Unai Elorriaga (writer)

Unai Elorriaga
Born	(1973-02-14) 14 February 1973 Bilbao
Language	Basque
Nationality	Spanish

Unai Elorriaga López de Letona (born 14 February 1973) is a Spanish writer in the Basque language. He has published five novels, a play, three children's works and several translations.

Life

Born in Bilbao, he has always lived in the Algorta neighborhood of Guecho (Vizcaya). He has a degree in Philosophy and Letters, and Basque Philology from the University of Deusto. He has been a professor of Language and Literature, corrector, translator and researcher working mainly in the publishing house Edebé and the Labayru Foundation. ^[1]

His first work was the essay Literatur idea batzuk, edited by Labayru in 2001. That same year, he published an opera written in Basque, SPrako tranbia (Un tram en SP) through the Basque publisher Elkar, which earned him fame and prestige as a writer, especially after the work was awarded the National Narrative Prize Of Spain in 2002, becoming the second Basque writer to obtain this prize, after Bernardo Atxaga in 1989. This award made Elorriaga known beyond the Basque Country and since then the publishing house Alfaguara has published translated all his novels into Spanish. The success allowed him to dedicate to writing professionally until he achieved a teaching position in 2016.

Two years later, in 2003, he published Van't Hoffen ilea (The Hair of Van't Hoff) thanks to the Igartza grant offered by the Elkar publishing house and Beasain Town Hall .^[2] Vredaman was next in 2005 ^[3] and is composed of four stories, one of which adapted the Elorriaga himself as a children's story entitled Matxinsaltoen belarriak (The ears of grasshoppers) in 2006 .^[4] Vredaman was awarded in 2010 with the NEA International Literary Award, awarded by the government of the United States, Translated as Plants do not drink cofee .^[5] London kartoizkoa da (London is made of cardboard) is the result of four years of work, published in 2009, which has as its main theme the characteristics and complexities of dictatorships .^[6]

In 2015, he won the National Critics Award for his novel, Iazko Hezurrak (Maps and Dogs), and was a finalist for the National Narrative Prize of Spain and the Euskadi Literature Prize. In 2016 he has been a finalist for the Euskadi Literature Prize for his 107 kiwi children's book. Elorriaga himself is the translator of his works into Spanish. His novels have been translated into multiple languages: Italian, English, Galician, German, Catalan, Serbian, Russian, and Estonian among others.

His work has appeared in El País,^[7] Deia, Egunkaria , Berri, and he has been a professor and lecturer at universities around the world: Oxford, Georgetown, University of the Basque Country, University College, Dublin, University of Aberdeen, and Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon.

Works

Novels

• SPrako tranbia, Elkar (2001). En castellano Un tranvía en SP, Alfaguara. En italiano Un tram a sp, Gran via. En alemán Lucas oder Der Himmel über Nepal, Schöffling. En serbio Tramvaj za S.P., Samizdat B92. En estonio Tramm Šiša Pangmale, Loomingu Raamatukogu.
• Van't Hoffen ilea, Elkar (2003). En castellano El pelo de Van't Hoff, Alfaguara. En gallego O pelo de Van't Hoff, Galaxia.
• Vredaman, Elkar (2005). En castellano Vredaman, Alfaguara. En italiano Le piante per esempio non bevono caffelatte, Gran via. En inglés Plants don't drink coffee, Archipelago books.
• Londres kartoizkoa da, Elkar (2009). En castellano Londres es de cartón, Alfaguara

Iazko hezurrak, Susa (2014).

Theater

• Doministiku egin dute arrainek / Y los peces estornudaron, Letranómada (2008). Publicada en Argentina.

Children's

• Matxinsaltoen belarriak, Elkar (2006). En castellano Las orejas de los saltamontes, Alfaguara.
• Zizili, Elkar (2012).
• 107 kiwi, Elkar (2015).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Unai Elorriaga.

• http://unaielorriaga.com/?lang=en