) is a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

.

At the age of 12 Lindo moved to Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, where she studied journalism. She did not get her degree, as she began to work in television and radio as a speaker, actress and scriptwriter. Her first novel was based on one of her fictional radio characters, the madrileño

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

 boy Manolito Gafotas, who has become a classic of Spanish children's literature

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

. Manolito is the son of a trucker and lives a humble life in the working-class quarter of Carabanchel

Carabanchel

Carabanchel is a district in the south western suburbs of Madrid, Spain.-Overview:The area was the scene of fierce fighting during the Spanish Civil War -especially in November 1936, during the Battle of Madrid, when Nationalist troops tried to fight their way into the area. Unacustomed to street...

. The character was the protagonist of several first-person novels written with a solid style that includes humour, irony and sharp social criticism.

Lindo has also written adult novels and plays; she is the screenwriter of the film La primera noche de mi vida, and collaborated with director Miguel Albadalejo on the screenplays for Manolito Gafotas

Manolito Gafotas

Manolito Gafotas is a group of children's novels by the Spanish writer Elvira Lindo. They tell the adventures of a working class kid in Carabanchel...

and Ataque verbal. She also adapted the screenplay Plenilunio from the novel by her husband, Antonio Muñoz Molina

Antonio Muñoz Molina

Antonio Muñoz Molina is a Spanish writer and, since 8 June 1995, a full member of the Royal Spanish Academy. He currently resides in New York City, United States...

.

Ever since her husband Antonio Muñoz Molina was appointed director of the Instituto Cervantes

Instituto Cervantes

The Cervantes Institute is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes , the author of Don Quixote and perhaps the most important figure in the history of Spanish literature...

 of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Lindo has lived in New York City. She often writes for the Spanish-language newspaper El País, contributing editorials, and writes freelance work for other magazines and newspapers.

In 1998 Lindo was awarded the Premio Nacional de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil (National Award for Children's and Youth Literature) for her book Los trapos sucios de Manolito Gafotas, and she received the Biblioteca Breve (Tiny Library) Award for her adult novel Una palabra tuya. Her next book, Lo que me queda por vivir will be released on September 3rd 2010.