Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja
Encyclopedia
The Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja is a Spanish literary prize
, awarded since 2001 by the publisher Plaza & Janés (subsidiary of Random House
) to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish (Castilian). It was created in 2001 by Ayuntamiento de Torrevieja
(City Government of Torrevieja) and the Spanish publisher Plaza & Janés, intended to bring local and international prestige to the seaside town from where it takes its name.
Financially, it is among the top most valuable literary prizes in the world, with the winner receiving €360,607 (more than $500,000 dollars as of September 2011). From 2004-2009 there was a runner up who was awarded €125,000; since 2009 there has been no secondary prize. The prize is awarded each year, usually in September, on a date set by the award's jury. The jury is always composed of Plaza & Jane's chief editor, Nuria Tey; the Mayor of the City of Torrevieja and a panel of writers and critics that change every year. Initially, the prize was going to be awarded every two years, but in 2003 it was changed to every year for a new, unpublished novel.
As most literary awards in Spain, the Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja is open to all Spanish-speaking authors in the world. The majority of competing manuscripts come mainly from Spain
and Latin America
, specifically Argentina
, Mexico
, Chile
and Colombia
. The readership of the prize is that of bestselling thrillers, crime
/detective
, mystery
and even political fiction
, and much of the marketing and promotion is jointly channelled through Spain's main retail store chain, El Corte Inglés
.
On October 2, 2009 the award was given for the first time to a novel written by two authors among more than 440 contesting novels from Spain, Latin America, Europe and the United States.
Literary award
A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...
, awarded since 2001 by the publisher Plaza & Janés (subsidiary of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
) to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish (Castilian). It was created in 2001 by Ayuntamiento de Torrevieja
Torrevieja
Torrevieja is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in south-eastern Spain.Torrevieja lies about 30 miles south of the city of Alicante and has a population of 104,000...
(City Government of Torrevieja) and the Spanish publisher Plaza & Janés, intended to bring local and international prestige to the seaside town from where it takes its name.
Financially, it is among the top most valuable literary prizes in the world, with the winner receiving €360,607 (more than $500,000 dollars as of September 2011). From 2004-2009 there was a runner up who was awarded €125,000; since 2009 there has been no secondary prize. The prize is awarded each year, usually in September, on a date set by the award's jury. The jury is always composed of Plaza & Jane's chief editor, Nuria Tey; the Mayor of the City of Torrevieja and a panel of writers and critics that change every year. Initially, the prize was going to be awarded every two years, but in 2003 it was changed to every year for a new, unpublished novel.
As most literary awards in Spain, the Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja is open to all Spanish-speaking authors in the world. The majority of competing manuscripts come mainly from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, specifically Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. The readership of the prize is that of bestselling thrillers, crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
/detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
, mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
and even political fiction
Political fiction
Political fiction is a subgenre of fiction that deals with political affairs. Political fiction has often used narrative to provide commentary on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction often "directly criticize an existing society or.....
, and much of the marketing and promotion is jointly channelled through Spain's main retail store chain, El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés S.A. , headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks fourth worldwide...
.
On October 2, 2009 the award was given for the first time to a novel written by two authors among more than 440 contesting novels from Spain, Latin America, Europe and the United States.
List of winners
Winners listed first, followed by runners up (only for 2004-2009).- 2011: Jordi Sierra i Fabra, Sombras en el tiempo
- 2010: Gustavo Martín Garzo, Tan cerca del aire
- 2009: Àlex Rovira & Francesc Miralles, La Última Respuesta
- Andrés Pascual, El guardián de la flor de loto
- 2008: Juan Gómez-JuradoJuan Gómez-JuradoJuan Gómez-Jurado is an award-winning Spanish journalist and bestselling author. Currently, he is a columnist in "La Voz de Galicia," and "ABC", distributed in Spain, and he participates in several radio and TV programs...
, El Emblema del Traidor (The Traitor's EmblemThe Traitor's EmblemThe Traitor's Emblem is a 2011 bestselling thriller novel by Juan Gómez-Jurado originally published in Spain. It has become an instant bestseller throughout Europe with more a million copies sold to date, topping the bestsellers list for weeks, and is being translated into 45 languages. The plot is...
)- Alejandro Palomas, El Secreto de los Hoffman
- 2007: José Carlos SomozaJosé Carlos SomozaJosé Carlos Somoza is a Spanish author born on November 13, 1959 in Havana, Cuba. In 1960 his family moved to Spain after being exiled for political reasons...
, La Llave del Abismo- Juan Cobos Wilkins, El Mar Invisible
- 2006: Jorge BucayJorge BucayJorge Bucay is a gestalt psychotherapist, psychodramatist, and writer from Argentina. His books have sold more than 2 million copies around the world, and have been translated into more than seventeen languages....
, El Candidato- Ignacio García-Valiño, Querido Caín
- 2005: César VidalCésar Vidal ManzanaresCésar Vidal Manzanares is a Spanish radio host, historian and author. He hosts La Linterna in Cadena COPE since 2004. A lawyer turned historian and then by request of his friend and host of La Mañana he became the host of La Linterna which currently is the second most popular radio show of Cadena...
, Los Hijos de la Luz- José Calvo Poyato, La Orden Negra
- 2004: Zoé ValdésZoé ValdésZoé Valdés is a Cuban writer.She studied in the Instituto Superior Pedagógico Enrique José Varona, but never graduated. From 1984 to 1988, she worked at the Delegación de Cuba in UNESCO in Paris, and in the Oficina Cultural de la Misión de Cuba in Paris. From 1990 to 1995, she was an editor of the...
, La Eternidad del Instante- Javier SierraJavier SierraJavier Sierra Albert is a journalist, writer and researcher who studied journalism at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. He is editor consultant of the monthly magazine Más Allá de la Ciencia distributed in Spain and Latin America and he participates in several radio and television programs...
, La Cena Secreta (The Secret SupperThe Secret SupperThe Secret Supper is a thriller novel written by Javier Sierra. The original Spanish title was La Cena Secreta, winner of the 2004 Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja literary award, one of the richest literary prizes in the world. The English translation by Alberto Manguel was published in...
)
- Javier Sierra
- 2003: Juan José Armas Marcelo, Casi Todas las Mujeres
- 2002: (no award)
- 2001: Javier Reverte, La Noche Detenida