described in sombre, spine-chilling images. As a child, Daniel Sempere’s father gives him the only existing copy of a mysterious book. Fascinated by the book’s narrative world, the young reader spends years searching for the author Julián Carax. The more he inquires, the clearer it becomes that he is not the only one looking for the author. An agent from Franco’s secret police and a mysterious man with a black leather mask also appear to take an active interest in the writer’s whereabouts. The novel and the biography of its author mingle more and more with Daniel’s life until it becomes clear that the person he is looking for is closer than he thought. The novel quickly became a bestseller in Spain and won best novel of the year in 2002. It has already been translated into 12 languages. Carlos Ruiz Zafón has lived in Los Angeles since 1994. In addition to novels and screenplays, he writes for 'El País' and 'La Vanguardia'.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1964. The close proximity of his parents’ house to Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia cathedral and the years he spent at the Gothic Jesuit school of Sarría made a lasting impression on the child’s imagination. Even as a 10 year-old, he wrote Gothic tales which kept his schoolmates up all night – a talent which would later help him to achieve great success. After his student days, he worked in advertising for a few years, which he finally gave up so that he could thoroughly devote himself to literature. In 1993 Ruiz Zafón received the Edebè Prize for his first novel 'El príncipe de la niebla'. Against the historical background of the time after the Spanish Civil War, the author develops a novel which borrows from fantastic literature. Sunken ships, a mysterious sculpture garden, and a lighthouse keeper who refuses to tell what he knows are only some of the challenges that the young protagonist has to face together with his sister before the novel ends in a final confrontation with evil.
Ruiz Zafón’s most recent novel 'La sombra del viento' also takes place in the post-war years of the Franco regime. But this time the setting is the author’s hometown, described in sombre, spine-chilling images. As a child, Daniel Sempere’s father gives him the only existing copy of a mysterious book. Fascinated by the book’s narrative world, the young reader spends years searching for the author Julián Carax. The more he inquires, the clearer it becomes that he is not the only one looking for the author. An agent from Franco’s secret police and a mysterious man with a black leather mask also appear to take an active interest in the writer’s whereabouts. The novel and the biography of its author mingle more and more with Daniel’s life until it becomes clear that the person he is looking for is closer than he thought. The novel quickly became a bestseller in Spain and won best novel of the year in 2002. It has already been translated into 12 languages. Carlos Ruiz Zafón has lived in Los Angeles since 1994. In addition to novels and screenplays, he writes for 'El País' and 'La Vanguardia'.