Quim Monzó was born in Barcelona in 1952, and is the author of numerous short story collections and novels, including three that are available from Open Letter Books: Gasoline, Guadalajara and A Thousand Morons (forthcoming in December 2012). He has been awarded the National Award, the City of Barcelona Award, the Prudenci Bertrana Award, the El Temps Award, the Lletra d'Or Prize for the best book of the year, and the Catalan Writers' Award; he has been awarded Serra d'Or magazine's prestigious Critics' Award four times. He has also translated numerous authors into Catalan, including Truman Capote, J.D. Salinger, and Ernest Hemingway. His story, “Outside the Gates of Troy” appeared in the June 15, 2011 issue of Guernica.