Four Alicante authors are in the running for Valencia Literary Critics’ prizes. Ramón Bascuñana, with Anotaciones a pie de página; Pedro Serrano, with Pájaros; and Natxo Vidal, with 106 palabras, have been selected in the poetry category. José Luis Zerón’s A salto de mata enters the running in the essay and criticism category. The jury’s decision for the 43rd edition will be announced on May 18.
Convoked by the Valencian Association of Writers and Literary Critics and sponsored by Rambleta, the awards recognize the best works published during the year just completed, as judged by Valencia’s literary critics. Like other national or regional literary prizes, this prize carries no monetary endowment. Once the winners are revealed, the ceremony date will be announced; the award ceremony will take place at Rambleta during the last two weeks of October.
Juries are appointed in three thirds: representatives from cultural institutions, critics working in the press, or scholars active in university literary research, all of whom are based in the Valencian Community. Their names remain confidential until the meeting day when the winner is announced. The prizes are chaired by critic José Vicente Peiró, and the secretary is Elia Saneleuterio Temporal, a chair professor at the University of Valencia.
Alcoy’s presence
In the poetry category, three Alicante writers have been named by Valencia’s Critics. The first is Ramón Bascuñana, whose book Anotaciones a pie de página seeks to forge a link between word and silence. His lines encapsulate the essence of poetry as a metapoetic meditation on blank space and the textual act, what is said, what is insinuated, and what is intuited. Poetry as a reflection on being and presence within the poem.
Second is Pedro Serrano, formerly a member of Ediciones Frutos del Tiempo’s Editorial Council and a recipient of the Information newspaper’s Importantes prize in 2003. He now aims for Pájaros to be recognized as the finest Valencian poetry manuscript by the critics in this year’s assessment.
The final nominee in poetry is Natxo Vidal from Monóver, who has set a clear goal with his collection 106 palabras: to say as little as possible without saying too little, to avoid overshadowing what follows, to stay true to the moment without appearing insufficient. The book is designed to land precisely in its own right, balancing restraint and expression.
In the essay category, José Luis Zerón is also nominated with A salto de mata. Fragmentos de un diario (2008-2016). A kind of catchall that gathers cultural reflections, assorted notes, and meaningful personal details, revealing how his life has intertwined with his thinking and writing.