Joaquín Berges was born in 1965 in Zaragoza, where he took a degree in Spanish Language. He first became known for El club de los estrellados (The Club of the Smashed), a surprisingly nimble and fresh first novel in which he showed himself to be a magnificent storyteller. It won him the admiration of critics and readers and the Premio a la Mejor Opera Prima en Español 2009 at the Festival du Premier Roman in Chambéry, France.