José Eduardo Agualusa is an Angolan-born writer and journalist widely recognised in the contemporary Lusophone literary world. Born in 1960, he initially studied Agronomy and Forestry in Lisbon but quickly turned to creative writing and cultural journalism. 

He has authored over 40 works—including novels, short stories, children’s books, and columns—with major titles such as Rainy Season (1996), Creole (1997), The Book of Chameleons (2004), A General Theory of Oblivion (2012), and The Society of Reluctant Dreamers (2017), all exploring themes of identity, memory, colonialism and postcolonial Angolan experience. 

For Agualusa, being a writer starts with being a reader. He credits literature with shaping his imagination and sees it as a tool for empathy and social transformation.  

His books have been translated into over 25 languages and he has received multiple international awards, including the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award.