Jason Webster is an Anglo-American crime novelist, travel writer and critic, the main focus of whose work is devoted to Spain. He was born in California in 1970. He has spent most of his adult life in Spain, having settled in Valencia with his Spanish wife, actress and dancer Salud Botella.
Webster is the author of twelve books on Spain, ranging from travel to history and detective fiction. He has appeared in several television documentaries and his works have been translated into a dozen languages.
Books
Duende: A journey in search of Flamenco, which recounts Webster's move to Spain after university and his quest to learn flamenco guitar and the path to the elusive yet passionate feeling of duende, an untranslatable term referring to the feeling that is the essence of flamenco. It was long-listed for the Guardian First Book Award and read on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week.
Andalus: Unlocking the secrets of Moorish Spain examines the deep impact left on Spain – and by extension the rest of Europe – by the Moorish presence and was adapted as a radio play by the BBC.
Sacred Sierra: A year on a Spanish mountain describes a year that Webster and his Spanish wife spent living on their mountain farm in eastern Spain, on the slopes of the sacred peak of Penyagolosa, working on the land and planting trees with the help of a 12th-century Moorish gardening manual. It paints a portrait of a little-known part of the country, with details of its folklore, history and customs, and with meditations on stories, the need to preserve them and their importance for communities. Webster made a short promotional film for the book in conjunction with the award-winning Swedish film directorDavid Flamholc of Caravan Film.
Blood Med, is the fourth Chief Inspector Max Cámara crime novel, focussing on the political and social problems of contemporary Spain.
Apart from his books, Webster also writes for the British newspapersThe Guardian, The Observer, Financial Times and The Daily Mail and reviews occasionally for the New Statesman and Sunday Telegraph. He has appeared in several British TV documentaries, including An Islamic History of Europe, presented by Rageh Omaar on BBC television and the critically acclaimed Andalusia: The Legacy of the Moors for Five. In April 2013 he presented "Flashmob Flamenco", a documentary for BBC Radio 4 on the response within the Flamenco community to the economic crisis in Spain.
