Javier Cercas

Javier Cercas, born José Javier Cercas Mena on April 6, 1962, is a Spanish writer, journalist, translator, and university teacher. He works in the genres of chronicle and essay, writing in Spanish. His notable works include *Soldiers of Salamis* and *The Anatomy of a Moment*. He has also authored *La trayectoria artística de Gonzalo Suárez*, *El loco de Dios en el fin del mundo*, *L'impostore*, and *Libro de las caídas*. Cercas is a member of the Royal Spanish Academy and practices atheism.

He was educated at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Barcelona. Cercas has been employed by the University of Girona and the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, and he works in Girona. His literary influences include Jorge Luis Borges and Franz Kafka. He has received the National Novel Prize, the Premio Planeta de Novela, and the European Book Prize. He was nominated for the José Manuel Lara Foundation Prize and the International Booker Prize.