Within Grupo Santillana, Alfaguara specializes in publishing fiction for adults. With a solid tradition backed by thousands of published titles throughout its thirty-five year history and its many successful sales campaigns, together with the image-enhancing list of authors featured in its catalog, Alfaguara is a Spanish-language publishing company with a unique personality and profile. For many Spanish and Latin American readers the Alfaguara imprint is synonymous with quality and guarantees its readers good literature.

From its beginnings, Alfaguara has had two main publishing lists. On the one hand, it publishes the best contemporary literature written in Spanish on both sides of the Atlantic. On the other, it publishes an introduction to the most significant, innovative and outstanding aspects of literature in languages other than Spanish.

Alfaguara has grown considerably since 1994 thanks to the publication of works of literature in Spanish. Alfaguara publishes in all those countries where Grupo Santillana operates, practically the entire Spanish-speaking world. The fact that it publishes the best authors from these countries has contributed to the concept of Alfaguara as a global publishing company. This concept became a reality several years ago when the novel Cuando ya no importe by Juan Carlos Onetti was launched simultaneously in Spain and Latin America.

Alfaguara’s most valuable asset, and the best example of its dedication to offering its readers the best literature, are the authors whose books are published under the Alfaguara imprint.

The most prestigious authors, both in Spanish (the Hispánica series) and in other languages (the Literaturas series), can be found in the Alfaguara collections, because a large proportion of the best world literature has, and will always have, a place in its demanding yet balanced catalogue.

The Alfaguara Prize grew out of a desire to remove national and geographic language barriers, and to reaffirm the initial characteristic of Alfaguara publications. The first Alfaguara International Prize for Fiction competition was held in 1998. The books which are awarded the Alfaguara Prize are published and distributed throughout the Spanish-speaking world simultaneously in Europe and throughout Latin America. The prize-winning authors take part in global promotional campaigns, travelling to all these Spanish-speaking countries to present the novel.

VIII Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 2005
El turno del escriba, Graciela Montes and Ema Wolf (Argentina)

VII Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 2004
Delirio, Laura Restrepo (Colombia)

VI Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 2003
Diablo guardián, Xavier Velasco (Mexico)

V Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 2002
El vuelo de la reina, Tomás Eloy Martínez (Argentina)

IV Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 2001
La piel del cielo, Elena Poniatowska (Mexico)

III Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 2000
Últimas noticias del paraíso, Clara Sánchez (Spain)

II Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 1999
Son de Mar, Manuel Vicent (Spain)

I Alfaguara Prize for Fiction 1998
Margarita, está linda la mar, Sergio Ramírez (Nicaragua), Caracol Beach, Eliseo Alberto (Cuba)