About José Luís Peixoto
Born 1974. José Luís Peixoto is a Portuguese poet, writer, songwriter and teacher.
José Luís Marques Peixoto (; born September 4, 1974) is a Portuguese author, poet and playwright. A professional writer since 2001, his works have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Biography José Luis Peixoto was born in the village of Galveias, in the Portuguese region of Alentejo. He lived in Galveias until the age of 18. He obtained a bachelor's degree in modern languages and literature from NOVA University Lisbon. After university, he was a teacher for some years in several schools in Portugal and Cape Verde, before becoming a professional writer in 2001.
Peixoto's first book, Morreste-me (English title: You Died on Me), was published in 2000. In 2001, he became the youngest ever recipient of the José Saramago Prize, at the age of 27, for his novel Nenhum Olhar.
Piexoto is a student of Mandarin, taught by the poet Yao Feng.
International editions Translated editions of Peixoto's books are available from the following publishers: Bloomsbury (UK), Doubleday, Random House (US), Grasset, Seuil (France), Literatura Random House (Spanish-speaking countries), Companhia das Letras (Brazil), Einaudi (Italy), Kedros (Greece), Meulenhoff, Atlas Contact (Nederlands), Kineret (Israel), Wsoy (Finland), Polirom (Romania), Bozicevic (Croatia), Bakur Sulakauri (Georgia), Kontrast (Serbia), among others.
Awards 2001: José Saramago Prize, for Nenhum Olhar (best novel published in all Portuguese speaking countries on the two previous years) 2007: Premio Cálamo, for Cemitério de Pianos (best foreign novel published in Spain in 2007) 2008: Prémio de Poesia Daniel Faria, for Gaveta de Papéis (best poetry book published in Portugal by a poet under 35 years old) 2013: Prémio da Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores, for A Criança em Ruínas (best poetry book published in Portugal on the previous year) 2013: Premio Salerno Libro d'Europa, for Livro (best novel published in Europe in 2012) 2016: Oceanos Prize, for Galveias (best novel published in all Portuguese-speaking countries in 2015) 2019: The Best Translation Award-Japan for Galveias (best foreign novel translated into Japanese in 2019)
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Important facts
People in José Luís Peixoto's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped José Luís Peixoto's
Frequently asked questions
Who is José Luís Peixoto?
Portuguese writer
When was José Luís Peixoto born?
José Luís Peixoto was born on 4 September 1974 in Ponte de Sor.
What is José Luís Peixoto's occupation?
José Luís Peixoto is a poet, writer, songwriter and teacher.
What nationality is José Luís Peixoto?
José Luís Peixoto is Portuguese.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: José Luís Peixoto
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). José Luís Peixoto. https://biography.guide/jose-luis-peixoto/
MLA: "José Luís Peixoto." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jose-luis-peixoto/.
Chicago: "José Luís Peixoto." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jose-luis-peixoto/.
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