Alonso Cueto

Alonso Cueto Caballero (born in 1954 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian novelist and playwright. He was born in Lima and studied at the Catholic University of Peru, from where he graduated in 1977. He then spent two years in Europe, teaching English in Madrid and travelling. He then went on to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin in the United States, completing his Ph.D. in 1984.

He published his first work in 1983, while still studying. "La batalla del pasado" (The Battle of The Past) was a collection of short stories which achieved high praise. His first novel, "El tigre blanco" (The White Tiger) was published two years later and was awarded the Premio Wiracocha. He has published regularly since, realistically exploring the lives of the Peruvian middle classes. He currently writes for the newspaper Peru 21 and is a Professor of Journalism at the Catholic University of Peru. One of his novels, "Grandes Miradas", was adapted into a movie ("Mariposa Negra") by Francisco Lombardi in 2006.

In 2007, Cueto also collaborated with the highly acclaimed radio program "Mi Novela Favorita" (Mi Favorite Novel) which airs on RPP (Radio Programas del Perú) along with Alonso Alegría, Mario Vargas Llosa and several others, writing a few of the scripts for the show.

Awards and translations

In 2000, Cueto was awarded the Anna Seghers Prize in Berlin on account of his literary production. In 2005 he won the prestigious Herralde Prize in Barcelona with his novel "La Hora Azul" ("The blue hour"). This novel was considered the best novel in Spanish in the year by the People's Publishing House of China. In 2007, he won the finalista prize in the "Planeta-Casa de América" novel award, with "El Susurro de la mujer ballena" ("The whisper of the whale woman"). His work has been translated into French, German, Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, Serbian, Hebrew, Korean and Mandarin Chinese.

Personal life

Cueto married US-born translator Kristin Keenan on December 20th, 1985 in Lima. They have two children, Daniel (born November 1986) and Esteban (born May 1991), a golden retriever, Lucía, and two Siamese cats, Aramis and Dartagnan.

Published works

* "La batalla del pasado", 1983
* "El tigre blanco", 1985
* "Los vestidos de una dama',' 1986
* "Deseo de noche", 1993
* "Amores de invierno", 1994
* "El vuelo de la ceniza", 1995
* "Cinco para las nueve y otros cuentos", 1996
* "Pálido cielo", 1998
* "Demonios del mediodía", 1999
* "El otro amor de Diana Abril", 2002
* "Grandes miradas". 2003
* "Encuentro casual", 2002
* "Valses, rajes y cortejos", 2005
* "La hora azul", 2005
* "El Susurro de la Mujer Ballena", 2007