The maternal grandparents are from Ukraine and Bessarabia. At the age of eight, she won aliterary contest in composition at school, which was the beginning of her writing career. In her adolescence, she began writing novellas at the Congregación de los Paulinos in Buenos Aires. Her studies included philosophy andliterature, earning a scholarship to study literature in Italy. When she returned toArgentina, she aban- doned her Catholic religious vocation, and worked as a teacher and journalist. Miguel served as director of the literary magazine Señales and collaborated in the literary supplement of the newspaper La Nación. She served in a leadership role at the Fondo Nacional de las Artes. Awards: Premio Emecé (for La hora undécima); Premio del Fondo Nacional de las Artes (for Los que comimos a Solís); Segundo Premio Municipal (for Los que co- mimos aSolís); Premio Municipal (for Espejos ydaguerrotipos); Premio Planeta (for El general, el pintor y la dama); Premio Nacional de Literatura; Palma de Plata of the Pen Club; Konex Award; Premio Dupuytrén. Selected works: 1993 "La amante del restaurador" (novela): 1995 "Las bata- llas secretas de Belgrano" (novela); 1996 "El general, el pintor y la dama" (novela); 1997 'En el otro lado del tablero "(short stories); 1999 "Un dandy en la corte del rey Alfonso" (novela); 2001 "El palacio de los patos" (novela); and others.