Andrés Neuman

Andrés Neuman (Madrid, October 2012)

Andrés Neuman (born January 28, 1977) is a Spanish-Argentine writer, poet, translator, columnist and blogger.

The son of Argentine émigré musicians, he was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a mother of Italian and Spanish descent and a father of German-Jewish descent. He spent his childhood in Buenos Aires, although he currently lives in Granada, Spain. He has a degree in Spanish Philology from the University of Granada, where he also taught Latin American literature. He holds both Argentine and Spanish citizenships.

Through a vote called by the Hay Festival, Neuman was selected among the most outstanding young Latin American authors, being included on the Bogotá39 list . He was also selected by Granta magazine in Spanish and English as one of the 22 Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists.^[1][2] His fourth novel, the award-winning Traveller of the Century, first to be published in English, was selected among the best books of the year by The Guardian , The Independent and Financial Times . This novel was also shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize,^[3] achieving a Special Commendation from the jury; as well as shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award,^[4] being named one of "the two frontrunners who so sure-footedly outpaced the strong pack", according to an article written by the jury for The Guardian. His next book translated into English was the novel Talking to Ourselves,^[5] longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award , shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize , and selected as number 1 among the Top 20 books of the year by Typographical Era.^[6] His most recent work translated into English, the collection of stories The Things We Don't Do.,^[7] was longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award and a finalist for the Firecracker Award.

In one of the essays of his book Entre paréntesis (Between Parentheses), the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño stated about Neuman: "He has a gift. No good reader will fail to perceive in these pages something that can only be found in great literature, that which is written by true poets. The literature of the twenty-first century will belong to Neuman and to a handful of his blood brothers".^[8]

Awards and honours

• 1999 First Finalist in the Herralde Prize for his first novel, Bariloche,^[9] which was selected as one of the best ten novels of the year by El Cultural,^[10] the literary supplement of the national newspaper El Mundo.
• 2002 Hiperión Prize of poetry for El tobogán (2002).^[11]
• 2009 Alfaguara Prize for El viajero del siglo (Traveller of the Century, 2009).^[12] This book was selected as one of the five best novels of the year published in Spanish language, in two different votes: one called by the national newspaper El País among 50 critics and journalists and another one called by the national newspaper El Mundo .
• 2009 National Critics Prize: Premio de la Crítica Española for El viajero del siglo (Traveler of the Century).^[13]
• 2013 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist for Traveller of the Century (Nick Caistor & Lorenza Garcia; Spanish; Pushkin Press).^[14]
• 2013 Special Commendation from the Jury of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for Traveller of the Century.^[15]
• 2013 Best Translated Book Award longlist for Traveler of the Century.^[16]
• 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award shortlist for Traveller of the Century (Nick Caistor & Lorenza Garcia; Spanish; Pushkin Press and Farrar, Straus and Giroux).^[17]
• 2015 Best Translated Book Award longlist for Talking to Ourselves.^[18]
• 2015 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize shortlist for Talking to Ourselves.^[19]
• 2016 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award longlist for Talking to Ourselves (Nick Caistor & Lorenza Garcia; Spanish; Pushkin Press and Farrar, Straus and Giroux).^[20]
• 2016 Best Translated Book Award longlist for The Things We Don't Do.^[21]
• 2016 finalist for the Firecracker Award for The Things We Don't Do.^[22]

List of works

Novels

• Bariloche (1999). Barcelona: Anagrama. ISBN 84-339-2444-3. Paperback edition, 2008, ISBN 978-84-339-7314-6. First Finalist in the Herralde Prize.
• La vida en las ventanas (2002) (Life in the Windows). Madrid: Espasa-Calpe. ISBN 84-670-0127-5. First Finalist in the Primavera Prize.
• Una vez Argentina (2003) (Once Argentina). Barcelona: Anagrama. ISBN 84-339-6853-X. First Finalist in the Herralde Prize.
• El viajero del siglo (2009) (Traveller of the Century). Madrid: Alfaguara. ISBN 978-84-204-2235-0. Alfaguara Prize and National Critics Prize.
• Hablar solos (2012) (Talking to Ourselves). Madrid: Alfaguara. ISBN 978-84-204-0329-8.

