Antonio Iturbe

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Antonio Iturbe, born Antonio González Iturbe on 7 March 1967 in Zaragoza, is a Spanish journalist, writer and professor. He directs the cultural magazine Librújula and writes for La Vanguardia. His best-known novel is The Librarian of Auschwitz (La bibliotecaria de Auschwitz, 2012), inspired by a survivor who ran a secret library in Auschwitz. The book has been translated into about 35 languages and was the best-selling translated book in the UK in 2019. Iturbe won the Premio Biblioteca Breve in 2017 for A cielo abierto.

Growing up in Barcelona’s Barceloneta, he studied journalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, finishing in 1991. He has worked in many media roles, created the Gratix magazine, and led the Que Leer book magazine. He has written for numerous outlets and also writes children’s books, including the Inspector Cito series (Los casos del inspector Cito), which has 10 titles in nine languages, and La Isla de Susú. A cielo abierto (The Prince of the Skies) tells the story of early pilots Saint-Exupéry, Mermoz and Guillaumet and has been translated into six languages.

As an academic, Iturbe has taught at the Master of Cultural Journalism at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Master of Edition at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, and has given talks at several Catalan universities. He has served on the Barcelona libraries committee and led the Association of Cultural Journalists of Catalonia.