Elvira Roca Barea, the renowned Málaga writer, was awarded the 2023 Spring Novel Award for her novel Witches and the Inquisitor. The jury noted that the book revisits a historic moment by exploring the enigmatic period of the Spanish Inquisition, bringing a lyrical and rigorous reconstruction to readers in Madrid when the prize was announced.
The Spring Novel Award carries a prize of 100,000 euros and is organized by the publishing house Ámbito Cultural, part of Espasa, in collaboration with El Corte Inglés. This year’s edition attracted a wide field, with a total of 1,335 manuscripts submitted from Spain and Latin America, illustrating the strong interest across the Spanish-speaking world in both traditional storytelling and insightful historical narratives.
Elvira Roca Barea is also known for her essays, including Imperiophobia and the Black Myth. Her academic journey spans a degree in Classical Philology and Hispanic Philology, complemented by a PhD in Medieval Literature. Beyond the written page, she has built a career in education, teaching at the high school level and sharing Latin and Greek language instruction, as well as courses on Spanish literature and the broader Hispanic world history, at various universities in the Americas and Europe. This breadth of experience informs her meticulous approach to historical fiction, combining scholarly insight with narrative dexterity to illuminate complex periods for contemporary readers.