Bernardo Atxaga

Bernardo Atxaga (Guipúzcoa, Spain, 1951): Pseudonym of Joseba Irazu Garmendia, holds a degree in Economics from the University of Bilbao and is a member of the Royal Academy of the Basque Language.
Among his most important works, the book of poetry stands out. Ethiopia (1972) or novels such as The accordion player's son (2003), for which he received the Critics' Prize, among other awards, such as the Donostia Hiria Prize, the Euskadi Literature Prize, or – more recently – the Grinzane Cavour Prize for foreign fiction, and Obabakoak, which became his most international and award-winning book.
Atxaga wrote most of his work in Basque, virtually reinventing all literary genres in that language. Its universality is underpinned by his blend of narrative techniques, through which he combines the uniqueness of description with mastery in constructing inner worlds.