Famous Spanish Novelists

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 1 
Miguel de Cervantes
4
Birthdate: September 29, 1547
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Died: April 22, 1616

Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish writer best known for his work Don Quixote, which is considered one of the high points of world literature. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists of all time and the greatest writer to ever write in the Spanish language. His works have influenced other works of art like music and paintings.

 2 
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
(Spanish Novelist Known for His 2001 Novel 'La sombra del viento')
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
3
Birthdate: September 25, 1964
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: June 19, 2020

Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón gained international fame with his first adult novel, The Shadow of the Wind. Previously, he had dabbled in the young-adult genre, with novels such as The Prince of Mist. He had initially been associated with the advertising industry and later also wrote scripts.

 3 
Miguel de Unamuno
3
Birthdate: September 29, 1864
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Bilbao
Died: December 31, 1936

Miguel de Unamuno was a Spanish essayist, poet, playwright, novelist, and philosopher. His most famous novel was Abel Sánchez: The History of a Passion, a modern retelling of the Biblical Cain and Abel story. He was a significant figure in the Spanish literary and intellectual circles and served as rector of the University of Salamanca. 

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 4 
Lope de Vega
(Writer and One of the Key Figures in the Spanish Golden Age of Baroque Literature)
Lope de Vega
3
Birthdate: November 25, 1562
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: August 27, 1635

Spanish Baroque dramatist Lope de Vega was one of the most significant figures of the Spanish Golden Age. He had initially aspired to be a priest but abandoned his plans after falling in love with a married woman. He is best remembered for works such as The Dog in the Manger.

 5 
Arturo Pérez-Reverte
(Spanish Novelist and Journalist Known for His 'Captain Alatriste' Novel Series)
Arturo Pérez-Reverte
4
Birthdate: November 25, 1951
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Cartagena, Spain

A retired war correspondent and best-selling author, Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez began his writing career while serving as a journalist, publishing his first novel, El hussar, set during the Napoleon Wars, at the age of thirty-five. Outside Spain, he is best known for his Captain Alatriste series, which contains seven novels set around a seventeenth century soldier of the same name.

 6 
Camilo José Cela
(Winner of 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature)
Camilo José Cela
3
Birthdate: May 11, 1916
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Iria Flavia, Spain
Died: January 17, 2002

Camilo José Cela was a Spanish novelist, essayist, story writer, and poet. One of the most respected Spanish writers of his generation, Camilo José Cela received a number of prestigious awards, including the 1987 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. In 1989, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1994, he was honored with the Premio Planeta de Novela.

 7 
Javier Marías
(Spanish Writer and Translator)
Javier Marías
3
Birthdate: September 20, 1951
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: September 11, 2022

Born to banned educator Julián Marías, Javier Marías had begun writing at age 14 and penned his first novel, The Dominions of the Wolf, at 17. His depiction of John Gawsworth, the king of the Caribbean island Redonda, led him to inherit the kingship. He also writes columns for El Pais.

 8 
Ibn Tufail
(Spanish Astronomer, Philosopher and Novelist Famous for Writing the First Philosophical Novel, ‘Hayy ibn Yaqdhan')
Ibn Tufail
3
Birthdate: 1105 AD
Birthplace: Guadix, Spain
Died: 1185 AD

Ibn Tufail was a 12th-century Arab polymath from Andalusia and a significant figure of the Islamic Golden Age. Best known for his philosophical romance Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān, he had also penned medical works in Arab and had been the court physician of Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf.

 9 
Emilia Pardo Bazán
(Writer Known for Introducing Naturalism Into Spanish Literature)
Emilia Pardo Bazán
2
Birthdate: September 16, 1851
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: A Coruña, Spain
Died: May 12, 1921

Spanish countess and novelist Emilia Pardo Bazán had initially gained fame with the essay The Critical Issue. She was an advocate of naturalism and free will. Known for novels such as The House of Ulloa, she also taught Romance literature and was divorced by her husband because of her literary success.

 10 
David trueba
(Actor)
David trueba
2
Birthdate: September 10, 1969
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Madrid

David Trueba is a Spanish film director, novelist, and screenwriter. He is known for directing movies like The Good Life, Madrid, 1987, and Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed. The younger brother of Oscar-winning filmmaker Fernando Trueba, David Trueba has also directed several TV series. He is also known as the ex-husband of popular Spanish actress Ariadna Gil.