Poetry

• Métodos de la noche (1998) (Night Methods). Madrid: Ediciones Hiperión. ISBN 84-7517-617-8. Antonio Carvajal Young Poetry Prize.
• El jugador de billar (2000) (The Pool Player). Valencia: Editorial Pre-Textos. ISBN 84-8191-353-7.
• El tobogán (2002) (The Toboggan). Madrid: Ediciones Hiperión. ISBN 84-7517-727-1. Hiperión Poetry Prize.
• Mística abajo (2008) (Down Mystic). Barcelona: Editorial Acantilado. ISBN 978-84-96834-40-8.
• Década. Poesía 1997-2007 (2008) (Decade. Poetry 1997-2007). Barcelona: Editorial Acantilado. ISBN 978-84-96834-82-8.
• No sé por qué y Patio de locos (2013). Valencia: Editorial Pre-Textos. 978-84-15576-47-1.

Short stories

• El que espera (2000) (The One Who Waits). Barcelona: Anagrama. ISBN 84-339-2461-3.
• El último minuto (2001) (The Last Minute). Madrid: Espasa. ISBN 84-239-2623-0. New edition by Páginas de Espuma (Madrid, 2007, ISBN 978-84-8393-001-4).
• Alumbramiento (2006) (Birth). Madrid: Páginas de Espuma. ISBN 84-95642-85-9.
• Hacerse el muerto (2011) (Playing Dead). Madrid: Páginas de Espuma. ISBN 978-84-8393-066-3.

Others

• Die Winterreise of Wilhelm Müller (2003) (Viaje de invierno, Winter Journey translation from German to Spanish). Barcelona: Editorial Acantilado. ISBN 84-96136-23-X.
• El equilibrista (2005) (The Tightrope Walker, aphorisms). Barcelona: Editorial Acantilado. ISBN 84-96489-07-8.
• Cómo viajar sin ver. Latinoamérica en tránsito (2010) (How to Travel Without Seeing. Latin America in Transit, travel book). Madrid: Alfaguara. ISBN 978-84-204-0608-4.

English translations

• Traveller of the Century (2012, UK, Pushkin Press). 978-1906548667 . Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza García.
• Traveler of the Century (2012, USA, Farrar, Straus and Giroux). 978-0374119393 . Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza García.
• Talking to Ourselves (2014, UK, Pushkin Press). 978-1782270553 . Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza García.
• Talking to Ourselves (2014, USA, Farrar, Straus and Giroux). 978-0374167530 . Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza García.
• The Things We Don't Do (2014, UK, Pushkin Press). 978-1782270737 . Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza García.
• The Things We Don't Do (2015, US, Open Letter Books). 978-1-940953-18-2 . Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza García.

References

1. The New York Times article: Granta names 22 Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists .
2. Granta 113. The Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists
3. Booktrust: A steamy tale of love between two translators makes the shortlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
4. Ten books shortlisted for the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award .
5. The New York Times article: Andres Neuman's new novel is Talking to Ourselves .
6. Best Read in 2014: A Top 20 Year-End List .
7. We Love This Book review on The Things We Don't Do
8. Bolaño, Roberto: Entre paréntesis (Between Parentheses), Anagrama, Barcelona, 2004, page 149. English edition: Between Parentheses, translated by Natasha Wimmer. New Directions, USA, 2011.
9. Basanta, Ángel: Review of Bariloche, El Mundo, 19 December 1999 .
10. "The Ten Nobels of 2000", El Mundo, 28 June 2009 .
11. List of winners of the Hiperión Poetry Prize es:Premio Hiperión
12. García Posada, Miguel: "La hora de la consagración", ABC, 18 July 2009 .
13. El País news: Andrés Neuman gana el premio de la crítica .
14. Booktrust: A steamy tale of love between two translators makes the shortlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize .
15. The Independent news: Special commendation: A home for imagination .
16. 2013 Best Translated Book Award Fiction Longlist .
17. Ten books shortlisted for the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award .
18. Why This Book Should Win – by BTBA Judge Jeremy Garber .
19. Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize 2015: Shortlist Announced .
20. 2016 nominees for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award .
21. Flavorwire: Who wrote the best translated book of 2016? .
22. 2016 Fireckracker Award Finalists Announced .

External links

• Official website (some English texts)
• Review of Traveller of the Century in The Independent
• Review of Traveller of the Century in The Guardian
• Review of Traveler of the Century in The L Magazine
• Short story in Words Without Borders
• Interview in Untitled Books
• Interview in Latineos. Latin America, Caribbean, arts & culture
• PRISA News about the Alfaguara Prize
• "Conquering Displacement With Words" by Valerie Miles in The New York Times
• Audio Interview with Michael Cathcart ABC Radio
• Review of Talking to Ourselves in The Guardian
• Review of Talking to Ourselves in The Independent
• Review of Talking to Ourselves in Upcoming4.me