Augusto Roa Bastos was a Paraguayan novelist and short story writer. As a teenager he fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, and he later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and professor. He is best known for his complex novel Yo el Supremo and for winning the Premio Miguel de Cervantes in 1989, Spanish literature's most prestigious prize. Yo el Supremo explores the dictations and inner thoughts of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, the eccentric dictator of Paraguay who ruled with an iron fist, from 1814 until his death in 1840.

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña was a Spanish dramatist, novelist, and member of the Spanish Generation of 98. His work was considered radical in its subversion of the traditional Spanish theatre in the early 20th century. He influenced later generations of Spanish dramatists and is honored on National Theatre Day with a statue in Madrid.