The National Library of Spain (BNE) has digitised 859 works by Spanish authors who passed away in 1944 and whose creations entered the public domain in 2025. This happened through the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica (Hispanic Digital Library), which made them available to users. These works can be freely consulted and downloaded through this link.

The complete list of authors in the catalogue of the National Library of Spain, whose works entered the public domain in 2025, is available on this page. It includes 145 Spanish authors who passed away in 1944, whose works are part of the BNE’s collection. Now 80 years since their deaths, these works can be published, reproduced and disseminated publicly.

The BNE conducts a study of these authors in order to provide as much information as possible about them, which is displayed in various formats to facilitate their use and reuse.

This information is also collected in a map to visualise it in a simplified way: the geographical distribution of their origins, identifiable by the author’s name, by the province, or by their main occupation. It can be consulted here.

Among the notable authors whose works are now free of copyright is Manuel Chaves Nogales (Seville, 1897 – London, 1944), one of the most important journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Titles such as “Juan Belmonte, matador de toros”, the collection of short stories “A sangre y fuego”, and “Lo que ha quedado del imperio de los zares” can now be consulted, along with other publications, here.

The works of Joaquín Álvarez Quintero (Utrera, 1873 – Madrid, 1944) can also be downloaded. Together with his brother Serafín (who passed away in 1938 and whose works are also in the public domain), they displayed the theatrical taste of the early 20th century through very diverse dramatic genres, especially comedies, zarzuelas and sainetes. Among their titles are “La media naranja” (1894), “El amor en el teatro” (1902), “El amor en solfa” (1905) and “La reina mora” (1903).

Additionally, nine profiles of authors who passed away in 1944 have been added to the Autores en la BNE portal (Authors in the BNE).