For the strong commitment of her literature to social values and for her constant defence of books, reading and Intellectual Property.
Soledad Puértolas, winner of the Liber 2022 Award for the most outstanding Hispanic American author
The Board of Directors of the Spanish Federation of Publishers’ Guilds (FGEE) has recognised the writer from Zaragoza, Soledad Puértolas, with the Liber 2022 Award for the most outstanding Spanish-American author. With this award, the FGEE rewards the strong commitment of Puértolas’ literature to social values and her constant defence of books, reading and Intellectual Property.
Born in Zaragoza in 1947, Puértolas holds a degree in journalism and a Master’s degree in Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her literary production includes novels, short stories and essays, and she has written more than 40 books. In 2011, she presented the documentary “Esta es mi tierra. Guiada por el agua” on TVE; a literary space where the work of different authors was collected in order to relate it to the landscapes that have been the protagonists of their works. Since 2010, he has held the “g” chair in the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language.
Her literary work and her career in the cultural sector have been recognised with numerous awards, including the Premio de las Letras Aragonesas in 2003, the Premio de Cultura (Literature section) of the Comunidad de Madrid in 2008, the Gold Medal of the city of Zaragoza, the Premio José Antonio Labordeta de Literatura in 2019 and, in 2021, the Premio Búho de los Amigos del Libro and the Premio Averroes. In addition, her books have been translated into several languages.
Her works include the novel ‘El bandido doblemente armado’ (Sésamo Award 1979), ‘Queda la noche’ (Planeta Award 1989), ‘Cielo nocturno’ (2008), ‘Mi amor en vano’ (2012) and ‘Música de Opera’ (2019); her books of short stories include ‘Adiós a las novias’ (NH Prize 2000), ‘Compañeras de viaje’, ‘El fin’, ‘Chicos y chicas’ and, more recently, ‘Cuarteto’ (2021); the volumes of autobiographical texts ‘Recuerdos de otra persona’, ‘Imagen de Navarra’ and ‘Con mi madre’; and, within the essay genre, the works ‘La vida oculta’ (Anagrama Prize 1993), ‘Nostalgia de los demás’ (published by the University of Valladolid) and ‘Lúcida Melancolía’ (Baroja y yo Collection). She has also written stories for young people (‘La sombra de una noche’, ‘El recorrido de los animales’, ‘El desván de la casa grande’ and ‘El jardín de Ulises’) and has written a version of La Celestina in modern Spanish.
This award will be presented on 6 October at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), as part of the activities of Liber 2022. At the same event, the Liber Award for the Promotion of Reading in the Media will be presented, which this year has gone to Radio Nacional de España (RNE) in the person of Ignacio Elguero; the Liber Award for the best adaptation of a literary work to the feature film “Pan de limón con semillas de amapola”; the Liber Award for the best initiative to promote reading in libraries open to the public to the IES Isabel la Católica Library in Madrid; and the Boixareu Ginesta Award for bookseller of the year to Llibreria Ramon Llull in Valencia. In addition, a publisher will be honoured for his or her career in the world of books.
About Liber 2022
In its 40th edition, Liber, Europe’s leading professional event dedicated to books in Spanish, will bring together in Barcelona more than 350 publishers and companies from a dozen countries and expects 7,000 professionals to attend. The fair, which will take place from 5 to 7 October at the Gran Via exhibition centre, will once again bring together all the book sectors and will offer commercial opportunities, business meetings and professional contacts in both the national and international markets. At the same time, it will promote debate, knowledge and the exchange of experiences on the different areas related to books through its Professional Conferences. This year, Colombia will be the guest of honour.
Organised by Fira de Barcelona and the Federación de Gremios de Editores de España, Liber 2022 is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, ICEX Exports and Investments, CEDRO, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council and has the collaboration of Acción Cultural Española AC/E, the Gremi d’Editors de Catalunya and l’Associació d’Editors en Llengua Catalana.
Barcelona, 1 September 2022
Images of Soledad Puértolas available here
Gerardo Miguel
Press Officer FGEE
Tel: 915765250
prensa@fge.es
Maria Dolores Herranz / Gloria Dilluvio
Press Office Fira de Barcelona – Liber
Tel. 93 233 25 41 – 21 72
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com
gdilluvio@firabarcelona.com