 11 
Dolores Redondo
(Writer)
Dolores Redondo
2
Birthdate: February 1, 1969
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: San Sebastián, Spain
 12 
Benito Pérez Galdós
(Spanish Realist Novelist and a Leading Literary Figure in 19th-Century Spain)
Benito Pérez Galdós
2
Birthdate: May 10, 1843
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Municipality of Las Palmas, Spain
Died: January 4, 1920

One of the greatest Spanish novelists ever, Benito Pérez Galdós had initially aspired to become a lawyer but later switched to journalism. His novel The Fountain of Gold was the first in a series of 46 novels known as National Episodes. He also penned plays such as Realidad.

 13 
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
(Bestselling Spanish Novelist Known for His Novel ‘Blood and Sand')
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
2
Birthdate: January 29, 1867
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Valencia, Spain
Died: January 28, 1928

Best known for his war novels, such as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was a prominent member of the Spanish Generation of ’98 movement. Though he had been elected to the parliament, he later went into self-exile. Many of his novels were later adapted into films.

 14 
Fernando Fernán Gómez
(Actor, Writer)
Fernando Fernán Gómez
2
Birthdate: August 28, 1921
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Lima, Peru
Died: November 21, 2007
 15 
Ildefonso Falcones
(Writer)
Ildefonso Falcones
2
Birthdate: 1959 AD
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
 16 
Corín Tellado
(Spanish Novelist)
Corín Tellado
2
Birthdate: April 25, 1927
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: El Franco, Asturias, Spain
Died: April 11, 2009

Corín Tellado held a Guinness World Record for selling the most titles in the Spanish language. The author of over 4,000 titles, Tellado specialized in romance novels and photonovels. She included feminist elements, such as working women, and also penned several erotic novels under the pseudonym Ada Miller.

 17 
Pío Baroja
(One of the Key Novelists of the Generation of '98')
Pío Baroja
2
Birthdate: December 28, 1872
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
Died: October 30, 1956

Spanish Basque writer Pío Baroja was a qualified doctor and practiced medicine in northern Spain for a few years before returning to Madrid to manage his family bakery. Part of the Generation of ’98, he penned iconic works such as the series Memoirs of a Man of Action.

 18 
Ana María Matute
(Spanish Novelist)
Ana María Matute
2
Birthdate: July 26, 1925
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: June 25, 2014

Spanish writer Ana María Matute is counted among leading novelists of the posguerra. A member of Real Academia Española, Matute’s rich body of work, including novels like Fiesta al noroeste and short stories like El árbol de oro, helped her become the third woman to receive the Cervantes Prize. She also received Premio Nadal for the novel Primera memoria.

 19 
Federica Montseny
(Spanish Intellectual & Anarchist Who Served as One of Western Europe's First Female Ministers)
Federica Montseny
2
Birthdate: February 12, 1905
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: January 14, 1994

Federica Montseny was a Spanish intellectual and anarchist. She is best remembered for her service as the Minister of Health and Social Policy from 4 November 1936 to 17 May 1937. One of Western Europe's first female ministers, Federica Montseny was also known as an essayist and novelist. 

 20 
Juan Goytisolo
(Spanish Poet & Novelist Who was Considered Spain's Greatest Living Writer at the Beginning of the 21st Century)
Juan Goytisolo
2
Birthdate: January 6, 1931
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: June 4, 2017

Spanish poet, short-story writer, essayist, and novelist Juan Goytisolo was regarded as the greatest living writer of Spain at the beginning of the 21st century. A critique of Francoist Spain, works of Goytisolo, which includes the novels Marks of Identity, Count Julian, and Juan the Landless, were banned in Spain until after Francisco Franco’s death.

 21 
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
(Spanish Dramatist and Novelist)
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
2
Birthdate: October 28, 1866
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Vilanova de Arousa, Spain
Died: January 5, 1936

Spanish dramatist and novelist Ramón del Valle-Inclán, a member of the Spanish Generation of 98, was a noted radical dramatist who despised literary realism and created esperpento, expressionist theatre. Major works of Valle-Inclán includes plays like Divine Words (Divinas palabras) and Bohemian Lights (Luces de Bohemia), the novel Tyrant Banderas (Tirano Banderas) and the four novelettes known as the Sonatas.

 22 
Jorge Semprún
(Former Minister of Culture of Spain and Writer)
Jorge Semprún
2
Birthdate: December 10, 1923
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: June 7, 2011

Spanish-born author and politician Jorge Semprún mostly wrote in French. He was educated at the Sorbonne and mostly lived in France. He soared to fame with the autobiographical novel The Cattle Truck, while his scripts for the films Z and The War Is Over earned him Academy Award nominations.

