Juan Manuel Rodriguez (writer)

Juan Manuel Rodríguez López (born in Bilbao in 1945) is a Spanish-born, naturalized Ecuadorian author and professor. He holds a licenciate/BA degree in philosophy and a doctorate in literature from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE). He was a professor at Universidad Central del Ecuador and Universidad Católica, as well as a founding professor of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, where he was Dean of the College of Communication and Contemporary Arts.

He has published novels and short-story collections in Ecuador, Spain and Mexico, as well as various academic and reference books, including essays and literary criticism. He has also been a columnist and editorial writer for the newspaper La Hora and the magazine Chasqui (CIESPAL).

Awards

 * Second prize, Gabriel Miró International Short Story Contest (Alicante, España), for the short story 'Levedad del vino', 1986.
 * Finalist,'Novedades y Diana' International Literary Prize (Mexico), with the novel El espantapájaros, 1988.
 * Ecuador's National Prize for Literature 'Aurelio Espinosa Pólit' for the short-story collection Fricciones, 1990.
 * Second Prize for Art and Literature, Universidad Central del Ecuador, for the novel El espantapájaros, 1991.
 * Finalist,'Planeta/Joaquín Mortiz' Award (Mexico), with the novel La derrota, 1992 (later published in revised form in 2003 as El poder de los vencidos).
 * First Prize for Art and Literature, Universidad Central del Ecuador, for the short-story collection El Mar y la Muralla, 1992.
 * Third Prize, IV Biennal Ecuadorian Novel Contest, for the work El pulso de la nada, 1996.
 * Doctorado Honoris Causa en Artes ('in artibus') de la Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), 1998.