Record number of registrations for the literary prizes and award ceremony
One hundred and ninety-two works have been accepted in this year's short story, poetry and novel contest. The jury's decision will be announced next 28 May.
Participation in this year's literary awards has increased greatly. The deadline for entries closed in February and a total of 192 original works were submitted, of which 82 in the novel category, 85 in the poetry category and 25 in the short story category. These figures are the highest since 2002, when the organisers - the town council and the UAB - decided to merge their respective contests and offer a joint contest.
This year awards include the 15th "Caterina Albert" Short Narrative Prize for Young People, worth 500 euros; the 29th "Miquel Martí i Pol" Poetry Prize, worth 1,000 euros; and the 30th "Valldaura -Memorial Pere Calders" Novel Prize, worth 3,000 euros.
At present, the members of the jury of each award are reviewing the works and their verdict will be announced on 28 May at 4 p.m., at the awards ceremony to be held in the Auditorium of the UAB Faculty of Arts & Humanities. The event will be attended by Javier Lafuente Sancho, rector of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Rosa María Sebastián, vice-rector of Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship of the UAB; and Margarita Freixas i Alás, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Humanities of the UAB. On behalf of the Cerdanyola City Council, the event will be attended by Carlos Cordón, mayor of the Cerdanyola del Vallès City Council; and David González Chanca, councilor of Culture, Communication and EMD of Bellaterra of the Cerdanyola del Vallès City Council.
The event will be recorded and streamed live on the UAB's YouTube Channel.
Tributes to Àngel Guimerà and Maria-Mercè Marçal
En aquesta línia, els assistents a l’acte de lliurament de premis podran gaudir d’una actuació dedicada a l’obra The organisation wishes to pay tribute in this edition to Àngel Guimerà (1845-1924), Catalan playwright with the greatest international projection and one of the greatest poets of Catalonia's 19th century, coinciding with the centenary of his death and the commemoration of the Guimerà Year by the Ministry for Culture of the Government of Catalonia. In fact, the Cerdanyola City Council had already paid tribute to the 100th anniversary of the death of Àngel Guimerà in its 23rd Reading Marathon, which took place on 23 April for Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day). Thus, those attending the awards ceremony will be able to enjoy a performance dedicated to the work of Guimerà, as well as a performance by the UAB Chamber Choir, directed by Poire Vallvé.
The ceremony will also pay homage to the work of poet and feminist activist Maria-Mercè Marçal (1952-1998), through the poetic recital of Marçal sentida, which will be performed by Sofia Oliva Sabater, predoctoral researcher in Greek Philology at the UAB, and Laia Solé Moreno, student of Fine Arts at the UB.