Joan Mari Torrealdai

Joan Mari Torrealdai Nabea (24 November 1942 – 31 July 2020) was a Basque writer, journalist and sociologist. He was a member of Euskaltzaindia (the Royal Academy of the Basque Language). He was born in Forua, Biscay, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.

Career

He has carried out bibliographic work on books published in Basque annually since 1977, with two main features:

Book production is understood as an indicative of our society. In 1993, Torrealdai published sociological research on Basque language writers: Euskal idazleak gaur (Basque Writers Today); in 1997, he published further sociological research into the situation of culture produced in Basque: Euskal kultura gaur (Basque Culture Today).

In 2003, he was arrested and tortured by the Government of Spain in a campaign against the newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria. In 2007 he was appointed as a full member of the Royal Academy of the Basque Language. In 2011 he took charge of the Azkue Library of the academy.

In 2010, he was acquitted of all charges, along with all his companions, including Txema Auzmendi, Martxelo Otamendi, Xabier Oleaga and Iñaki Uria.

From 2015 to 2017 he served as Chairman of the PuntuEUS Foundation.

Prizes Among others, he has received the following prizes: Euskadi Silver Prize (1997), for the most sold book being in the Market of Book Day celebrated in San Sebastian. Euskal Kultura gaur. Liburuaren mundua (Basque Culture today. The world of the book). Euskadi Silver Prize (1998), for the most sold book being in the Market of Book Day celebrated in San Sebastián. El libro negro del euskera (The black book of Basque language). Irun City Literature Award (1999), in the category of essay for the work, “La censura de Franco y el tema vasco” (Franco's Censorship and the Basque Issue). Honorific mention, in the XIXth Rikardo Arregi Journalism Prize (2007). Lauaxeta Prize (2010), given by the Chartered Provincial Council of Bizkaia for his work to explore and promote the Basque language. Dabilen Elea prize (2011) Prize Manuel Lekuona (2015) awarded by Eusko Ikaskuntza (the Basque Studies Society).