Aena Literature Prize Announces Five Finalists for Million-Euro Award

The Aena Narrative Prize, a new literary award with a one-million-euro endowment, has revealed its five finalists. The initiative was launched by Aena president Maurici Lucena and writer Rosa Montero as part of the company's Social Sustainability strategy, aiming to strengthen the book ecosystem across Spanish-speaking communities on both sides of the Atlantic. Rosa Montero chairs the jury, which includes notable literary figures such as Pilar Adón, Luis Alberto de Cuenca, Jorge Fernández Díaz, Leila Guerriero, José Carlos Llop, and Élmer Mendoza, with Sergio Vila-Sanjuán and Jesús García Calero serving as secretaries. The final decision will be announced on April 8 in Barcelona following an international preselection process and multiple voting rounds. The five shortlisted works represent diverse contemporary narrative voices: Colombian author Héctor Abad Faciolince's 'Ahora y en la hora,' which addresses war and its moral consequences; Chilean writer Nona Fernández's 'Marciano,' exploring memory and fiction in recent national history; Spanish author Marcos Giralt Torrente's 'Los ilusionistas,' examining family memory and writing; Argentine writer Samanta Schweblin's 'El buen mal,' where unsettling elements disrupt daily life; and Spanish author Enrique Vila-Matas's 'Canon de cámara oscura,' a literary reflection on reading and personal canon formation. Beyond the monetary prize, Aena will purchase at least 5,000 copies of each finalist and winning work, with a maximum expenditure of 1,404,000 euros, for distribution to company employees and municipalities where Aena operates, to be placed in educational centers, libraries, cultural spaces, or other appropriate locations. The project has institutional support from the Gabo Foundation and the Vargas Llosa Chair, enhancing its international reach. This cultural intervention aims to integrate selected works into contemporary critical discourse and establish them as references within Spanish-language narrative genres.