Ara in English - Literary prizes

New scandal in the literary world: a book written with AI has won a literary prize of 20,000 euros

Jordi Nopca — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:28:01 +0000

This Friday, the winning work of the first Almadía - Ventosa Arrufat International Short Novel Prize, endowed with 20,000 euros, for which 2,204 manuscripts were submitted, was to be presented in Madrid. The jury, made up of three renowned authors, Cristina Rivera Garza, Selva Almada, and Mónica Ojeda, had chosen Donde el agua trabaja, the first novel by the Peruvian lawyer David Silva Rojas (Ica, 1981).

The lost awards

Toni Sala — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:58:11 +0000

“It is no coincidence that this year they are giving the Planeta to a South American writer,” a literature teacher said to me the other day. She was right, with a million at stake, coincidences are difficult, and even more so if the presentation is made by the kings. They are not going to give a million to just anyone who walks by, and even less so for literary virtues.

Zombie writing

Toni Sala — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:08:38 +0000

From now on, that column will go from being weekly to every two weeks. Needless to say, I'm sorry to change it after more than a decade of consistent publication, but what can you do?

Agnès Marquès wins the Ramon Llull with a novel inspired by a viral news story

Jordi Nopca — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 11:44:22 +0000

"I'm still processing this milestone: I never would have thought that such an award could cross my path," he said this Friday at noon. Agnès Marquès Pujolar (Palma, 1979) during the press conference in which it was announced that she was the author chosen by the jury as the winner of the Ramon Llull 2026 prize, endowed with 60,000 euros. The Second Life of Geneva Vern It is the second novel by the journalist, who currently directs the program Catalonia night from Catalunya Ràdio and who debuted as a narrator with Nobody knows I'm here (Column, 2022). It will be published on February 25th in Column (and in Destino in Spanish).