A little over three years ago, in 2019, Manual Villas (Barbastro, 1962) surprised readers with a bold self-appointment as a planet finalist, followed by an equally surprising Move with Cercas and his novel Alegría, echoing the success of his acclaimed Ordesa. The Aragonese writer continues climbing editorial ladders within the publishing group that welcomed him after Penguin Random House shifted, securing top position in a Christmas prize. The prize’s significance follows Planet Stratosphere in financial terms, as the event restarts the gala dinner at the Palace Hotel after the pandemic, returning to a formal celebration with increased donations to 30,000 euros.
Thus the tradition resumes as new winners are announced: Vilas, whose novel needs no introduction, joins the ranks with an acclaimed work. The Catalan prize, awarded during the Three Kings Day proceedings, reached its 55th edition this year. Gemma Ventura Farre, author of La llei de l’hivern, writes as a cultural correspondent for the digital magazine Catorze and has just published her first novel. The event attracts a spectrum of authors connected to Planeta and last year’s winner Inés Martín Rodrigo, alongside Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona; Minister of Culture Natàlia Garriga; First Deputy Mayor Jaume Collboni; and Minister of Culture Jordi Martí.
handle the absence
The shared thread of both novels is the theme of death and how loss is confronted. Vilas presents La enamora under the pen name Emily Watson, tracing the story of Irene, a modern woman confronted with the death of her husband, whom she believed she shared her life with. In Nadal’s Da del viento, the protagonist refuses to turn the page after a loss, a voyage that unfolds along a cruise on the Mediterranean coast. The narrative unfolds through memory and associative thoughts that reconstruct a life with the departed.
Vilas has long balanced poetry and prose, and his fear, once confessed after turning sixty, seems now tempered in craft. His recent poetry collection, Una sola vida, signals a matured control of voice. Earlier works like Rome delved into confessional themes that elevated his profile, while Kissess told a tale set in the early prison months, a fiction about unconventional love. Nadal’s work explores emotion and loneliness with increasing boldness, and the award ceremony included remarks about how this recognition ties to the country’s literary tradition, a lineage celebrated by figures such as Carmen Laforet, Miguel Delibes, and others who shaped national letters.
Vilas’s connection with Nadal echoes through the landscape of contemporary relationships in the literary world. In 2020, shortly after the pandemic was declared, Nadal’s partner Ana Merino also won the same prize, highlighting a rare moment when both members of a couple receive the award. The moment is often likened to rare parallel wins in other high-profile fields, underscoring how intertwined life and art can be.
A lyrical Josep Pla
Gemma Ventura’s The Law of Winter receives continued attention in her Catorze magazine articles, where her essays, written under the pseudonym Laura Vallclarà, weave lyric imagery with narrative depth. The novel centers on a girl devoted to caring for her grandfather in a fictional rural setting, a story that invites readers to consider how memories and imagination can keep those who are gone present. The work examines how storytelling can become a shelter from loss and a means to honor the living by keeping their memories vivid.
Ventura, a primary school teacher and avid traveler from Terrassa, turned to writing after meeting Eva Piquer, founder of Catorze on a stage in Liverpool, who encouraged her to contribute. Nadal’s prize-winning novel also broadened its donation to ten thousand euros this year, reflecting how the award welcomes a range of genres, including memoirs and journalistic pieces as valid contenders.