José Luis Muñoz (born Salamanca, 1951), traveller, columnist, literary and film critic and cultural activist, is a key figure in Spanish crime writing. He attends literary festivals across Spain and France and is the author of almost fifty published books, both novels and short story collections, for which he has been recognized with prizes including the Tigre Juan, Azorín, La Sonrisa Vertical, Café Gijón, Francisco García Pavón, Camilo José Cela, Ignacio Aldecoa and Bruma Negra over the course of his career. His work has been translated into Bulgarian, Czech, Italian and French, and his most recent publications include 'Cazadores en la nieve' ('Hunters in the Snow'), 'Mala hierba' ('Weed'), 'El rastro del lobo' ('Trace of the Wolf'), 'La manzana helada' ('The Frozen Apple'), 'Los perros' ('The Dogs') and 'El mokorero del Okavango' ('The Mokoro Boatman of the Okavango'). He is president of the Lee o Muere (Read or Die) cultural association, literary director of the crime fiction list La Orilla Negra and coordinator of the Black Mountain Bossòst festival, which takes place in the Valle de Arán, where he lives.