Carla Guelfenbein studied biology at Essex University. She also studied graphic design at St. Martin's School of Art in London. Back in Chile she worked as Art director in BBDO , and fashion editor at ELLE . She is the author of the novels El revés del alma , La mujer de mi vida , El resto es silencio , Nadar desnudas , Contigo en la distancia , and a number of short stories which have appeared in important magazines and anthologies. Her work has been translated into 14 languages by the most prestigious editorial houses in Europe. Guelfenbein is one of the last best-selling phenomenas of the Chilean narrative. Her second novel ousted Dan Brown in the top of the ranking. Contigo en la distancia won the important Alfaguara prize, and was simultaneously launched in Spain and Latin America. John Cullen was the translator of many books from Spanish, French, German, and Italian, including Siegfried Lenz's The Turncoat , Juli Zeh's Empty Hearts , Patrick Modiano's Villa Triste , Kamel Daoud's The Meursault Investigation , and Philippe Claudel's Brodeck .