We are proud to announce that Mathias Énard has now begun his participation in the Writing the Prado 2025 programme, following Helen Oyeyemi, who completed her residency earlier this summer. A joint initiative by The Prado and LOEWE FOUNDATION, the programme invites internationally renowned writers to engage with the museum’s collections and rich history, as a source of inspiration for literary works to be published by the museum and the magazine Granta.

French author Mathias Énard (1972) studied Arabic and Persian and spent long periods in the Middle East before settling in Barcelona. A contributor to various cultural magazines, he has written works such as La Perfection du tir (2003), Zone (2008) and Compass (2015). In 2005, he was appointed writer-in-residence at the French Academy in Rome. Énard has received numerous awards, including the Prix Décembre, the Prix du Livre Inter and the Prix Goncourt.

Born in Nigeria in 1984 and currently based in Prague, writer Helen Oyeyemi is a distinctive voice in contemporary literature, praised for her innovative and experimental narrative style. She is the author of eleven novels, including Gingerbread (2019), Parasol Against the Axe (2024) and A New New Me (2025), and the recipient of prizes such as the Somerset Maugham Award and the PEN Open Book Award.