10 Spanish Women Writers you Must Read

Immerse yourself in the Spanish literary world with these essential women writers

Book Day is approaching and the internet is full of recommendations of authors who have to have a place on your bookshelf. We were not going to be less! On this occasion, we want to pay tribute to some of the Spanish women writers who have earned a place in our hearts with pen and ink (well, more like computer and keyboard).
Take note and enjoy the female voices in the world of writing.

Julia Navarro

The Madrid-born Julia Navarro is one of those writers who know how to draw you into a story and make it difficult for you to get out of it. Although she began her professional career as a journalist, her success as a writer led her to leave this career and dedicate herself fully to the creation of stories in which fiction intermingles with history. Her first novel, The Sisterhood of the White Sheet, immediately catapulted her to fame, and it was all uphill from there. Among her best-known works is Tell me who I am, a historical novel that was made into a television series a few years ago.

Rosa Montero

Rosa Montero touches the soul. Placing women as the protagonists of her works, this journalist and writer interweaves words to create stories of those that stay with you deep inside. Her bibliography is extensive, but if you haven't yet read The Ridiculous Idea of Never Seeing You Again, this has to be the next title on your to-read list. She wrote this work after the death of her partner, the journalist Pablo Lizcano, and in it she intermingles her feelings with those that Marie Curie left written in her diary after the death of her husband, Pierre Curie.

Elvira Lindo

If you grew up in the 1990s in Spain, hearing the name Elvira Lindo fills you with nostalgia. She is the mother of the charismatic Manolito Gafotas who gave us so many hours of entertainment to that generation, but she also has magnificent works for adults, in which humour continues to predominate. Her latest book is a thriller entitled En la boca del lobo.

Maruja Torres

The work of Maruja Torres is worthy of admiration just for knowing where some of her stories come from. This exciting woman was a war correspondent for many years, covering conflicts in Lebanon, Israel and Panama. Her experiences there are reflected in the highly recommended Woman at War. She has also written novels that have won major awards, such as Mientras vivimos, winner of the Planeta Prize in 2000, and Esperadme en el cielo, winner of the Nadal Prize in 2009.

Almudena Grandes

Where to start talking about Almudena Grandes? Her death in 2021 left a huge void in the world of Spanish literature, which can only be filled by immersing ourselves fully in the books she left behind. In her saga Episodes of an endless war, made up of six books (one of them unfinished), she takes us through moments of the anti-Franco struggle, after the Spanish Civil War and before the death of the dictator Francisco Franco.

Sara Mesa

With Un amor, Sara Mesa managed to carve out a niche for herself among Spain's most acclaimed contemporary writers. The book tells the story of a translator who decides to move to a village to escape from her past and ends up engaging in inexplicable behaviour that makes you want to close the book and shout at the protagonist. The success of this novel was such that the great Isabel Coixet took it to the cinema in 2023 in a film that received several Goya nominations.

Irene Vallejo

If you are passionate about literature, this is the author for you. Her best-known book, El infinito en un junco, is an exceptional review of the history of literature, analysing historical moments from antiquity to the present day. It is a magnificent work for which he won the National Essay Prize in 2020.

Elvira Sastre

Since she was a child, Elvira Sastre liked to play with letters and at the age of 12 she wrote her first poem. She began to move in the cultural and literary world, reciting her poems on stages that she shared with singer-songwriters and poets. He debuted as a novelist with Días sin ti and shows his most personal side in Madrid me mata: Diario de mi despertar en una gran ciudad, with which many newcomers to the Spanish capital can identify.

Alice Kellen

If we ask you who you think was the best-selling author in Spain in 2022, perhaps your answer would be any of the above authors and not Alice Kellen, but the truth is that this Valencian author, known for her works of romantic young adult literature, occupied the top of this ranking. Some of her most famous books are The Boy Who Drew Constellations, Everything We Never Were and We on the Moon.

Elena Medel

Elena Medel's first novel came to break the rules, as she was the first woman to win the Umbral Book of the Year Award in 2020. Its name is Las maravillas and in it she talks about feminism, money and the differences between social classes. Also, if you like poetry, don't miss her books of poems.

Fortunately, women in Spain and around the world are increasingly finding a place on the shelves of every home. Which writer would you add to this list? Leave your recommendations in the comments and inspire other readers.

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