Sebastià Alzamora, Lletra d’Or Award for 'Sala Augusta followed by Llengua materna'

BarcelonaThe writer Sebastià Alzamora (Llucmajor, 1972) has been recognized with the Lletra d'Or award for the best book of 2025 for Sala Augusta followed by Mother tongue (Proa), which brings together two poems. With this book, Alzamora has also won the Critics' Prize, the Serra d’Or Critics' Prize, the Josep M. Llompart - Cavall Verd (AELC), and the National Prize from the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

The jury that awarded Sala Augusta followed by Mother tongue was composed of Borja Bagunyà, Míriam Cano, Xènia Dyakonova, Andreu Gomila, Àngels Gregori, Llucia Ramis, and Pau Sif. The evaluation, in the form of a sonnet, is signed by Dyakonova:

Why do we still award 'Sala Augusta'

if it already has so many awards, and even

(maybe it's beside the point, but I don't give a damn)

did the National Award say "I like it"?

Because it is a book that does not go with old-fashioned

skirt, wears jeans. And, like Charlie Chaplin,

it makes you laugh and it makes you cry. And with every word

speak of the dead in a fair way.

Another prize, Tià! Here, be proud of it!

A breakfast, and furthermore, during the week,

it's not enough —what can we do— for a piece of writing

longer... but you have the strongest admiration

of all of us. You were a dead mule

and you are always alive in the eyes that have read you.

The Lletra d'Or award is a prize without financial remuneration. The winner receives a gold lapel pin representing the Greek letter phi, a classic symbol of balance, designed by the jeweler Manel Capdevila.