The Royal Spanish Academy’s General Assembly has confirmed the winner of its nineteenth edition of the literary prize, awarded for a work first published in the two years prior to the prize cycle. The selection process involved a panel of scholars and fellow editors, with nominations submitted by noted literary figures and critics who sit within the academic circles surrounding modern Spanish literature. The prize carries a substantial financial award of twenty thousand euros and recognizes a work that brings new energy and texture to contemporary narrative without recourse to previously released material, even when a revised edition is later issued. [citation: RAE 19th edition prize committee]
Alien (Alfaguara) is described as a novel set within an aging country estate that follows Angie as she revisits a long-ago love affair in London during the era associated with Margaret Thatcher, while spectral memories complicate her present. A forthcoming regional event is framed as a catalyst that pushes Angie to unearth family secrets long buried, weaving personal history with a sense of place that intensifies the mystery surrounding the estate. The narrative voice emphasizes memory, inheritance, and the ways in which past choices reverberate through generations. [citation: Alfaguara publication details]
Olga Merino, born in Barcelona in 1965, has published works that include Cenizas Rojas, Espuelas de papel, and Dogs barking in the basement. In addition to her fiction, she regularly contributes to El Periódico, a major Iberian press outlet, with daily writings that mirror the diary format of her recent book Five Winters. Her journalistic work drew on experiences as a correspondent in Moscow, enriching her prose with a journalist’s eye for detail, atmosphere, and social texture. These diverse experiences inform a body of work marked by keen observation and a vivid sense of place. [citation: author bibliography]
Across eleven nominations, each supported by multiple scholars from the Royal Spanish Academy or associated academies, and including a prior prize winner among the nominators, the slate featured representatives from Spain, with several participants from the Americas and other regions. The distribution highlighted the cross-border appeal of contemporary Spanish-language literature, with contributors reflecting a broad spectrum of cultural and geographic backgrounds. The prize lineups underscore the continuous dialogue between national literary traditions and international voices, illustrating how storytelling travels across borders while maintaining a distinctly local sensibility. [citation: nomination overview]