Martín Caparrós (born May 29, 1957) is an Argentine writer, journalist, essayist and social commentator. As an author he is widely known for his detailed and insightful works of fiction and non-fiction. Some of his most notable books include , , and . His books have been translated into numerous languages, earning him widespread acclaim.Maria Moors Cabot Awards Latamjournalismreview.org
Biography Juventud Peronista He studied at the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires. Since 1971, at the age of 14, he was active in student and neighborhood groups of the Peronist Youth, which supported the (FAR). In February 1974, at 16, he began his career as a journalist at the Montoneros newspaper , which shared the same political line, whose director was Miguel Bonasso, deputy director Paco Urondo, and editor-in-chief Juan Gelman; the head of the crime section—where Caparrós worked—was Rodolfo Walsh. When the Peronist government closed Noticias in August 1974, he began writing about football in the magazine Goles.
At the end of 1975, disagreeing with the political direction taken by the Juventud Peronista, he left his activism and went into exile in France. Years later he earned a degree in History from the University of Paris and later lived in Madrid until 1983. There he wrote his first novels—No velas a tus muertos, Ansay o los infortunios de la gloria—worked as a translator, and collaborated with the newspaper El País and French magazines and radio stations.
In 1983 he returned to Buenos Aires, where he worked in the cultural section of the newspaper Tiempo Argentino. In 1984, along with , he hosted a successful program on called Sueños de una noche de Belgrano. He returned to Spain as a correspondent for that station during 1985 and 1986.
In 1987 he participated in the creation of the newspaper Página/12 along with Jorge Lanata, its first director. The following year he co-hosted the television program El monitor argentino with Jorge Dorio on Canal 13 and founded the magazine Babel, which he directed.
Starting in 1991, he began publishing his journalistic stories in the monthly magazine Página/30, where he later became editor-in-chief, under the title Crónicas de fin de siglo. These texts received the and were published in 1992 in a book, Larga distancia, which is now study material in journalism courses in Spain and Latin America.
During the 90s he published several novels, including one, La Historia, which he still considers his most significant work. He also published, together with Eduardo Anguita, the three volumes of La Voluntad. Una historia de los movimientos revolucionarios en la Argentina. In those years he wrote for various Argentine and Latin American media; in 1998 he was the New York correspondent for Perfil. From 1999 he worked on the program Día D, hosted by Jorge Lanata on América TV.
At that time he was also invited to join as a teacher at the , then directed by its creator, Gabriel García Márquez. He has taught numerous workshops there and is part of its Governing Council.
In the 21st century he worked as a consultant for the United Nations Population Fund, a columnist for The New York Times, and a visiting professor at NYU, Cornell University, Pompeu Fabra, Autónoma de Barcelona, and many Latin American universities. Meanwhile, his literary and journalistic production never stopped. In total, he has published some 50 books in about 30 countries. These include notable essays such as Hunger and Ñamérica, and novels like Los living and BUE, all winners of international awards.
On November 16, 2017, he was named an Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires. In June 2025, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires and, shortly after, from the University of Mar del Plata; in November 2025, he received one from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.
He currently lives in Madrid, Spain, and publishes his columns in the newspaper El País. In 2024, he revealed that he was suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which he had been suffering from for two years before the announcement.
Fiction 1984: Ansay o los infortunios de la gloria 1986: No velas a tus muertos 1990: El tercer cuerpo 1990: La noche anterior 1999: La Historia 2001: Un día en la vida de Dios 2004: Valfierno 2008: A quien corresponda 2011: Los Living 2013: Comí 2016: Echeverría 2018: Todo por la patria 2020: Sinfín 2022: Sarmiento 2023: Ojos que no ven 2024: Vidas de J.M. 2024: Antes que Nada 2024: Horror de Buenos Aires 2024: Los suicidios de Gardel 2024: Viva la muerte 2025: Bue
Non-fiction 1992 – Larga distancia 1994 – Dios Mío 1995 – La Patria Capicúa 1997 – La Voluntad 1999 – La guerra moderna 2001 – Extinción, últimas imágenes del trabajo en la Argentina. 2002 – Bingo! 2003 – Amor y anarquía 2002 – Qué País, Informe urgente sobre la Argentina que viene. 2005 – Boquita, Editorial Planeta, 354 pages. 2006 – El Interior. 2009 – Una luna. 2010 – Contra el cambio.ISBN 978-84-339-2591-6 2012 – Argentinismos."Martín Caparrós - Libros y obras del autor, biografía y bibliografía", Lecturalia, Retrieved 8 January 2016. 2014 – Hunger: The Oldest Problem, Melville House Publishing 2016 – Lacronica 2018 – Postales 2019 – Ahorita 2021 – Ñamerica 2023 – El mundo entonces. Una historia del presente
Awards and distinctions 1992: King of Spain International Journalism Award for Crónicas de fin de siglo 2004: Planeta Latin America Award for Valfierno 2011: Herralde Novel Prize for Los LivingCarles Geli. El argentino Martín Caparrós gana el Premio Herralde de Novela con Los Living, El País digital, 07.11.2011; accessed 08.11.2011 2014: Konex Platinum Award in the category "Chronicles and Testimonies" 2016: Extraordinary Cálamo Award for Hunger 2016: Tiziano Terzani International Literary Prize for Hunger 2016: Caballero Bonald International Essay Prize for Hunger 2017: Miguel Delibes National Journalism Award for his articles in El País 2017: Maria Moors Cabot Prize (Columbia University - NYC) 2017: Illustrious Citizen of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires 2019: Ítaca Award in recognition of his journalistic career (U.A.B. - Barcelona) 2022: Special Jury Prize of the Archiletras Language Awards 2022: Ortega y Gasset Awards for professional career 2023: Roger Caillois Prize 2024: Konex Award in the category "Chronicle" 2025: Honorary Doctorate (honoris causa) from the University of Buenos Aires 2025: Honorary Doctorate (honoris causa) from the University of Mar del Plata. 2025: Honorary Doctorate (honoris causa) from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico
Filmography Crónicas Mexicas, Contrakultura Films, 2003. Directed by Eduardo Montes-Bradley. Cazadores de Utopías. Directed by David Blaustein. ¿Quién mató a Mariano Ferreyra?, 2013. Directed by Alejandro Rath and Julián Morcillo.
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