A native of Extremadura but raised in Barcelona, Javier Cercas, (b. 1962) is one of Spain’s most famous authors. He is a frequent contributor to the Catalan edition and Sunday supplement of El País. Amongst his major works are the novel Soldados de Salamina (Soldiers of Salamis, 2001), which was turned into a film, and Anatomía de un instante (Anatomy of a Moment, 2009), a non-fiction work on the failed coup d’état of 1981. Since 1989, he has been a Professor of Spanish literature at the University of Girona.