Under the vaulted ceilings of the Lonja de la Seda, actress and writer Elvira Mínguez expressed her emotion and surprise at receiving the Primavera Novel Prize. The event, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, took place in the Salón Columnario, a space that also commemorates in 2026 the 30th anniversary of its declaration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The winning novel, La educación del monstruo, addresses themes such as the traces of the past, family silences, and the need to reconstruct memory. Mínguez, who is also a director and screenwriter, was accompanied by writer Nativel Preciado and actress Anabel Alonso. During the conversation, she reflected on what she calls the 'impostor syndrome' for feeling like a writer with only two published novels, although her main desire is "to tell stories".
“"All human beings by default have flaws. The times we live in are a demonstration of this. In this era, a series of tremendous "scoundrels" have fallen upon us who are moving everything to do evil. But the worrying thing is that a man like Trump has been voted for by more than 74 million people."
The event was presided over by the mayor of València, María José Catalá, who highlighted literature's ability to help better understand the world. She emphasized that the Lonja, the greatest exponent of civil Gothic architecture in the city and a symbol of València's cultural and economic flourishing during its Golden Age, is an ideal setting to host one of the great awards of Spanish literature.
The mayor thanked the promoters of this award, the publishing house Espasa and Ámbito Cultural de El Corte Inglés, for choosing València as the venue for the event, and took the opportunity to champion the role of all those who make the book ecosystem possible, from editors to readers. The Primavera Prize, endowed with 100,000 euros, has consolidated its importance with a recognizable list of winners including names such as Rosa Montero, Lorenzo Silva, Juan Manuel de Prada, Vanessa Montfort, Pedro Simón, and Valencians Lucía Etxebarría and Máximo Huerta.
The jury for this edition, chaired by Carme Riera and composed of Antonio Soler, Nativel Preciado, Gervasio Posadas, and David Cebrián, selected La educación del monstruo from among 1,590 original manuscripts. Mínguez's novel stood out for its ability to articulate an intimate story against a historical backdrop such as emigration to Germany in the 1960s, exploring the transmission of trauma and family secrets.
