Son of Olga Stella Ramos and Humberto Franco, married with Natalia Echavarria and has a daughter named Valeria Franco. Jorge Franco Ramos studied film at the
London Film School and literature at the
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in
Bogotá, but did not finish his studies. He began his writing career in 1991 and obtained his first award, the Pedro Gómez Valderrama, in 1996 for the short story collection
Maldito amor (Cursed love). His first novel,
Mala noche (Bad night), won the national
Ciudad de Pereira competition of 1997. His second novel
Rosario Tijeras was published in 1999 and won the Premio Beca Nacional Colcultura and the Premio yermen pajaro of the literature event referred to as
Semana Negra (Black week) in the Spanish city
Gijón in 2000. The Mexican film maker
Emilio Maillé adapted this novel for film under the title
Rosario Tijeras in 2005. In 2010 the
RCN TV made a
television adaptation, composed of 60 episodes and starring
Maria Fernanda Yepes. His third novel
Paraíso Travel (Paradise Travel) was also made into a film by Colombian director
Simon Brand. It was released in January 2008 with a musical score directed by renowned Colombian singer
Fonseca. In March 2014 Franco won the XVII edition of the international Alfaguara prize with his work "El mundo de afuera" (The world from outside).
Gabriel García Márquez has stated about the artist that he "is one of the Colombian writers to whom I wish to pass the torch." ==Awards and honors==