Gil Pratsobrerroca, the "enormous leap" of a debut author

BarcelonaFor a long time, Gil Pratsobrerroca (Vic, 1996) dreamed of being a writer without knowing if he would succeed. "I have always loved writing, since I was little. At school I entered Sant Jordi competitions and then it became a hobby. When I have a free afternoon, I often sit down to write. It's a process that relaxes me: I don't have to fight with anyone and I make all the decisions," explains the writer, who with El joc del silenci (La Campana) has become one of the big winners of this Sant Jordi. The thriller, with which he debuted in September, has been the second best-selling fiction book in Catalan on Diada behind Regina Rodríguez Sirvent, who triumphed with Crispetes de matinada, from the same publisher, and who three years ago had a similar journey with her first book, Les calces al sol.

But reaching the coveted Sant Jordi bestseller podium has not been a matter of a few days for Pratsobrerroca. When choosing a university career, the author opted for political science and sociology "because if I told my parents I wanted to be a writer, they would have wondered what they had done wrong", although he never abandoned writing. "This hobby gained ground, but I had many insecurities. I needed someone to tell me I was doing well," explains Pratsobrerroca. To test himself, he entered various literary competitions such as the La Garrofera prize in L'Alcúdia de Crespins, the El Porc del Demà short story contest, organized by Pol·len Edicions, and the Ciutat de Tarragona Pin i Soler prize, where he was a finalist. "They are rather small competitions, but they were very good for training. When I became a finalist in the Pin i Soler, I started to trust myself," says the writer.

A component of luck

After university, Pratsobrerroca began to develop a career as a screenwriter. He wrote and directed the TV3 series El teorema del mico (2023) and El creador d'influencers (2025, together with Xumari Roca), while also crafting an early version of El joc del silenci and knocking on the doors of some publishing houses. "I sent the manuscript to several publishers and no one replied. I knew Marc Sarrats, who had published with La Magrana, and I asked him if he could give me a hand," recalls the author. It was then that Penguin Random House signed him.

In retrospect, Pratsobrerroca is very aware that there is "a component of luck" in everything that has happened to him. "I had a certain suspicion that the novel's themes could connect with readers, that they would see themselves reflected in it. But going from having that instinct to printing 50,000 copies and having 10 editions is a colossal leap. I realize that now," emphasizes the writer. The novel largely features a couple from Barcelona who decide to move to a small town in the Pyrenees and there suffer the disappearance of their seven-year-old daughter. "I wrote them with the intention that everyone who reads the book can feel identified with them, or can see someone they know in them," says the author.

Pratsobrerroca has always been clear that he wanted to work in the thriller genre because, as a reader, it is the genre he enjoys the most. "It has that point of connecting with people's animality, and that generates interest. We live in a very regulated society. Suddenly, thinking from the killer's mind can, in a way, return us to our essence," reflects the writer, who believes that the current moment—when reading competes with many distractions and the attractive power of screens—adds another challenge to the work of writers. "The thriller has a series of associated resources, such as plot twists and leaving storylines unresolved, which allow for a psychological analysis of the reader and finding ways for them to continue reading," adds Pratsobrerroca.

Saying yes to everything

The Game of Silence was published in September and four weeks later it entered the bestseller list. When he reached that milestone, along with the interview Jordi Basté did with him on RAC1, which boosted sales, Pratsobrerroca already began to notice that the book was taking off like a rocket. Over the past few months, the writer has been going everywhere to present it. He has visited Andorra, Lleida, Girona, Granollers, Cardedeu, and many other corners of the country. "I've said yes to everything, partly because of the excitement I have for this first book," says the writer. Now, however, he is taking a month off to breathe, rest, and think about the future. "I will try to take a vacation and think about the next book. They told me the second one is the hardest, I'm prepared for it —assures Pratsobrerroca—. I will stop the promotion, but I will not stop writing, because that is my way of disconnecting".