Cristina Morales was born in Granada, Spain, in 1985. She studied law and political science with a focus on international relations at the University of Granada.
Cristina Morales is celebrated by the literary world as one of the most talented Spanish authors of the younger generation. Thematically, she is interested in »language and narratives, as imposed by (economic, cultural, political) power, in relation to a linguistic and narrative style that emanate from my experiences and those of like-minded people, i.e. those who neither have nor desire power«. Her literature aims to push the possibilities of language to the extreme and demystify the act of creative writing. Her debut novel, »Los combatientes« (2013; tr: The Fighters), was awarded a Premio Injuve para la Creación and was a finalist at the Festival du Premier Roman de Chambéry. The novel follows a group of theater performers on their path to becoming political actors. They believe that reality can only be truly represented through mockery. In »Malas palabras« (2015; tr: Bad Words; new edition »Introducción a Teresa de Jesús«, 2020; tr: Introduction to Teresa of Jesus) the author reinvents, from a radical, freedom-seeking perspective, the voice of Saint Teresa of Jesus, a woman who was out of place in her time. »Terroristas modernos« (2017; tr: Modern Terrorists) plays with what is commonly regarded as »Spanish literature«. Morales’ technical expertise unfolds in this novel when she tells of the forging of unexpected political alliances and transfers the dramatic conflicts in the plot to her literary style. The protagonists of »Lectura fácil« (2018; En: »Easy Reading«, 2021) are four women with intellectual disabilities who live together in an apartment in Barcelona. Each of them takes a turn as the first-person narrator. The story also details printed fanzines and fragments of a WhatsApp novel written by one of the characters in easy reading. The book not only moves on a meta-literary level like »Los combatientes«, but the style and content place the novel in the here and now and open up a multitude of socially up-to-date, sometimes taboo in a radical and original way to the reader, topics: Discrimination against people with disabilities, the sex life of people with disabilities, citizens’ initiatives, feminism, mass tourism, housing problems, and the precariat. For her fourth novel »Lectura fácil« Cristina Morales was awarded two of the most significant Spanish literary awards, the Premio Herralde de Novela (2018) and the Premio Nacional de Narrativa (2019).
Cristina Morales is member of Iniciativa Sexual Femenina, a contemporary dance company, and executive producer of the punk band At-asko. She lives in Barcelona.