“They have offered me French nationality but it is impossible because I am a Spanish writer and I will be one”

The playwright Fernando Arrabal has been recognized with the Zenda Honor Award 2023-2024 in the first edition of awards that praise literary and editorial work and the promotion of reading during the literary season. “They have offered me French nationality but it is impossible because I am a Spanish writer and I will always be one,” has stated.

This was stated by the 92-year-old poet, also within the framework of the ceremony for the presentation of the first edition of the awards sponsored by Iberdrola, Telefónica and Banco Santander. Held at the Royal Tapestry Factory of Madridhas been presented by the journalist Jesús Vigorra and the writer Espido Freire.

Arturo Pérez-Reverte received the award winners and more than three hundred attendees, among them the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeidaand the Minister of the Presidency and Relations with the Cortes, Felix Bolaños. “Rarely have so many come together. We celebrate the ninth anniversary of Zenda, a cooperative of efforts, a territory of friends and books. For years we have dreamed of recognizing the talent of writers, editors and booksellers. These are real awards with a very high jury that we hope will remain in the future,” he noted.

In this first edition, they have also been recognized Leticia CostasZenda Children’s and Youth Award for his book ‘Seven Dandelions’ (Nordic); Maria SanchezZenda Poetry Prize for ‘Fuego la sed’ (La Bella Varsovia); Xavier PlaZenda Award for ‘A Furtive Heart’ (Destino); and Cristina Gómez BaggethunZenda Translation Award for his work on ‘Complete Poetry’ (volumes I and II), by Jon Fosse, published in Sexto Piso. The Zenda History Prize has gone to Fernando del Rey and Manuel Álvarez Tardío by ‘Crossfire’ (Galaxy Gutenberg).

Loquillo and part of his band have entertained the halfway point of the gala to give way to the following winners: the Visor label, Zenda Editorial Award; the recently deceased artist Camila Cañeque, Zenda Opera Prima award for ‘The Last Phrase’ (The Broken Nail) which was collected by her parents Montse and Ramón; and the Gil bookstore, Zenda Librería award. The Zenda Innovation Award has gone to the narrator Jorge Carrión and Leila Guerriero has received the Zenda Narrative Award 2023-2024 for ‘The Call’ (Anagrama).

The Zenda-Edhasa Special Prize, awarded by the publishers of the label and linked to the Zenda-Edhasa Adventure Classics collection, has gone to Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau, painter and cover designer of the collection, to whom David Summers has presented the trophy. , singer of Hombres G, and María José Solano, co-editor of Zenda-Edhasa.

The ‘zendas’ are statuettes designed specifically for the occasion. The jury was made up of journalists, critics and writers such as Guillermo Altares, Nuria Azancot, Pepa Blanes, Laura Barrachina, Jesús García Calero, Antonio Lucas, Alberto Olmos, Cristina Rivera Garza, Santos Sanz Villanueva, Sergio Vila-Sanjuán and Álvaro Colomer and Leandro Pérez as secretary and coordinator of the jury, respectively.