Juan José Saer (1937–2005), born in Santa Fe, Argentina, was the leading Argentinian writer of the post-Borges generation. In 1968, he moved to Paris and taught literature at the University of Rennes. The author of numerous novels and short-story collections—including The Sixty-Five Years of Washington and La Grande, also available from Open Letter—Saer was awarded Spain’s prestigious Nadal Prize in 1987 for The Event.