Mario Vargas Llosa (edit name/settings)

Peruvian-born, Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most acclaimed novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and world-wide audience than any other writer of the 'Latin American Boom'.

His extensive body of work spans novels, essays and literary criticism, including such titles as "The Time of the Hero" and "The Green House." He is the first Peruvian winner of the award and the first South American since his once-close friend Gabriel García Márquez won in 1982.

Born in Arequipa in southern Peru in 1936, Mr. Vargas Llosa ran for president in Peru in 1990, but lost to Alberto Fujimori. In an interview, Peru's former president, Alan García, said of the award: "This is a marvelous act. An act of enormous justice. He is an extraordinary creator using language. He is a universal Peruvian."

(taken from 'The Wall Street Journal, Europe', October 2010 edition)