Albert Sánchez Piñol is an anthropologist and writer. A member of the Centre d’Estudis Africans, his work has taken him on frequent trips to a variety of African countries. In 2000 he published Payasos y monstruos, a satirical essay on eight African dictators. His first novel, La piel fría, surprised critics with its strength and originality, it achieved excellent sales figures and was translated into more than 30 languages. Pandora en el Congo was also very well received by critics and the public alike, and his most recent novel, Victus , which narrates the War of the Spanish Succession, questioning official versions of this episode in history, has achieved phenomenal sales, establishing Albert Sánchez Piñol as the most international of Catalan’s contemporary writers.