|
Spain is home to more than 1,600 literary competitions, many sponsored by publishing houses or small municipalities. Prize money ranges from a nominal 300 euros (₤200) to the far from nominal 601,000 euros (₤400,000) of the Premio Planeta.
In the case of the National Literature Prizes (Premios Nacionales) awarded each year by Spain’s Ministry of Culture, a jury is responsible for choosing the best Spanish writer in categories including poetry, essays, fiction and narrative. The Ministry’s flagship award, however, is the Premio Cervantes, a prize of international renown, which recognises a lifetime's achievement by a writer working in the Spanish language. In 2006 the recipient was the poet Antonio Gamoneda.
In 2006, the Ministry of Culture has also granted the following awards:
 National Prize of Spanish Literature to Raúl Guerra Garrido.
National Literature Prize for Narrative to Ramiro Pinilla (Las cenizas del hierro).
National Literature Prize for Children and Young Adults to Fernando Marías (Cielo abajo).
National Literature Prize for Drama to Santiago Martín Bermúdez (Las gradas de San Felipe y empeño de la lealtad).
National Literature Prize for Essay to Celia Amorós (La gran diferencia y sus pequeñas consecuencias... para la lucha de las mujeres).
National Literature Prize for Poetry to José Manuel Caballero Bonald (Manual de infracciones).
A further raft of awards are the “Premios de la Crítica”, conferred annually by the Spanish Association of Literary Critics. These awards recognise the finest literary works, narrative and poetry, published in Spain's four official languages; Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque. A jury nominated by the association announces the awards each April. The Premios de la Critica, though highly prestigious, carry no financial reward, enhancing reputations rather than bank balances.
This year, the Spanish language awards went to the poet Julia Uceda for her work “Zona desconocida” and the novelist Eduardo Lago for “Llámame Brooklyn.” The Basque language prizes went to Jon Alonso and Koldo Izaguirre; Eduard Márquez and Ponc Pons received the Catalan language prizes, while Manuel Rivas for “Os libros arden mal” and Manuel Vilanova gained the recognition for their works in Galician language.
In Spain, publishing houses as well as foundations and trusts run their own literary competitions. A number of them are listed below:
|
