Vanessa Montfort

Novelist, playwright and journalist, author of theatre texts, she won the eleventh Premio Ateneo Joven de Sevilla for her first novel, El ingrediente secreto (The Secret Ingredient) (Algaida 2006). With her second, Mitología de Nueva York (New York Mythology) (Algaida 2010), she won the 2010 Premio de Novela Ateneo de Sevilla. Her work has been recognised with the Orden de los descubridores (Order of the Discoverers) awarded by the Department of Spanish Language and Literature at St John's University in New York and the 2009 Premio Nacional Cultura Viva for the 'revelation of the year'. This jury singled her out as 'one of the surest voices in the new generation of Spanish writers'. She is currently dedicated to literature full time, giving courses, workshops and lectures both in Spain and abroad.