Daniel Edmundo Chavarría Bastélica

He was born in San José, Uruguay. This "Cuban writer born in Uruguay," as he calls himself, is considered one of the greats of modern literature in the Spanish language, despite having begun his craft at a late age.

He has resided in Cuba since 1969 and arrived, supposedly, after hijacking a small plane. The exact circumstances of such an event have never been entirely clear, and Chavarría is accustomed to evading the subject, although he has stated that one could think of him as a "terrorist disguised as a writer." He ardently supports the Cuban Revolution and his communist ideology is well known.

Considered a man of vast culture, he speaks five languages fluently. From 1975 to 1986 he worked as a translator of German literature for the Cuban Book Institute and as a professor of Latin, Greek, and classical literature at the University of Havana.

His work as a writer shows a clear preference for detective novels, although recently he has ventured into historical novels. He has to his credit published short stories and teaching materials. Despite this, he declares that he is only interested in novels, writing them in three fundamental genres: political adventure novels, historical novels, and picaresque novels. In these one does not find an euphemistic charge that would convert them into elite literature. His mastery of narrative and ability to create stories and characters, interweaving them in fast-paced plots where detective fiction, comedy, and sex are mixed; turning them into a hook for the reader from the first lines, have earned him the favor of the public and critics, winning him numerous awards throughout his career.

His works have been translated into several languages and very soon one of them will be made into a film. Daniel Chavarría has published different works, including Joy, The Eye of Dindymene, published in Uruguay by Graffiti, The Sixth Island, Goodbye Boys, Over There Among Them, among others. He frequently participates in the Black Week of Gijón, the detective novel festival in Spain.

He has ventured into other artistic manifestations such as cinema, winning the Caracol Prize for Best Screenplay with the film Plaff. Member of UNEAC.

He was awarded the National Prize for Literature in 2010

Literary Works

Novels:
1978 - Joy.
1984 - The Sixth Island.
1991 - Over There Among Them.
1993 - The Eye of Cybele or The Eye of Dyndimene.
1994 - Goodbye Boys.
1999 - That Year in Madrid.
2001 - The Red in the Parrot's Feather.
2004 - Widows of Blood.
2005 - Priapes or What Lasts Lasts.
2006 - A Pike in Flanders.
2009 - And the World Keeps On (Memoirs).

Other Works:
The Avocado and Virtue.
Latin American Presence.
To Do; Dead First (in Russian).
Cuba (with Justo Vasco).
Judozhestoemmaya.
Latin Manual III-IV.
Voices of Silence (anthology of Uruguayan Exiles).
Counterlight.
From Solitude and Hope.

Screenplays
Films:
Plaff or Too Much Fear of Life (1988).
Television:
The Border of Duty.

Awards
Joy (1978):
Revolution Anniversary Prize, Havana, 1975.
Captain San Luis Prize, for the best detective novel published in Cuba during the 1970-80 decade, (1978).
The Sixth Island (1984):
Critics' Prize, Havana, awarded annually by the Ministry of Culture.
Over There Among Them (1991):
Dashiell Hammett Prize, Gijón, 1992, for the best detective novel in Spanish language of 1991.
The Eye of Cybele (1993):
Planeta-Joaquín Mortiz Prize, Mexico, 1993.
Prize for Education and Culture, Montevideo, 1994.
Ennio Flaiano Prize, Pescara, 1998, for the best novel published in Italy in 1997 by a non-European author.
Critics' Prize, Havana, awarded annually by the Ministry of Culture.
Goodbye Boys (1994):
Edgar Allan Poe Prize, New York, 2002, awarded by the Mystery Writers of America for the best detective novel published in the U.S. (in English), during 2001.
The Red in the Parrot's Feather (2001):
Casa de las Américas Prize, Havana, 2000.
Critics' Prize, Havana, awarded annually by the Ministry of Culture.
Widows of Blood (2004):
Alejo Carpentier Prize, Havana, 2004.
Priapes (2005):
Camilo José Cela Prize, 2005, Palma de Mallorca, 2005.
National Prize for Literature in Cuba. (2010)