Manuel Alfonseca (born 1946, Madrid) is a Spanish writer and university professor. He is the son of the painter and sculptor Manuel Alfonseca Santana.
He is a doctor on communications engineering and graduated on Computer Science. He worked 22 years in IBM (1972–1994), where he was Senior Technical Staff Member. He has been a professor in several universities: Complutense de Madrid, Politécnica de Madrid and (now) Autónoma de Madrid, where he was a full professor (currently an honorary professor) and director of the Escuela Politécnica Superior (2001–2004).
He has published about two hundred technical papers in Spanish and English, as well as many articles on popular science in high difussion newspapers and web blogs.
He is the author of over fifty books in the fields of computer science, popular science, historic novel, science fiction and young adult literature.
He was granted the Lazarillo Award (1988) and La Brújula Award for Children and Young Adult Narrative (2012), besides having been finalist and included in honor lists several times. He was also given three Outstanding Technical Achievements Awards (1981, 1983, 1985) and one Technical Paper Award (1989) by IBM.
Novelsa) Fantasy
The journey of Tivo the Dauntless, Writers Club Press, San José, CA, 2000. English translation of El viaje de Tivo el Arriesgado, Siglo Cultural, 1986.The mystery of the Black Lake. English translation of El misterio del Lago Negro, Siglo Cultural, 1986. (Available in e-book format in http://www.ii.uam.es/~alfonsec/formul.htm)The Silver Swan. English translation of La odisea del Cisne de Plata, Siglo Cultural, 1986. (Available in e-book format in http://www.ii.uam.es/~alfonsec/formul.htm)The secret of the ice field. English translation of El secreto del campo de hielo, Siglo Cultural, 1986. (Available in e-book format in http://www.ii.uam.es/~alfonsec/formul.htm)The lost continent. English translation of El continente perdido, Siglo Cultural, 1986. (Available in e-book format in http://www.ii.uam.es/~alfonsec/formul.htm)La aventura de Sir Karel de Nortumbria, Espasa Calpe, 1990, Anaya, 2002.Ennia in Fairie. English translation of Ennia, Noguer, 1993.b) Historical
The ruby of the Ganges. English translation of El rubí del Ganges, Noguer, 1989. Lazarillo Award 1988, translated into Catalan and English.The Heirloom of King Scorpion. English translation of La herencia del rey Escorpión, Aguilar, 1989. Finalista of the Lazarillo Award 1987 and Elena Fortún Award 1988. Translated into French and English: La revanche d'Osiris, Hachette, 1993.Mano Escondida, Alfaguara, 1991. Oxford University Press, 2012.El agua de la vida, S.M., 1998.Una cuestión de honor, Palabra, 1998.El sello de Eolo, Edebé, 2000.La tabla esmeralda, Palabra, 2004.La corona tartesia, San Pablo, 2012. IV La Brújula Award (2012).c) Science Fiction
Un rostro en el tiempo, Noguer, 1989. Finalist of CCEI Award, 1989. Edelvives, 2012.Under an orange sky. English translation of Bajo un cielo anaranjado, S.M., 1992. (Available in e-book format in http://www.ii.uam.es/~alfonsec/formul.htm)Beyond the black hole. English translation of Más allá del agujero negro, Terra Nova, 1995.The last dinosaur. English translation of Tras el último dinosaurio, Edebé, 1996. Translated to English, Catalan and Galician.Descend into the hell of Venus. English translation of Descenso al infierno de Venus, Palabra, 1999. (Available in e-book format in http://www.ii.uam.es/~alfonsec/formul.htm)Jacob's ladder. English translation of La escala de Jacob, S.M., 2001. (Available in e-book format in http://www.ii.uam.es/~alfonsec/formul.htm)Los moradores de la noche, Anaya, 2012. Finalist of the Award to the best independent national novel by El Templo de las mil Puertas, 2013.The history of the Earth-9 colony. English translation of La historia de la colonia Tierra-9, 2013.Operación Quatuor, 2016.d) Mystery and intrigue
Historias en la oscuridad, 2014.Quetzalcoatl's Zahir, 2017. English translation of El zahir de Quetzalcoatl, Schedas, 2014.El misterio de la casa encantada, Schedas, 2014.El misterio del brazalete de zafiros, Schedas, 2015.El misterio de la luna de miel, Schedas, 2015.e) Miscellaneous
Espérame, Nina, voy contigo, Palabra, 1997.Albatros, Anaya, 2001.Popular scienceHuman cultures and evolution, Vantage Press, New York, 1979.La vida en otros mundos, Alhambra, 1982. McGraw Hill, 1993.El futuro de la evolución, Alhambra, 1985.El tiempo y el hombre, Alhambra, 1985.De lo infinitamente pequeño a lo infinitamente grande, Alhambra, 1986.1000 grandes científicos, diccionario Espasa, 1996.El quinto nivel, Adhara, 2005. Digital revised edition, 2014.El tiempo y el hombre, Ediciones U.A.M., 2008.¿Es compatible Dios con la ciencia? Evolución y cosmología, CEU Ediciones, 2013.60 preguntas sobre ciencia y fe respondidas por 26 profesores de universidad, ed. Francisco José Soler Gil y Manuel Alfonseca. Stella Maris, 2014.Viajes hacia lo infinitamente pequeño y lo infinitamente grande. Ediciones Logos e Instituto de Filosofía Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires, 2015.World Population: Past, Present, & Future. World Scientific, Singapore, 2016. Coauthors: Julio A. Gonzalo, Félix F. Muñoz.Evolución biológica y cultural en la historia de la vida y del hombre, CEU Ediciones, 2017.Popular computer scienceCómo hacer juegos de aventura, Siglo Cultural, Enciclopedia Práctica de la Informática Aplicada, nr. 1, Madrid 1986.Aprenda Matemáticas y Estadística con el lenguaje APL, Siglo Cultural, Enciclopedia Práctica de la Informática Aplicada, nr. 30, Madrid 1987.Texts on computer scienceTeoría de Lenguajes, Gramáticas y Autómatas, Universidad y Cultura, Textos de Cátedra, Madrid 1987, 1991, Promosoft, 1997. Coauthors: Justo Sancho y Miguel Angel Martínez Orga.Programación Orientada a Objetos, Anaya Multimedia, 1992. Coauthor: Alfonso Alcalá.Guía práctica de C y C++, Anaya Multimedia, 1999. Edición revisada y ampliada, 2005. Edición revisada y ampliada, 2014. Coauthor: Alejandro Sierra.Compiladores e intérpretes: teoría y práctica, Pearson Education, 2006. Coauthors: Marina de la Cruz, Alfonso Ortega, Estrella Pulido.Teoría de Autómatas y Lenguajes Formales, McGraw Hill, 2007. ISBN 978-84-481-5637-4. Coauthors: Enrique Alfonseca, Roberto Moriyón.MiscellaneousKrishna frente a Cristo, 1978. ISBN 84-300-0252-9.