Julio Antonio Travieso Serrano

Narrator. Author of several books of both short stories and novels. Among his most outstanding works are When Night Dies and It Rains on Havana. His work has been translated into several languages such as German and Italian. He possesses the A.S. Pushkin order conferred by the Russian State for his body of work.

He earned a degree in Law from Lomonosov University in Moscow and a doctorate from the Institute of Latin America of the Academy of Sciences in the USSR. He worked as a professor and also as a journalist in Cuba and Mexico.

He has been a professor at the University of Havana and has equally taught in Spain, Russia, and Mexico. His work has been translated into several languages.

Among his books we highlight the novels: To Kill the Wolf, 1971, honorable mention in the Casa de las Américas Prize and filmed by Cuban Television; When Night Dies, 1981, Cirilo Villaverde Novel Prize from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, also filmed by Cuban Television; Dust and Gold, Letras Cubanas, 1996, Mazatlán Literature Prize from Mexico, Cuban Literary Criticism Prize, finalist for the Rómulo Gallegos Prize from Venezuela and published in Mexico, Cuba, Spain and Italy; It Rains on Havana, 2004, translated into Russian, Portuguese and English; The Envoy, 2010.

His narrative work—comprised of some collections of short stories and several novels—has addressed, with success and intelligence, diverse problems of man and his world. His clean, simple, and clear prose is an effective instrument of a narrative discourse of undoubted reach in the context of current Cuban literature.

He studied Law at the University of Havana; at Lomonosov University in Moscow he received a Master's degree in Sciences. He obtained in 1985 the title of Doctor in Economics from the Institute of Latin America of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.

He has been a professor at the University of Havana and has equally taught in Spain, Russia, and Mexico. In these last two countries he has lived for several years.

He is a member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. His work is one of the most significant in the literary landscape of the last five decades.

Works

He is the author of the books:

Days of War, Ediciones Granma, (1967), Prize from the Granma Editorial Contest (short story)
The Lambs Drink Wine (1970) (short story)
The Prisoner, 1979 (short story)
Long is the Struggle, 1983 (short story)
A Seagull Flew in the Distance, Letras Cubanas, 2004 (short story)
A New Day, 1984, (testimony)
To Kill the Wolf, 1971, honorable mention in the Casa de las Américas Prize and filmed by Cuban Television (novel)
When Night Dies, 1981 (novel) Cirilo Villaverde Novel Prize from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, also filmed by Cuban Television
Dust and Gold, Letras Cubanas, 1996 (novel) Mazatlán Literature Prize from Mexico, Cuban Literary Criticism Prize, finalist for the Rómulo Gallegos Prize from Venezuela and published in Mexico, Cuba, Spain and Italy
It Rains on Havana, 2004 (novel). Translated into Russian, Portuguese and English
The Envoy, 2010 (novel)
The Book of Pegasus, Editorial Gente Nueva, in the Youth Collection, 2012 (novella for young people)
The Notebook of Absurdities, Ediciones Unión, 2018

His work has been translated into German, Bulgarian, Czech, Georgian, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Turkish, French, Ukrainian, Italian, Portuguese and English.

Awards

He has been part of, among others, the juries of the Casa de las Américas Prizes, National Literature Prize, Alejo Carpentier Prize, Literary Criticism Prize, Razón de Ser Prize, Cirilo Villaverde Prize of UNEAC, David Prize, Dador Prize and Pinos Nuevos Prize.
He obtained, in 1985 and 1993, the Razón de Ser Prize from the Alejo Carpentier Foundation.
He received, in 1980, the Medal for Underground Struggle.
In 1988 the Distinction for National Culture.
In 2007, the Russian State conferred upon him in recognition of his body of work the A.S. Pushkin Order.
He was awarded the National Literature Prize 2021.