 23 
Carmen Laforet
(Spanish Novelist and Short-Story Writer)
Carmen Laforet
2
Birthdate: September 6, 1921
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: February 28, 2004

Premio Nadal-winning Spanish author Carmen Laforet is remembered for developing Spanish Existentialist literature. Best known for her first and most popular novel, Nada, she used the tremendismo narrative in her works. Suffering from Alzheimer's disease in later years, she eventually lost the ability to speak.

 24 
Rosa Montero
(Journalist)
Rosa Montero
2
Birthdate: January 3, 1951
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Madrid
 25 
Miguel Delibes
(One of the Leading Figures of Post-Civil War Spanish Literature)
Miguel Delibes
2
Birthdate: October 17, 1920
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Valladolid, Spain
Died: March 12, 2010

Spanish author Miguel Delibes was a significant member of the Generation of '36 movement and is remembered for his realist fiction. He had been part of the Spanish navy and initially worked as a newspaper caricaturist. Many of his works, such as El camino, were later made into films.

 26 
Manuel Vázquez Montalbán
(Novelist and Creator of Spain’s Most Famous Fictional Detective, ‘José “Pepe” Carvalho')
Manuel Vázquez Montalbán
2
Birthdate: June 14, 1939
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: October 18, 2003

Renowned Spanish author and poet Manuel Vázquez Montalbán was a regular columnist for El Pais. A gastronome, he displayed his knowledge of cooking in the Detective Pepe Carvalho series and in Contra los Gourmets. He was a football lover, too, and often wrote essays on topics such as sports and music.

 27 
Fernando de Rojas
(Spanish Author)
Fernando de Rojas
2
Birthdate: 1465 AD
Birthplace: La Puebla de Montalbán, Spain
Died: March 31, 1541

Spanish author Fernando de Rojas is remembered for his sole surviving work La Celestina, a tragic love story which was significant to the development of prose drama in Europe. A qualified lawyer, he had also served as lord mayor. He also ran into trouble with the Inquisition quite often.

 28 
Mercè Rodoreda
(Spanish Novelist)
Mercè Rodoreda
2
Birthdate: October 10, 1908
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: April 13, 1983

Spanish Catalan novelist Mercè Rodoreda is best remembered for her novel The Time of the Doves. While she had initially begun writing to escape her unhappy marriage, she took it up as a serious career while in exile in France and Switzerland after the Spanish Civil War.

 29 
Leopoldo Alas
(Realist Novelist)
Leopoldo Alas
1
Birthdate: April 25, 1852
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Zamora, Spain
Died: June 13, 1901

Nineteenth-century Spanish literary critic Leopoldo Alas gained fame for his paliques and his liberalism. A qualified lawyer, he taught law and political economy at the University of Oviedo throughout his life. His notable works include his novel La regenta and his short story collections such as El gallo de Sócrates.

 30 
Juan Gómez-Jurado
(One of the Most Popular and Successful Spanish Authors of His Generation)
Juan Gómez-Jurado
1
Birthdate: December 16, 1977
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain

Juan Gómez-Jurado is a Spanish author and journalist. One of the most popular and successful Spanish authors of his generation, Gómez-Jurado has won several prestigious awards, including the Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja for The Traitor's Emblem. Juan Gómez-Jurado's work has been translated into more than 40 languages.

 31 
José Martínez Ruiz
(Spanish Novelist, Essayist and Literary Critic)
José Martínez Ruiz
1
Birthdate: June 8, 1873
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Monòver, Spain
Died: March 2, 1967

José Martínez Ruiz, better known as Azorin, was a prominent Spanish literary critic. He was also credited with naming his group of Spanish writers the Generation of ’98. Though educated in law, he later became a journalist and penned works such as An Hour of Spain, 1560–1590.

 32 
Fernando Aramburu
(Writer)
Fernando Aramburu
1
Birthdate: 1959 AD
Birthplace: Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
 33 
Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda
(Spanish Novelist)
Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda
1
Birthplace: Tordesillas, Spain

Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda is the pseudonym of the unknown author who penned the Second Book of the Ingenious Knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, an unauthorized sequel to Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes, however, had criticized the poor quality of Avellaneda’s work, in the original second volume.

