Anjel Lertxundi (Orio, Basque Country, 1948) studied philosophy and humanities at the universities of Valencia and Rome. In 1999 he won the Basque Literature Award, the principal literary prize in the Basque language, for his novel Days of Wax (Alfaguara, 2001). In 1994 he was shortlisted for the Spanish National Award for Literature in the Narrative category with Otto Pette (Seix Barral, 1996; Alberdania, 2007), he won the National Critics' Award in 1983 and 1991, and in recognition of his literary accomplishments he won the Rosalía de Castro prize. In 2010 he won the Spanish National Essay Prize for his essay Life and Other Uncertainties.