How does our personal history influence the way we look at the world? Berna González-Harbour addressed this question on October 20th at the El Fondeadero Civic Center, in Puerto del Carmen, during her conversation with Carlos Battaglini, writer and director of the Lanzarote Literature Festival, titled When Fiction Interrogates Reality.
The author spoke about how her English roots have shaped her view of society and have fueled her latest work Qué fue de los Lighthouse (Destino, 2025). She also reviewed her career at El País, her experience as a correspondent in Moscow, and her work in the cultural supplement Babelia.
The conversation also covered her relationship with crime fiction and her desire to renew the genre, moving away from the clichés that have traditionally defined female characters. From this concern, Commissioner María Ruiz, the protagonist of several of her novels, was born.
Another topic addressed was her interest in the painter Goya, whom she defined as "the total artist." The writer recounted how the Black Paintings sparked her curiosity about the artist and led her to research his work, in a journey that connected with her interest in crime fiction and would eventually lead to her essay Goya en el país de los garrotazos.
During the event, she also championed journalism as "the most beautiful career you can have if you love words," a statement that received the audience's complicity.
The event showed the thread that unites her different facets: curiosity about stories, the will to question established narratives, and the pleasure of continuing to discover new ways of looking at reality.
Juan Gómez Bárcena, next FDLL26 talk
The Cantabrian writer Juan Gómez Bárcena will be the next guest of the IV Lanzarote Literature Festival. The prestigious writer, author of famous works such as Ni siquiera los muertos or his most recent Abril o nunca, will be at the El Fondeadero Civic Center in Puerto del Carmen next Tuesday, October 27th at 7:30 PM. The talk will be free with prior registration at www.fdll.es
The Lanzarote Literature Festival (FDLL) is organized by the Cultural Association Picón Narrativas, and has the support of the Tías City Council, the Publications Service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, the Yaiza, Arrecife, and Teguise City Councils, the Lanzarote Centers of Art, Culture, and Tourism (CACT), and Caja7.
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