The awards for the fifth edition of the Ventosa-Arrufat and Elena Poniatowska Amor Foundation Ibero-American Short Story and Novel Contest were awarded yesterday at the institution’s headquarters.
The ceremony brought together the award-winning authors and representatives of the contest, including Felipe Haro, director of the venue; Basilio Rodríguez Cañada, editor and member of the jury, and Jorge Ortega Arroyo, general director of Ventosa-Arrufat.
The winners received recognition and monetary incentives, in addition to the publication of their works by Sial Pigmalión in conjunction with the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla.
Both the winning novel, The chimerist, by Alfonso Suárez Romero, like the anthology Like the birds that migrate in the night, which brings together 10 distinguished stories, will be presented tomorrow at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL).
The chimerist addresses the body as a territory of power through prose that combines black humor and surgical precision. In short, first place went to José Manuel Higes López (Spain) with “The dimensions and my father”; the second, for Alan Heiblum Robles (Mexico) for “The Temptations of Leonora”, and the third for Cristóbal Manuel González Apanco (Mexico) with “The Cries of the Smoke”.
Recognized for special selection were Víctor David Manzo Ozeda (“The Flower and the Satellite”), Humberto Mendoza Fuentes (“The Night of the Insomniacs or the Invisible Inhabitants”), Federico Gonzalo Ferroggiaro (“What is Scandinavian tends to be secret”), Federico Weyland (“What I am going to do”), Adrián Esteban Roldán Ortiz (“Lying is like cutting your toenails”), Zaría Abreu Flores (“My words”). They will accompany you”) and Édgar Tirado (“Dead Skin”).
Felipe Haro highlighted that, five years after its creation, “the contest has established itself as a relevant platform for new Ibero-American voices. Since 2020, it has received 5,253 participants, including 1,718 novels and 3,535 stories, and has awarded 54 authors from 12 countries.
“Its presence in 16 national and six foreign fairs, including the FIL in Guadalajara, Minería and New York, as well as in the Madrid and Lisbon fairs, has made it a starting point for outstanding literary careers.”
During the ceremony, recognitions were also presented to the organizing committee; Among those honored was Javier Aranda Luna, collaborator of The Day, for his contribution “to the cultural work that supports initiatives like this contest.”
Haro announced that this will be the last edition in which the Ventosa-Arrufat civil society participates in its current formation, although he emphasized that “the contest will continue, motivated by the concern to continue generating seedbeds and new authors.”
The jury was made up of specialists from Spain, Mexico, Argentina and the United States, with the purpose of guaranteeing a transparent and uncompromising process: “may the real author really win,” the organizers stressed.
Likewise, they reiterated their commitment to the distribution of the books in Mexico, abroad and on the American continent to expand the reach of the award-winning works.