WILLIAM SPINDLER

William Spindler was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. His works include fiction, poetry and journalism in English and Spanish. He is the author of the novel “Países lejanos” (Magna Terra Editores, Guatemala City, 2011) and of a book of short stories, “Expediciones” (Editorial Cerro Negro, Bogota, Colombia, 2004).

William Spindler is a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), one the world’s leading humanitarian organisations, with a staff of around 6,300 in more than 110 countries. UNHCR’s main purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and other uprooted people. The organisation helps over 31 million people around the world.

William’s job involves working with the international media, providing reliable information and authoritative comment and analysis, as well as communicating to journalists the official UNHCR position on various issues related to forced displacement and statelessness. He is regularly interviewed and quoted in the news media.

William obtained a PhD from the Department of Art History and Theory of the University of Essex, for his work on Magic Realism and the Latin American novel. Prior to this, he studied for a Masters degree at the University of Southampton in England.