 34 
Juan Antonio de Zunzunegui
(Spanish novelist)
Juan Antonio de Zunzunegui
1
Birthdate: December 21, 1901
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Portugalete, Spain
Died: May 31, 1982

Spanish author Juan Antonio de Zunzunegui was primarily known for his novels and short stories that reflected the life of Bilbao and Madrid. A Spanish Academy member, he is remembered for masterpieces such as El premio and El supremo bien and for his realistic narrative.

 35 
Francisco Ayala
(Novelist)
Francisco Ayala
1
Birthdate: March 16, 1906
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Granada, Spain
Died: November 3, 2009
 36 
Gonzalo Torrente Ballester
(Writer)
Gonzalo Torrente Ballester
1
Birthdate: June 13, 1910
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Ferrol, Spain
Died: January 27, 1999
 37 
Carmen Martín Gaite
(Spanish Author Known for Her Short Novel 'The Nightmarish El Balneario' (The Spa))
Carmen Martín Gaite
1
Birthdate: December 8, 1925
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Salamanca, Spain
Died: July 22, 2000

Carmen Martín Gaite graduated with romance philology when it was rare for women to attend universities. The Premio Nadal-winning author is best remembered for her iconic works such as Entre visillos and El balneario. She was also one of only two female Spanish Royal Academy members back in her time.

 38 
Ramón J. Sender
(Spanish Essayist, Novelist, and Journalist)
Ramón J. Sender
1
Birthdate: February 3, 1901
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chalamera, Spain
Died: January 16, 1982

Ramón J. Sender was a Spanish essayist, novelist, and journalist. He is best remembered for his contribution to a Republican literary magazine called El Mono Azul during the Spanish Civil War. Many of Ramón J. Sender's works, such as Siete domingos rojos and Mr Witt en el cantón, were translated into English by Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell.

 39 
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón y Ariza
(Novelist)
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón y Ariza
1
Birthdate: March 10, 1833
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Guadix, Spain
Died: July 19, 1891
 40 
Francisco Umbral
(Journalist)
Francisco Umbral
1
Birthdate: May 11, 1932
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: August 28, 2007
 41 
José Cadalso
(Spanish Military Officer and Writer Best Known for His ‘Cartas Marruecas’, an Epistolary Novel)
José Cadalso
1
Birthdate: October 8, 1741
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Cádiz, Spain
Died: February 26, 1782

José Cadalso was a colonel of the Royal Spanish Army in the 18th century. He was also a well-known author, playwright, poet, and essayist. As an army man, he traveled through Italy, Germany, England, France, and Portugal and studied the literature of these countries. He is credited to have made massive contributions to Spanish Enlightenment literature. 

 42 
Eugeni d'Ors
(Spanish Writer, Essayist and Philosopher)
Eugeni d'Ors
1
Birthdate: September 28, 1881
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: September 25, 1954

Spanish philosopher and author Eugenio d'Ors y Rovira initially studied law but later worked as a journalist and gained fame with the column Glossari. Over the years, he gained excellence as an essayist and a caricaturist, too. He penned works such as The Secret of Philosophy.

 43 
Àngel Guimerà
(Writer)
Àngel Guimerà
1
Birthdate: May 6, 1845
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Died: July 18, 1924
 44 
Juan Marsé
(Writer)
Juan Marsé
1
Birthdate: January 8, 1933
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain
Died: July 18, 2020
 45 
Elena Santiago
(Spanish Writer and Novelist)
Elena Santiago
1
Birthdate: February 8, 1941
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Castile and León, Spain
Died: January 3, 2021

Elena Santiago was a Spanish writer best remembered for writing novels, children's literature, and short stories. Over the course of her career, which spanned more than four decades, Elena Santiago received several prestigious awards like the Rosa Chacel Award, the Castile and León Award for Letters, and Novelas y Cuentos Award.

 46 
Ángel Ganivet
(Writer)
Ángel Ganivet
1
Birthdate: December 13, 1865
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Granada, Spain
Died: November 29, 1898
 47 
Mateo Alemán
(Novelist)
Mateo Alemán
1
Birthdate: 1547
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Seville, Spain
Died: 1614 AD
 48 
Fernán Caballero
(Writer)
Fernán Caballero
1
Birthdate: December 24, 1796
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Morges, Switzerland
Died: April 7, 1877
 49 
Juan Benet
(Spanish Novelist, Essayist, and Dramatist)
Juan Benet
1
Birthdate: October 7, 1927
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: January 5, 1993
 50 
Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano
(Author)
Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano
1
Birthdate: October 18, 1824
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Cabra, Spain
Died: April 18, 1905