Vila-real today presented the XXIX Maig Award – Pasqual Batalla Memorial, an edition that has broken participation records with 72 original submissions in the short narrative category and 41 in the novella category, practically double that of the previous year.
The novella award recognized Jaume Benavente for El carreró de la serp. The work proposes a journey to the most authentic Tokyo, far from tourist routes, delving into the neighborhoods where people live and capturing the loneliness shared by its characters, who are modest and seemingly unsuccessful.
In short narrative, the award went to Evelyn Megías for Lliçó d’astronomia domèstica. The narrative uses the imminent solar eclipse as a parallel to a character's state of mind, masterfully playing with ambivalence and turning the reading into a creative act where the reader formulates their own hypotheses.
The awards ceremony, organized by the Department of Linguistic Normalization with the collaboration of the Associació Cultural El Guitarró, was held this Saturday at the Gran Casino. The prize money for the short story is 600 euros, while the novella prize has increased from 2,400 to 3,000 euros, including publication by Editorial Bromera.
The novella jury included writers such as Anna Moner and Núria Cadenes, editor Carol Borràs, writer Carles Lluch, and philologist Enric Portalés. The short narrative jury comprised the councilor for Linguistic Normalization, Santi Cortells; technicians Carme Martí and Elena Chiva; AC El Guitarró representative, Pasqual Broch, and writer Vicent Usó.
Santi Cortells highlighted the increase in novella participation as a sign of the award's growing recognition among writers and the rise in the average quality of submissions, which encourages them to persevere for the prestige of the language.
The event, part of the festivities in honor of Sant Pasqual, was hosted by Vicent Usó. He emphasized the awards' consolidation, evidenced by the track record of winners like Jaume Benavente, and their role as a platform for new voices, as demonstrated by the youth of Evelyn Megías.
