Anidan minerales’, by Julia Viejo, wins the V International Poetry Prize ‘Ciudad de Estepona’.

The poet from Madrid wins with an “imaginative and forceful work that shows originality in the everyday”, according to the jury. The literary contest, which has reached a new record with more than 2,300 participants, is organized by the City Council of Estepona and has a prize of 7,000 euros and the publication of the work in Pre-Textos.

The City Council of Estepona informs that the V International Poetry Prize ‘Ciudad de Estepona’ has been awarded to the work ‘Anidan minerales’, by the author Julia Viejo Sanchez from Madrid. This literary contest, organized by the Consistory, has established itself as one of the most important at national level, both for the participation and for the economic endowment. The winning work receives 7,000 euros and will be published by Pre-Textos, one of the most renowned publishers in the Spanish language.

The members of the jury emphasized that ‘Anidan minerales’ “is an imaginative and forceful book, without renouncing a lyricism that shows originality in the everyday, it takes a narrative form in search of knowledge. It offers a critical and unprejudiced contemporary vision”.
The jury, which chose the winning work by majority vote, was made up of Ana Merino, Carlos Marzal, Ana Fernández-Villaverde (La Bien Querida), Sofía Castañón, Carlos Pardo, Marta Fernández and Manuel Borrás.

The mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano, has highlighted the consolidation of this literary award that was born with the vocation of permanence and continues to increase the interest of authors in Spanish not only from all over Spain, but also from many countries around the world. On this occasion a new record number of participants has been reached with a total of 2,321 works submitted.

The councilor has argued that the growth that the city has experienced in recent years has also been reflected in the cultural field, “with a firm commitment to promote culture in all its artistic expressions, and to link the name of the city to cultural projects of relevance. At the same time we wanted to recognize and encourage literary creation through various awards and competitions that have been launched, such as the International Poetry Prize and the Novel Prize ‘Ciudad de Estepona’. Along with this, it has designed a program of activities and cultural meetings that have brought to Estepona important names of letters.”

“In addition,” adds García Urbano, “the city has been provided with new spaces for culture such as the Mirador del Carmen, a unique building that has exhibition halls, an auditorium for events, a conservatory and a seven-story library that is a national benchmark. This Library of Contemporary Cultures also has an outstanding program of activities that keeps these facilities alive throughout the year with literary presentations, workshops, reading clubs and conferences”.

On the occasion of the announcement of the winning work, various activities have been organized to take place this evening, starting at 8 p.m., in the Felipe VI Auditorium. This is the case of the dialogue, moderated by journalist and writer Marta Fernández, which will be held by Miguel Poveda, Laura García Lorca and Carlos Pardo. The event will close with a concert by Martirio & Raúl Rodríguez.

The finalist books in this V International Poetry Prize ‘City of Estepona’ have been: ‘Last witnesses’, ‘Notebook of inventions’, ‘Penumbra of me at night’, ‘Nest minerals’, ‘Alia’, ‘Briznas de hierba’, ‘The crazy watchmaker’ and ‘The night school’. Of these works, ‘Últimos testigos’, ‘Cuaderno de inventos’ and ‘Anidan minerales’ reached the last ballot, with the work of the author from Madrid winning by majority.

Julia Viejo was born in Madrid in 1981. She has published in Blackie Books the book of short stories ‘En la celda había una luciérnaga’ (2022) and the novel ‘Mala estrella’ (2024). She has participated in short story anthologies such as ‘Una Navidad así’ (Tusquets, 2024). She is also editor of two poetry anthologies by Gloria Fuertes: ‘Lo que pasa es que te quiero’ (2023) and ‘La gente corre tanto’ (2024). She is also translator of books such as ‘Cometa rojo: arte incandescente y vida fugaz de Sylvia Plath’ (Bamba editorial, 2023).