Journeys and Flowers

Mercè Rodoreda i Gurguí (1908–1983) was raised in Barcelona. As a vocal supporter of Catalan literature, she was forced into exile at the end of the Spanish Civil War. Among the novels written during her exile was In Diamond Square, which has been translated into over thirty languages, and Death In Spring. Rodoreda was also a keen gardener, painter and poet. In 1972 she returned to Catalonia, where she spent her final years.

Nick Caistor is a British translator. He has translated over 100 novels from Spanish, French and Portuguese. His translations include Eduardo Mendoza’s An Englishman in Madrid, Alan Pauls’s The Past and Dulce Chacón’s The Sleeping Voice, all of which won the Valle-Inclán prize.

Gala Sicart Olavide is a Catalan translator, editor and reader. She has served on the panel of experts of New Spanish Books. Her translations include Mercè Rodoreda’s complete theatre works, Nazlı Koca’s The Applicant and Claudia Goldin’s Career and Family.