Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Fiction, Faction and the Spaces in Between
Jeet Thayil, Berna González Harbour and Jorge Volpi in conversation with Pilar Garcés García
In a session that interrogates the porous and layered boundaries of fiction and faction, Indian poet and novelist Jeet Thayil, Mexican novelist and essayist Jorge Volpi, acclaimed journalist Berna González Harbour and scholar Pilar Garcés, discuss the nuances of storytelling, and the process of staying true to the written word.
Jeet Thayil is the author of five novels, as well as five books of poetry, and is the editor of The Penguin Book of Indian Poets. His most recent poetry collection, I'll Have it Here, received the Sarojini Naidu Award, and the Kalinga Literary Award. His latest novel is The Elsewhereans.
Berna González Harbour is a prominent Spanish writer, as well as a literary journalist and columnist for EL PAÍS. She received the Dashiell Hammett Prize in Semana Negra de Gijón for her novel, El sueño de la razón, as well as the Granada Noir Prize, the José Estrañi Prize, the Cantabria Booksellers' Prize, and was named one of the "nine newest" voices in Spanish crime fiction by Paco Camarasa. She hosts ¿Qué estás leyendo?, EL PAÍS's book podcast. Her latest books include the essay Goya en el país de los garrotazos, and Qué fue de los Lighthouses.
Jorge Volpi is the author of fifteen novels, including In Search of Klingsor, which received the Premio Biblioteca Breve, and A Criminal Novel, which later inspired a Netflix series of the same name, as well as several essays, such as The Invention of All Things: A History of Fiction. He is the recipient of the José Donoso Prize and the Order of Isabella, and is a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. His books have been translated into thirty languages. This year, he will be publishing the essay, Alien Invasion: The False Migration Problem, as well as the novel, The Republic.
Dr. Pilar Garcés García, is a Professor at the University of Valladolid. A global scholar and leader, she directs the Centre for Asian Studies, researches discourse, diplomacy, education, and Japanese studies, and has held major academic and governmental leadership positions in Spain.
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#fiction #faction #literature
Fiction, Faction and the Spaces in Between
Jeet Thayil, Berna González Harbour and Jorge Volpi in conversation with Pilar Garcés García
In a session that interrogates the porous and layered boundaries of fiction and faction, Indian poet and novelist Jeet Thayil, Mexican novelist and essayist Jorge Volpi, acclaimed journalist Berna González Harbour and scholar Pilar Garcés, discuss the nuances of storytelling, and the process of staying true to the written word.
Jeet Thayil is the author of five novels, as well as five books of poetry, and is the editor of The Penguin Book of Indian Poets. His most recent poetry collection, I'll Have it Here, received the Sarojini Naidu Award, and the Kalinga Literary Award. His latest novel is The Elsewhereans.
Berna González Harbour is a prominent Spanish writer, as well as a literary journalist and columnist for EL PAÍS. She received the Dashiell Hammett Prize in Semana Negra de Gijón for her novel, El sueño de la razón, as well as the Granada Noir Prize, the José Estrañi Prize, the Cantabria Booksellers' Prize, and was named one of the "nine newest" voices in Spanish crime fiction by Paco Camarasa. She hosts ¿Qué estás leyendo?, EL PAÍS's book podcast. Her latest books include the essay Goya en el país de los garrotazos, and Qué fue de los Lighthouses.
Jorge Volpi is the author of fifteen novels, including In Search of Klingsor, which received the Premio Biblioteca Breve, and A Criminal Novel, which later inspired a Netflix series of the same name, as well as several essays, such as The Invention of All Things: A History of Fiction. He is the recipient of the José Donoso Prize and the Order of Isabella, and is a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. His books have been translated into thirty languages. This year, he will be publishing the essay, Alien Invasion: The False Migration Problem, as well as the novel, The Republic.
Dr. Pilar Garcés García, is a Professor at the University of Valladolid. A global scholar and leader, she directs the Centre for Asian Studies, researches discourse, diplomacy, education, and Japanese studies, and has held major academic and governmental leadership positions in Spain.
Follow us on –
Website - jlflitfest.org
Facebook - facebook.com/JLFInternational
YouTube - youtube.com/@JLFInternational
Instagram - instagram.com/jlfinternational
X - twitter.com/JLFLitfest
#fiction #faction #literature
