JUAN GABRIEL VÁSQUEZ

Recognized by critics as one of the great novelists of Ibero-America


  • Author of numerous international best-sellers, including “The Sound of Things Falling”, and “The Shape of the Ruins”
  • His novel “Look Back”, won the prestigious Mario Vargas Llosa Biennial Nobel Prize, and was described by the Peruvian Nobel laureate as "one of the great novels of our language."
  • Recipient of the Alfaguara Prize, the International Dublin Literary Award (IMPAC), and the Royal Spanish Academy Award, among others
  • For his work, he has been awarded the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, the Order of Isabella the Catholic conferred by the King of Spain, and the International Writer distinction granted by the Royal Society of Literature in the United Kingdom
  • He is a member of the Colombian Academy of Language
  • A master on stage, he has engaged in insightful conversations with renowned figures including Mario Vargas Llosa, Carlos Fuentes, Salman Rushdie, Irene Vallejo, amongst others
  • For 18 years, Vásquez has been writing political commentary for leading publications such as El País (Madrid), El Espectador (Bogotá), The New York Times, and The Guardian (London)
  • An intellectual, he offers a clear-eyed, nonpartisan reflection on the fragile state of democracy today—and the possibilities for overcoming this crisis

Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Bogotá, 1973) is the author of the short story collections The Lovers of All Saints and Songs for the Fire (Colombian Narrative Library Award) and the novels The Informants, The Secret History of Costaguana, The Sound of Things Falling (Alfaguara Prize, Gregor von Rezzori Prize, International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award), Reputations (Royal Spanish Academy Award, Archbishop John of San Clemente Prize, Casa da América Latina in Lisbon Award), The Shape of Ruins (Casino da Póvoa Literary Prize and finalist for the Man Booker Prize), Looking Back (Mario Vargas Llosa Biennial Novel Prize, Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, Casino de Santiago European Novel Prize) and Feliza's Names.

Vásquez has also published three books of essays, The Art of Distortion, Travels with a Blank Map, and The Translation of the World; a collection of his journalistic writings on Colombian politics, The Disagreements of Peace; and a book of poems, September Notebook. He has translated works by Joseph Conrad and Victor Hugo, among others.

For his work, he has won the Prix Roger Caillois in France, the Blue Metropolis Prize in Canada, and the Extraordinary Calamo Prize in Spain. In 2016, he was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, and in 2018, he received the Order of Isabella the Catholic. In 2022, he was named an International Writer by the Royal Society of Literature. His books are published in 30 languages. He is a columnist for El País and a member of the Colombian Academy of Language.

Throughout his career, Juan Gabriel has delivered lectures at some of the world’s most prestigious universities—Oxford, Columbia, Georgetown, Freie Universität Berlin, and the University of Bern, among others—as well as at corporate and industry events. A master on stage, he has engaged in insightful conversations with renowned figures such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Carlos Fuentes, Salman Rushdie, Jonathan Franzen, Philippe Sands, Hisham Matar, Leila Guerriero, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Irene Vallejo, and many more.

Juan Gabriel tailors each presentation to the needs of his audience and is not limited to the topics mentioned below. Please contact us on any topic that interests you:

  • Literature
  • Storytelling
  • Politics and literature
  • Reflections on ethics

The Power of Stories

Humans are made of stories. The narratives we create shape our understanding of ourselves and those around us. Yet, stories can also be powerful and dangerous—they can manipulate, mislead, and distort reality, sometimes with profound consequences. How do the stories that define our experiences truly work? And how can we harness their power to lead more meaningful and fulfilling lives

Life After Truth

For several years now, the term post-truth has taken center stage in our lives. But what does it really mean? What are we referring to when we talk about post-truth, and how does it differ from the age-old concept of lying? Vásquez delves into this new world where the line between truth and falsehood has been reshaped, reflecting on the role of new technologies in our social reality and uncovering the deep connections between post-truth, populism, and polarization. 

Novels about Real People 

With his latest two novels, Volver la vista atrás and Los nombres de Feliza, Vásquez has achieved enormous critical and commercial success. Both books share the reconstruction of real lives: in Volver la vista atrás, that of film director Sergio Cabrera and his family; in Los nombres de Feliza, that of Colombian sculptor Feliza Bursztyn.

What does it mean to use fiction to tell the lives of real people? What challenges does this literary approach present, and what discoveries does it offer? In this talk, Vásquez unveils the untold story behind these novels, which have left a lasting mark on contemporary Spanish-language literature. 

The New Crisis of an Old Democracy

Democracy is facing one of its most challenging moments. Citizens seem to have lost faith in it, and more frequently, they appear willing to hand power to politicians who openly disdain it—or worse, who use democratic mechanisms to dismantle it from within. When did this crisis begin, even in the world’s most stable democracies? What are its causes, and what consequences might it bring? For 18 years, Vásquez has been writing political commentary for leading publications such as El País (Madrid), El Espectador (Bogotá), The New York Times, and The Guardian (London). As a public intellectual, he offers a clear-eyed, nonpartisan reflection on the fragile state of democracy today—and the possibilities for overcoming this crisis.

The Art of Being Human: Why We Read (and Write) Novels

Humans are storytelling beings. The narratives that make up what we call literature have, for centuries, helped us understand others and ourselves—shaping some of our most significant social and political achievements. Yet today, the mysterious act of reading fiction seems to have lost the central role it once held. What are the consequences of this shift? What have centuries of reading about people who never existed taught us? What happens within us when we engage with fiction, and how do we use it to make sense of the world?