In the first quarter of the year, Marc Artigau (Barcelona, 1984) donned the playwright's hat and premiered the comedy about Alzheimer's Una festa a Roma, directed by Clara Segura at the Teatre Lliure. In the second quarter, for Sant Jordi, the playwright puts on the narrator's hat and presents the collection of short stories Aquest serà el nostre pou (Empúries), which has just won the Mercè Rodoreda prize at the Catalan Letters Night.

For several years now, the Catalan Letters Institution has had an exhibition space at Catalan Book Week and commissions a handful of writers and illustrators to create cartoons on a specific theme. Last year they dedicated it to a meta-literary exhibition, a self-parody of the obvious things about the Catalan literary world and writers, to celebrate the centenary of the publication of Next year by Francesc Trabal, with a prologue by Josep Carner. I wrote a piece about the reality of Catalan writers: we are the first link in the book chain, but the only ones who can hardly make a living from our work. The illustrator Marc Torices turned it into a fantastic comic strip.

I'm attending the Night of Catalan Literature at the MNAC. My colleague Xavi Bosch and I are presenting the awards, and we've been able to read the chronicleWe award the Mercè Rodoreda Prize for short stories, which used to be called the Víctor Català Prize (I wouldn't have changed the name). The ceremony is broadcast on television and radio, and that's a good thing, because literature should be an industry, and that's what they call it. glamorSince it's a literary gala, the presenters don't joke around much. The stage is elegant, and the award is lit up in pink like a cheap lamp. I'd love to win two literary prizes just to have two and put them on my nightstands. The old one (I have it in my bookstore, my dear Mercè Rodoreda) was made of pumpkin-shaped wax.

1. On Saturday night, at the MNAC, We celebrate the Night of Catalan LiteratureIt's been 75 years since three hundred brave souls locked themselves inside the Catalonia bookstore to celebrate a clandestine literary festival. Here's a historical fact, from 1951, to remind us that the Catalan language, culture, and freedom have weathered far worse times, and we've persevered. For those of us who are nostalgic by nature, the tradition of Saint Lucy's Night was already quite fitting. Just before Christmas, the most prestigious literary prizes were announced, and a couple of months later, the books went on sale. It was a very guild-like celebration, for the guild. Now it's different. Even those of us who, on Saturday, looked askance at this new festival invented by Òmnium, the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, and TV3, should tip our hats. As Xavier Antich said, never before in history has such a powerful communicative act about Catalan literature been broadcast. Our literature needs to shed its inferiority complex and embrace ambition, joy, and self-respect. If the world of books is the spearhead of our cultural industry, it was about time that was reflected in prime time. In this respect, and although everything can be improved, Saturday's event achieved its goal.

As I left the National Palace, Raimon's verse came to mind: "We are many more than they want and say." The power, the elegance, and the harmony of the words and accents of the Catalan language, which are heard millions of times every day, They gathered at a gala that slipped in precisely And it was our place in the world for one night.

The selection committee for the Òmnium Prize for best novel of the year has chosen the 10 shortlisted works for the ninth edition of the award. The winner will not be announced until... The Night of Catalan Letters The ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 14th in the Oval Room of the MNAC, and will award the country's most lucrative prize for a published work, with a prize of €25,000 (€20,000 goes directly to the winner, and €5,000 is allocated for promotion). The 10 nominated novels are:

This week we have been shaken by the changes in the Saint Lucy's NightThe event, which will become the Night of Catalan Letters (NLC), will be held in March and will include more awards. I, frankly, have mixed feelings about the news.