Otto Ozols (Jà «rmala, 23 August 1970), pen name of MÃÂrtià Âà ¡ Barkovskis, is a Latvian columnist, writer and social activist. Ozolsâ first book, the novel "Latvieà ¡i ir visur" ("Latvians are Everywhere") became a bestseller in 2011, having gone through 11 reprints since then. The book has been translated into Swedish as "Letternas Revansch" and into Russian as "ÃÂýø ÿþòÃÂÃÂôÃÂ". He has written two more books, "Theodorus. Deja ar ziloà Âzivi" ("Theodorus. Dancing with the Elephant Fish"), published in 2014 and described as "Europe's answer to Britain's James Bond and America's Jason Bourne", and "NeÃÂrtÃÂs patiesëbas" (Uncomfortable truths), a collection of Ozolsâ opinion pieces and articles on Latvian politics, published in 2015. Otto Ozols is also an actively engaged author of political essays and political analysis, and for several years he was a regular columnist for the largest news portals of Latvia, TVNET, DELFI and LA.lv.
To acquaint himself with the Catalan independence movement, Otto Ozols in April 2016 became the first known person to traverse on foot the entire length of the Catalan Way â in 16 days, 480 km. Before doing this, he had written in September 2013 and article linking Catalan independence with the Baltic Way and the history of Latvia. He visited 68 villages and met with hundreds of individuals. In Barcelona, the capital city of Catalonia, he met with Carme Forcadell, president of Catalonia's parliament at the time. He is expected to publish a book of collected materials and impressions on his walking trip.