Awards

He has earned the most important literary prizes in the country, among which are noted:

  • “13th of March” National Prize for Short Stories, 1986: Tiempo en cueros
  • Runner-up for the “David” National Prize from UNEAC 1986: Yo soy el malo
  • “Rubén Martínez Villena” National Prize for Nonfiction from UNEAC, 1988: En el nombre de Dios
  • National Prize for Nonfiction “Memoirs”, 1997: Laberinto de ratas (still unpublished)
  • “José A. Portuondo” National Prize for Artistic and Literary Criticism, 1998: La obra narrativa de Guillermo Vidal
  • “Manuel Cofiño” National Prize for Short Stories, 1998: La danza alucinada del suicida
  • “Razón de Ser” National Prize for Novels, 1999: Las sombras de la piel (still unpublished)
  • “José Soler Puig” National Prize for Novels, 1999: Si Cristo te desnuda
  • “Hermanos Loynaz” National Prize for Children’s Literature, 2001: Donde se esconde un ángel (still unpublished)
  • “La Llama Doble” National Prize for Erotic Fiction (on two occasions), 2000 and 2002: Muchacha azul bajo la lluvia and Los desnudos de Dios

Internationally, he has won:

  • “Próspero Morales Pradilla” International Essay Prize in Colombia, 1997: García Márquez. Ese universo de la soledad americana
  • Runner-up for the “Fernando González” International Short Story Competition in Colombia, 1997: Mambrú no fue a la guerra
  • “Distel Verlag” Prize for Crime Novels, in Germany, 1998: Las puertas de la noche
  • “Odysseus” International Prize for Homoerotic Literature in Barcelona, Spain, 1999: Espectros
  • “Casa de Teatro” International Short Story Prize, in the Dominican Republic, 2002: Los cronopios, las putas y un viejo café en el París de entonces.
  • Finalist for the International “Dashiell Hammett” Prize for the best crime novel published in the Spanish language: Entre el miedo y las sombras, 2004
  • “Mario Vargas Llosa” International Prize for Novel, 2006: Las palabras y los muertos
  • “NOVELPOL” prize of Spanish readers for the best detective novel published in Spain, 2006: Santuario de sombras
  • “Rodolfo Walsh” International Prize for the best nonfiction work published in the Spanish language, 2007: Jineteras
  • “City of Carmona” International Prize for Detective Novel, 2008: Largas noches con Flavia
  • Finalist “Rejadorada Award of Nouvelle” 2008: Las raíces del odio
  • Finalist “Gabriel Sijé Award of Nouvelle” 2014: Espectros