In its early transition to democracy following Franco’s death in 1975, Spain rapidly embraced neoliberal practices and policies, some of which directly impacted cultural production. In a few short years, the country commercialized its art and literary markets, investing in “cultural tourism” as a tool for economic growth and urban renewal. The artist novel began to proliferate for the first time in a century, but these novels—about artists and art historians—have received little critical attention beyond the descriptive. In Between Market and Myth, Vater studies select authors—Julio Llamazares, Ángeles Caso, Clara Usón, Almudena Grandes, Nieves Herrero, Paloma Díaz-Mas, Lourdes Ortiz, and Enrique Vila-Matas—whose largely realist novels portray a clash between the myth of artistic freedom and artists’ willing recruitment or cooptation by market forces or political influence. Today, in an era of rising globalization, the artist novel proves ideal for examining authors' ambivalent notions of creative practice when political patronage and private sector investment complicate belief in artistic autonomy.

Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press. 

""Between Market and Myth covers a fascinating topic which allows for the exploration of questions central to the cultural production of the period and of the changing, at times contradictory, role of the artist. The topic is exciting and timely, and Vater presents a provocative frame for the discussion."" - author of Painting on Stage: Visual Art in Twentieth-Century Spanish Theater

"The book makes a compelling case for the effects that neoliberalism has on cultural capital and supports its convincing argument with an all-encompassing literary analysis that masterfully interprets the primary texts in their historical and geographical context." - Hispania

"Is the value of an artist and her product intrinsic or extrinsic to society? Katie Vater’s intriguing study engages this question through an analysis of several Spanish literary works produced between 1992 and 2014." - Bulletin of Spanish Studies

""Between Market and Myth covers a fascinating topic which allows for the exploration of questions central to the cultural production of the period and of the changing, at times contradictory, role of the artist. The topic is exciting and timely, and Vater presents a provocative frame for the discussion."" - author of Painting on Stage: Visual Art in Twentieth-Century Spanish Theater

"The book makes a compelling case for the effects that neoliberalism has on cultural capital and supports its convincing argument with an all-encompassing literary analysis that masterfully interprets the primary texts in their historical and geographical context." - Hispania

"Is the value of an artist and her product intrinsic or extrinsic to society? Katie Vater’s intriguing study engages this question through an analysis of several Spanish literary works produced between 1992 and 2014." - Bulletin of Spanish Studies