Rodolfo del Hoyo Alfaro (Barcelona, 1953) has published more than thirty books, mainly for children and young people, but also poetry and fiction. In 2012 his collection of short stories Llegir al metro (2013) was awarded the Recull-Joaquim Ruyra Prize for Fiction.

His literary career began with the publication of two books of poems written in Spanish. However, most of his work is in Catalan, although he also continues to write in Spanish, which is his mother tongue. Notable among his poetry collections are Els dits de l’intèrpret (2003), El caminant a la deriva (2007), Reconstruccions (2017), Pel camí dels àlbers (2021), and L’instant i la paraula (2024 – with photographs by Salvador Monroig). He has also published a book of poems for children, Tresors rere les portes (2024), which is illustrated by Noemí Villamuza.

He began publishing for children and young people in 2000 with El secret del planeta Moix, which was followed by works notably including La colla del fantasma Barruf (2004), La font del cedre (2005), El capità Barruf i els caçafantasmes (2009), Un pingüí damunt del televisor (2010), El somriure de la Natàlia (2011), Quin niu més bonic (2013), El bosc dels somnis perduts (2015), La Lea i el cargol (2016), El sembrador d’estrelles (2017), and Només vull ser jo mateix (2021).

He worked for twenty-eight years in the Culture Department of the Santa Coloma de Gramenet Council, a job he found fascinating job as it enabled him to engage with the richly diverse network of the municipality’s associations, in which he also participates.

He is highly active in promoting books and reading, especially among children and young people, and mostly working in schools, libraries, and bookshops. He works in the Lletres a les aules (Literature in Classrooms) programme of the Institute of Catalan Letters, and has been designated “recommended author” by the Santa Coloma de Gramenet Library. His books have been translated into Italian, Romanian, Armenian, and English. Moreover, ONCE (the Spanish National organisation of the Blind) has published his children’s novel, El secret del planeta Moix in braille, as well several poems and short stories.

He is a member of the Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (Association of Catalan Language Writers – AELC).

Web page: Rodolfo del Hoyo and Bea Fernández for per AELC.
Documentation: Author’s personal files.
Cover photograph: © Diana Segura.
Translation: Julie Wark.