Jordi Tiñena (Barcelona, 1955 – Tarragona, 2018) was a novelist who taught Catalan Language and Literature in secondary schools.

After graduating in Hispanic Philology and Catalan Philology, he obtained a PhD in 1992 with the thesis La novel·la històrica catalana (1862-1882). After 1983, he taught at the Campclar secondary school in Tarragona, and in the course of this work he was motivated to adapt medieval texts for his students. In this endeavour, he produced versions and editions of such works Blandín de Cornualla (1987) and El llibre de les dones (1988), by Jaume Roig, Curial e Güelfa (1989) and Tirant lo Blanc (1992) by Joanot Martorell, and Lo somni (2004) by Bernat Metge.

Jordi Tiñena is the author of a substantial body of literary work including the novels Mort a Menorca (1994, finalist for the Carlemany Prize for the Novel), Un dia en la vida d’Ishak Butmic (1995, winner of the 1994 Ciutat d’Alzira Prize for the Novel), Els vespres de don Magí Castellarnau (1995), La dona del grill (1996), and El comediant de Perpinyà (1997, finalist for the Llorenç Villalonga Prize). His book Dies a la ciutat (1998) was awarded the Pin i Soler Prize for the Novel. He also published the novels L’ombra del coronel (2002), El mercant (2005), Peix de gat (2011), El gos suïcida (2012, finalist for the 2010 Sant Joan Prize), and El somriure del Viking (2017). With La mort sense ningú (2016), he ventured into the genre of the crime novel, in which he also published his last book Joc d’identitats (2018). In 2015 he was awarded the Tarragona Prize for Creation and, in 2016, the Enlaira Award for his literary career.

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

 

Web page: Toni Terrades for AELC.
Documentation: Berta Ramos.
Cover photograph: © Xavi Jurio.