The AELC asks Collboni to withdraw the new literary grant for Latin American authors

BarcelonaThe Association of Writers in the Catalan Language (AELC) has expressed its concern regarding the Barcelona City Council's initiative to launch a literary grant exclusively for Latin American authors. The association states that the proposal excludes authors from the Catalan Countries and, therefore, exacerbates the current precarious professional situation of writers. It also emphasizes that the grant announcement does not specify which languages will be given priority. "Any call for proposals that belittles the indigenous languages of South and Mesoamerica, and obviously Catalan, will only reinforce the marginalization processes these languages are undergoing," says the AELC, which regrets that it is a "unilateral measure, not agreed upon and not even shared beforehand with the organizations." For all these reasons, the association asks the city council to "withdraw the grant and dedicate the entire allocated funds to creative works in Catalan," while insisting that "the Catalan language has no institutions other than Catalan ones to guarantee its promotion, dissemination, and continuity." During the Guadalajara International Book Fair, where Barcelona is the guest city, Mayor Jaume Collboni announced the creation of this new literary grant. Named Narrar Barcelona and with a grant of 80,000 euros, the aid offers a Latin American writer a three-month residency in The Catalan capital to "establish a dialogue with the city" and produce an original work based on this experience "in a free and personal style," which will be published in Catalan and Spanish. The grant is promoted in collaboration with the Barcelona Library Consortium and Casa Amèrica Catalunya. It is expected to launch in January. Of the total funding, €20,000 will be for fees, €17,000 for accommodation, transportation, and living expenses, and €43,000 for the rights to exploit the work, including management, translation, distribution, and communication.

Complaints among writers

The announcement of the grant has generated disagreements and complaints among some Catalan writers, who have lamented the lack of resources available to local authors. It has also drawn criticism from some political groups. The president of the JuntsxBCN municipal group, Jordi Martí, emphasized that, given the current linguistic emergency, the city council's grants "should prioritize writers in the Catalan language and the Catalan language." The president of the Republican group, Elisenda Alamany, stated that "just as a tourist visiting for a few days cannot possibly understand it, no writer can represent the identity and soul of Barcelona by doing a three-month Erasmus exchange paid for by the City Council." The Barcelona City Council offers the Barcelona Crea grants, each worth 6,000 euros. Creators from various fields—from the performing arts to music, literature, and translation—are eligible to apply. Among these are the Montserrat Roig literary creation grants. In 2025, 27 were awarded to writers such as Pol Guasch, Ramon Mas, Marta Marín Dòmine, Carla Gracia, and Marta Pessarrodona. Catalan writers can also apply for grants awarded by the Institut Ramon Llull (a consortium comprised of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Government of the Balearic Islands, and the Barcelona City Council) to undertake international residencies at centers with which it has a collaboration agreement. In this case, the grants are in-kind, covering accommodation, meals, and the cost of residency activities, but the 2025 call for applications does not specify the amounts awarded. This year's recipients are Marta Carnicero, Andrea Genovart, Marta Pera Cucurell, Mònica Batet, Marina Sáez, and Maria del Mar Grimalt.