In 2024, Correos continues with its series dedicated to Literature with Juan Muñoz Martín, who passed away on February 24, 2023. This stamp is presented in sheets of 25 stamps and in a premium sheet in which, as a nod to the author, an upside-down stamp has been included, always accompanied by the illustration of "Fray Perico and his Donkey."
Juan Muñoz Martín was born on May 13, 1929, in Madrid, where he studied French Philology. He was a teacher of Language and Literature in a school in Madrid while also dedicating himself to literature for children. In addition to writing (always with pen and paper), his other great passion is reading, especially classics.
"The creation of a character does not come from a sudden inspiration. It is a process of ideas from readings, reflections, which provide the author with a specific theme," he said.
He is one of the best-selling Spanish authors, although not well-known. Always modest and discreet, his work "Fray Perico and his Donkey" has far exceeded one million books sold in the Spanish-speaking market. Quite an achievement, undoubtedly.
Juan Muñoz published the first adventure of "El pirata Garrapata" in 1982 as part of the Orange Series of the El Barco de Vapor collection. More than half a million copies of this series have been sold. Yolanda Álvarez illustrated the first stories, although soon the illustrator Antonio Tello took over, becoming the official artist of the series.
In 1966, he achieved his first literary recognition, the Doncel Prize. Years later, in 1979, he won the El Barco de Vapor Prize for his most famous book, of course, "Fray Perico and his Donkey." Five years later, he won the Gran Angular Prize for Young Adult Novel for "El hombre mecánico" (1984). That same year, he obtained the second prize for short stories from Nueva Acrópolis. In 1992, he won the I Complutense Cervantes Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature as the most-read author by children.
