Thanks to the celebrated agent, a generation of writers, among them Pablo Neruda and Gabriel García Márquez, could make a living from their work. She was the godmother of every word I have writtenCarmen Balcells, the queen of the Spanish literary world, died last Sunday, 21 September. She was 85 years old and reigned as the supreme literary agent for half a century, representing almost all the great Spanish-speaking authors. She single-handedly created the “boom” in Latin American literature of the 60s and 70s, starting with Pablo Neruda and Gabriel García Márquez, and managed to change the draconian publishing deals of the past, when authors signed open-ended contracts. Thanks to her, a generation of writers could make a living from their work and the Spanish publishing houses were forced to modernise and compete.She represented several Nobel prizewinners and managed some of the largest literary estates in the world, including those of Neruda, Clarice Lispector and Carlos Fuentes. She was a tough negotiator, feared by some but revered by her clients, whom she defended with a knife between her teeth. She had an unfailing memory and an extraordinary zest for life, even in a wheelchair; she was bossy, direct, extravagantly generous and sentimental. The passion and kindness with which she took care of her authors won her the nickname “Mama Grande”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]