Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez is a Venezuelan writer born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela in 1967. From an early age, he and his family moved to Caracas, where he lived in the popular area of , but always kept a close connection with his native hometown. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the Central University of Venezuela with a thesis on poetry groups "Traffic" and "Guaire". Later he earned a Ph.D. in Hispanic American Literature from the University of Salamanca with a thesis on the Venezuelan writer . In April 2013 his novel Arena Negra was awarded Book of the Year by booksellers in Venezuela.