VJ Books presents Carlos Ruiz Zafón!
 Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1964. The close proximity of his parents’ house to Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia cathedral and the years he spent at the Gothic Jesuit school of Sarría made a lasting impression on the child’s imagination. Even as a 10 year-old, he wrote Gothic tales which kept his schoolmates up all night – a talent which would later help him to achieve great success. After his student days, he worked in advertising for a few years, which he finally gave up so that he could thoroughly devote himself to literature. He began his publishing career by writing novels for young adults. His first novel, El príncipe de la niebla (The Prince of Mist, 1993), earned the Edebé Literary Prize for young adult fiction. He is also the author of three more young adult novels, El palacio de la medianoche (1994), Las luces de septiembre (1995) and Marina (1999).
In 2001 he published the novel La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind), his first "adult" novel, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, more than a million copies in the UK alone. Since its publication, La sombra del viento has garnered critical acclaim around the world and has won numerous international awards. Ruiz Zafón's works have been published in 45 countries and have been translated into more than 30 languages. According to these figures, Ruiz Zafón is the most successful contemporary Spanish writer along with Javier Sierra, published in 42 countries, and Juan Gómez-Jurado, 41 countries.
Ruiz Zafón's eagerly awaited second novel, a prequel to the The Shadow of the Wind has been acquired by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and the English edition will be published in hardback on June 16 2009 and will be called The Angel's Game and is also set in Barcelona but during the 1920s and 1930s. It follows a young writer who is approached by a mysterious figure to write a book. The Spanish edition was published in April 2008 by Planeta. The English edition will be translated by Lucia Graves, daughter of the poet Robert Graves. Ruiz Zafón will tour to support the book after its publication.
Ruiz Zafón currently lives in Los Angeles.
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