José J. Veiga

José Veiga, known as José J. Veiga (February 2, 1915 – September 19, 1999), was a Brazilian writer. His writings are often classified within the magical realism genre, although he denied the label; his books deal with social and political criticism, with lyrical overtones.

Biography Veiga was born in 1915 at Fazenda Morro Grande, a farm near Corumbá de Goiás. He was also translator and editor of the Brazilian edition of Reader's Digest and coordinated the publishing department of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation.

Veiga affirmed to have chosen his literary name thanks to the help of João Guimarães Rosa who suggested it to him to add a "J", from "Jacinto", Veiga's mother surname, shortly before the publication in 1959 of Os cavalinhos of Platiplanto, his first book edited. The same year, the book won the Fábio Prado Award.

His works have been published in the United States, England, Mexico, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Portugal. In 1997, he won the Machado of Assis Prize for lifetime achievement, awarded by the Brazilian Academy of Letters. A Máquina Extraviada (1967); English translation:The Misplaced Machine and other Stories; Alfred A. Knopf, 1970. Sombras de Reis Barbudos (1972); Os Pecados da Tribo (1976); O Professor Burim e as Quatro Calamidades (1978); De Jogos e Festas (1980); Aquele Mundo de Vasabarros (1982); Torvelinho Dia e Noite (1985); A Casca da Serpente (1989); Os melhores contos de J. J. Veiga (1989); O Almanach de Piumhy - Restaurado por José J. Veiga (1989); O Risonho Cavalo do Príncipe (1993); O Relógio Belizário (1995); Tajá e Sua Gente (1997); Objetos Turbulentos (1997).