José LuÃs Peixoto was born in 1974 in Galveias, a small village in the south interior of Portugal.
In 2000, in Portugal, his first book - 'Morreste-me' ('You died on me') - was published. Still in 2000, his first novel - 'Nenhum Olhar' ('Blank Gaze') - was also published. Since then, Peixoto has published two poetry collections - 'A Criança em Ruinas' ('A Child in Ruins'); 'A Casa, a Escuridão' ('The House, the Darkness') -; two novels - 'Uma Casa na Escuridão' ('A House in Darkness'); 'Cemitério de Pianos' ('Graveyard of Pianos'); and a book of short stories - 'AntÃdoto' ('Antidote').
'Morreste-me' and 'Nenhum Olhar' received enthusiastic reviews from portuguese critics and both these books found thousands of readers in Portugal. Little by little, they started being translated and published throughout Europe. In 2001, 'Nenhum Olhar' got the Jose Saramago Literary Award, that it's presented every two years for the best novel written in portuguese language. So far, 'Nenhum Olhar' was published in 14 languages and it will still come out in the UK (Bloomsbury, November 2007) and, in 2008, it will be published in the US (Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday/ Random House) and Japan.
In 2002, 'Uma Casa na Escuridão' (novel) and 'A Casa, a Escuridão' (poetry) were published at the same time. Despite the fact that these books are autonomous and can be read separately, they share the same references. Both the novel and the poetry book give an account of the same characters, situations and fictional world.
In 2003, Peixoto worked with the Metal band Moonspell and the book 'AntÃdoto' was the result of that joint work. It was published along with the CD 'Antidote', by Moonspell, and both works are related in the same way as the 'Darkness' poetry book and novel previously published by Peixoto.
'Cemiterio de Pianos' was published in 2006. This novel tells a story of love, life and death, based on the real story of the deceased marathon runner Francisco Lázaro and his fictional family. So far, 'Cemitério de Pianos' found more than 20.000 readers in Portugal and it's rights are sold to Record (Brazil), El Aleph (Spain), Grasset (France), Meulenhoff (Nederlands) and Einaudi (Italy). It will be published in October 2007 in Brazil and Spain and it will come out in 2008 in France, Nederlands and Italy.
Jose Luis Peixoto has also contributed to a wide number of portuguese and international magazines and anthologies. He has been involved in all sorts of projects related to dance, theatre (Peixoto is the author of three plays, performed in several european countries), music (he has written lyrics for bands/singers such as A Naifa, Da Weasel, Quinta do Bill, Misia, Joana Amendoeira, etc) and visual arts.
Besides Portugal, Jose Luis Peixoto's novels are published in the following countries: Italy, France, Spain, Finland, Nederlands, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary and United Kingdom.
The picture used in the background of this profile was taken by Nelson d'Aires
www.nelsondaires.com
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