The First Boat - Hardcover

José de Sousa Saramago, (November 1922-June 2010), was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the theopoetic human factor. More than two million copies of Saramago's books have been sold in Portugal alone and his work has been translated into 25 languages. He was a founding member of the National Front for the Defense of Culture in Lisbon in 1992, and co-founder with Orhan Pamuk, of the European Writers' Parliament (EWP).

Margaret Jull Costa is a translator of Portuguese and Spanish fiction and poetry, including the works of José Saramago, Eça de Queiroz, Fernando Pessoa, Paulo Coelho, Bernardo Atxaga, Carmen Martín Gaite, Javier Marías, Angela Vallvey, and Luisa Valenzuela.. Her translations have been awarded the International Dublin Literary Award, the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize (four times), and the TLS Translation Prize, among many others. She lives in England

Amanda Mijangos was born in Mexico City in 1986 and studied architecture and illustration at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She has illustrated books for publishers in several countries and has had her work recognized by the IBBY Honor List, the White Ravens Catalogue and national and international exhibitions.