Vergílio António Ferreira, JOSE (Melo, Gouveia, born 28 January 1916 – Lisbon, 1 March 1996) was a Portuguese writer, essayist, professor and a key figure in Portuguese-language literature.

His prolific literary output, comprising works of fiction (novels, short stories and novellas), philosophical essays and literary diaries, are generally divided into neorealism, dominant in Portuguese fiction at the time, and existentialism.

[2] His name remains linked to Portuguese literature through the annual attribution of the Literary Prize Vergílio Ferreira by the Municipality of Gouveia.

[3] Ferreira entered a seminary at the age of 10 and left when he was 16.

His experiences are related in his most famous work Manhã Submersa (Misty Morning, lit.