Abilio Estévez was born in Havana in 1954 and currently resides in Barcelona. He graduated in Hispanic Language and Literature and studied philosophy in his hometown. He has written two superb novels unanimously acclaimed by the critics, Tuyo es el reino, worthy of the 1999 Cuban Critics Award and in France, the Prize for Best Foreign Book in 2000, and Los palacios distantes, selected by La Vanguardia as Book of the Year in 2004, both translated into over eight languages. He is also the author of the volume of short stories El horizonte y otros regresos, of the poetic prose Manual de tentaciones which obtained the Luis Cernuda Award (Sevilla, 1986) and the Cuban Critics Award (1987) - and several theatrical texts, among them the monologues Ceremonias para actores desesperados.