When Francesc Torralba (Barcelona, ​​1967) began teaching philosophy at the university, only five years older than his students. "Now I'm almost forty years older than them," he explains. "One of the changes between then and now is that I currently observe very high levels of disenchantment among students, both in the classroom and in tutorials." Torralba's new essay, Anatomy of Hope —which won the 2026 Josep Pla Prize—, stems from the unease he has observed in society in recent years, particularly affecting young people. "They are constantly bombarded with negative messages," the author continues. "They are told they will have precarious contracts, that they will never be able to buy a 60-square-meter apartment."² in Barcelona, ​​and that they will experience relationships marked by volatility." Adding to the negativity about the future is the media's portrayal of the present. "The news and newspapers tell us that both the local and global worlds are falling apart," he adds. "He has attempted suicide twice, what do I tell him?" he asks.

One hundred years ago, Josep Pla i Casadevall (Palafrugell, 1897 - Llofriu, 1981) decided to publish his first book, Things seen, which inaugurated the Diana publishing house. "There's no choice but to do a second printing," wrote editor Ignasi Armengou in Pla a few weeks after the volume arrived in bookstores. "We'll call it a second edition. This will have a certain effect on the public. At the rate we're going, it had sold out. arrived."