Penguin presents I''m Not Here to Give a Speech, the complete speeches of Nobel laureate and beloved novelist Gabriel García Márquez collected and published in English for the first time.

Gabriel García Márquez has charmed generations of readers with his distinctive and richly expressive style. His talent for language is seen here as never before, in the public speeches he gave throughout his extraordinary life. These speeches chart Márquez''s growth as a writer and orator, from an early talk given as a teenager graduating high school to his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. They offer new insight into the workings of the author''s mind, drawing a portrait of Marquez as a writer and as a man.

This is a rare gem from a writer who touched readers across the globe. I Am Not Here to Give a Speech is a must-buy for anyone who ever fell in love with Macondo or cherished a battered copy of Love in the Time of Cholera.

Praise for Gabriel García Márquez:

''The greatest novel in any language of the last fifty years'' Salman Rushdie on One Hundred Years of Solitude

''Should be required reading for the entire human race'' New York Times on One Hundred Years of Solitude

''A masterpiece'' Evening Standard on Chronicle of a Death Foretold

''As a reading experience it is completely magical'' Observer on Living to Tell the Tale

''It asks to be read more than twice, and the rewards are dazzling'' Observer on The Autumn of the Patriarch

''Márquez writes in this lyrical, magical language that no-one else can do'' Salman Rusdhie on Collected Stories