Afonso Cruz


Afonso Cruz is a Portuguese novelist, animator, illustrator and musician. Born in Figueira da Foz, Cruz studied at the António Arroio Arts High School in Lisbon, at the College of Fine Arts of Lisbon and at the Madeira Institute of Plastic Arts.
He published his first novel in 2008, A Carne de Deus - Aventuras de Conrado Fortes e Lola Benites, which was followed by The Encyclopedia of the World Story in 2009, winner of the Camilo Castelo Branco Grand Prize. In 2010 he published The Books Which Devoured My Father, winner of the 2009 Maria Rosa Colaço Literary Prize, and The Human Contradiction, winner of the 2011 Portuguese Society for Authors/RTP Prize. His book A Boneca de Kokoschka won the EU Prize for Literature.
Jesus Christ Drank Beer was considered the Best Portuguese Novel of the Year by Time Out Lisbon magazine and Best Novel of 2012 by the readers of the reference newspaper Público. In 2014, Where Do Umbrellas End Up won the Portuguese Society for Authors Award in the Literature category.
He is a member of a blues/roots band called The Soaked Lamb.