Carlos Ruiz Zafón was a Spanish novelist. Born in Barcelona in 1964, he lived in Los Ángeles, United States, since 1994, and worked as a scriptwriter aside from writing novels. His first novel, El príncipe de la niebla (The Prince of Mist, 1993), earned the Edebé literary prize for young adult fiction. He is also the author of three more young-adult novels, El palacio de la medianoche (1994), Las luces de septiembre (1995) and Marina (1999). In 2001 he published the novel La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind), his first 'adult' novel, which has sold millions of copies worldwide. Since its publication, La sombra del viento has garnered critical acclaim around the world and has won numerous international awards. Ruiz Zafón's works have been published in more than 40 countries and have been translated into more than 30 languages.