Juan Gabriel Vásquez is recognised as one of the most prominent writers in contemporary Spanish-language fiction. His work has been translated into more than 28 languages and has won many international awards, including the Alfaguara Novel Prize (2011) for The Sound of Things Falling and the Dublin International Literary Award in 2014.  

He has contributed to various media outlets and translated works by authors such as Victor Hugo, John Dos Passos and E. M. Forster, into Spanish.