buying a book
In a year when the Planeta Prize drew unprecedented attention, the publishing group disclosed that more than 200,846 novels were submitted in a bid to set an absolute record for the prize. José Creuheras, head of the Grupo Planeta, highlighted this milestone on the eve of the award decision, underscoring the prize’s status as the world’s best endowed literary honor with a prize of one million euros to the winner and two hundred thousand to the finalist.
Jury president Juan Eslava Galán prepared to announce the decision that night, with the lineup reflecting a strong tilt toward historical fiction and noir, even as other themes such as costume settings and Civil War narratives appeared within a diverse field. The finalists were settled after one entry already had prior publication, reducing the usual ten to a single round of ten stories shaped into this year’s final collection.
Galán noted how the historical novel spans a broad temporal spectrum—from the 1960s to the early Christian era—mirroring the sweeping scope of a detective tale. Within this mix, a distinct thread of social storytelling emerges, one that probes contemporary life and especially the empowerment of women as it unfolds in modern society.
Creuheras added that the Planeta Prize’s long history of selling millions of copies—from its founding days to the present—confirms its enduring mission to illuminate literature that resonates broadly with readers around the world.
Finalists include a fictional biography of Frida Kahlo and Marilyn Monroe authored by José Manuel Mata Muñoz; Feathers and Sand, a gripping political intrigue; the story of María Magdalena, depicted as an independent woman navigating the male-dominated world; and a narrative exploring the dynamics of a partner’s affair told from a fresh, candid perspective. Other entries delve into deception across vast distances with over 7,000 miles of journey in a traditional noir mood, while Up the River chronicles the colonial era in Louisiana during the 18th century.
Nazism also surfaces in two works, The Führer’s Weaknesses and The Harpist, with the former following a Jewish veterinarian who experiments with German shepherds under Hitler’s regime and the latter weaving a tale of intrigue linked to Nazi power.
The jury is composed of José Manuel Blecua, Fernando Delgado, Juan Eslava Galán, Pere Gimferrer, Carmen Posadas, Rosa Regàs, and Belén López. Their collective mandate is to sift through a vast field of submissions and select stories that not only entertain but also illuminate the human condition in compelling ways.
buying a book
The president of Grupo Planeta remarked that seven out of ten readers purchase books from bookstores, with reading activity trending upward and a notable 76 percent of Spaniards reading regularly, typically about one book per month, a pattern especially evident among younger readers.
Jesús Badenes, director of the Planeta Bookstore space, observed that since the onset of the pandemic, book buying behavior has shown resilience. In neighboring markets, growth between fifteen and twenty-five percent has become a common theme, with Spain reporting a solid sixteen percent increase in such activity across the period analyzed.
Planeta’s leadership supported government cultural measures, including a cultural bonus and efforts to simplify its claiming process, aiming to secure for books a central place in cultural life. Badenes also noted that while piracy has not retreated as sharply as in France or Germany, it has not surged either, signaling a stable pattern in the current environment.