CWA KAA Gold Dagger
1 appearances
-
Edition 48 (2002) Winner
José Carlos Somoza Ortega
ホセ・カルロス・ソモサ・オルテガ
Jose Carlos Somoza Ortega
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1959-11-13 （Havana, Cuba）
- Nationality
- Spanish
- Languages
- Spanish
- Residence History
- Havana, Cuba — birthplace and early childhood → Spain — residence after family exile
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Playwright, Scriptwriter
- Active Years
- 1994-
- Nominations
- Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (shortlisted), Nadal Prize (finalist)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | 学士（精神医学） | — | — |
—
Degree:
学士（精神医学）
Holds a bachelor's degree in psychiatry; gave up medical practice in 1994 to become a full-time writer.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Second Gabriel Sijé Short Story Award | Planos | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1994 | Margarita Xirgu Prize (radio drama) | Langostas | — | Radio Exterior de España / Ibero-American Cooperation Institute | 受賞 |
| 1997 | Cervantes Theater Award (INAEM) | Miguel Will | — | INAEM | 受賞 |
| 1998 | Café Gijón Award | La ventana pintada | — | — | 受賞 |
| 2000 | Nadal Prize (finalist) | Dafne Desvanecida | — | — | 最終候補 |
| 2001 | Fernando Lara Novel Award | Clara and the Penumbra | — | — | 受賞 |
| 2002 | Hammett Prize | Clara and the Penumbra | — | — | 受賞 |
| 2002 | CWA Gold Dagger (The Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction) | The Cave of Ideas (The Athenian Murders) | — | Crime Writers' Association | 受賞 |
| 2004 | Flintyxan Award (best historical crime novel) | The Cave of Ideas (The Athenian Murders) | — | Association of Swedish Novel Writers | 受賞 |
| 2007 | Premio Celsius 232 (special mention) | The Key of the Abyss | — | Semana Negra de Gijón | 特別言及 |
| 2007 | Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja | The Key of the Abyss | — | — | 受賞 |
Second Gabriel Sijé Short Story Award
1994
Work:
Planos
Result:
受賞
Margarita Xirgu Prize (radio drama)
1994
Work:
Langostas
Organization:
Radio Exterior de España / Ibero-American Cooperation Institute
Result:
受賞
Cervantes Theater Award (INAEM)
1997
Work:
Miguel Will
Organization:
INAEM
Result:
受賞
Café Gijón Award
1998
Work:
La ventana pintada
Result:
受賞
Nadal Prize (finalist)
2000
Work:
Dafne Desvanecida
Result:
最終候補
Fernando Lara Novel Award
2001
Work:
Clara and the Penumbra
Result:
受賞
Hammett Prize
2002
Work:
Clara and the Penumbra
Result:
受賞
CWA Gold Dagger (The Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction)
2002
Work:
The Cave of Ideas (The Athenian Murders)
Organization:
Crime Writers' Association
Result:
受賞
Flintyxan Award (best historical crime novel)
2004
Work:
The Cave of Ideas (The Athenian Murders)
Organization:
Association of Swedish Novel Writers
Result:
受賞
Premio Celsius 232 (special mention)
2007
Work:
The Key of the Abyss
Organization:
Semana Negra de Gijón
Result:
特別言及
Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja
2007
Work:
The Key of the Abyss
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja
1 appearances
-
Edition 6 (2007) Winner
Works
Major Works
Planos
1994 Short fiction / experimentalAn early short piece; one of the works marking his initial steps as a writer.
identityboundaries between fiction and reality
The Cave of Ideas / The Athenian Murders
2000 Detective fiction / MetafictionA metafictional detective novel in which ancient Athenian mysteries intertwine with a contemporary investigation; notable for its self-referential devices and reflections on reading and authorship.
classical antiquitynarrative structurepuzzles / mystery-solving
Translations
- The Athenian Murders (English translation)
Clara and the Penumbra / The Art of Murder
2001 Crime fiction / SuspenseA psychologically driven suspense novel that received critical acclaim and several awards.
memoryguilt and responsibilitypsychological analysis
Translations
- The Art of Murder (English translation)
The Key of the Abyss
2007 Science fiction / Fantasy-tinged novelA novel incorporating science-fictional and fantastical elements; received a special mention at Premio Celsius and won a municipal novel prize.
human existencetechnology and ethicsfantasy
Bibliography
- Planos (1994)
- El silencio de Blanca (1996)
- Miguel Will (1997) — play
- Cartas de un asesino insignificante (1999)
- La ventana pintada (1999)
- La caverna de las ideas (2000) — The Athenian Murders (English)
- Dafne desvanecida (2000)
- Clara y la penumbra (2001)
- La dama número trece (2003)
- La caja de marfil (2004)
- El detalle (three short novels) (2005)
- Zig Zag (2006)
- Fantasmas de papel (2007)
- La llave del abismo (2007)
- El cebo (2010)
- Tetrammeron: Los cuentos de Soledad (2012)
- La cuarta señal (2014)
- Croatoan (2015)
- El origen del mal (2018)
- Estudio en negro (2019)
- El signo de los diez (2022)
Translations of Works
- La caverna de las ideas → The Athenian Murders
- Clara y la penumbra → The Art of Murder
- Zig Zag → Zig Zag (English)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- A self-referential style blending detective fiction and metafictionContemporary narrative with emphasis on psychological description
- Recurring Motifs
- labyrinths / cavesmemory and identityoverlap of text and realityreferences to classical antiquity
Legacy
Internationally recognized for connecting detective fiction with metafiction; recipient of multiple international awards and an influential figure in contemporary Spanish-language mystery writing.
Trivia
- Born in Havana in 1959; family moved to Spain in 1960 due to exile.
- Holds a degree in psychiatry but left medicine in 1994 to devote himself to writing.
- La caverna de las ideas (The Athenian Murders) gained international recognition and won the CWA Gold Dagger.