Seville-born writer Silvia Hidalgo wins the XIX Tusquets Prize with a novel that threads intimate psychology into the rhythm of modern life
In Seville, Silvia Hidalgo stands as a bold new voice. Her novel, Nothing to Say, carried off the XIX Tusquets Prize, awarded with a prize of 18,000 euros and a bronze figurine crafted by Joaquín Camps. The work traces a woman wrestling with deep inner conflicts while the world around her moves at a relentless pace, highlighting a precise balance between inner life and external pressure.
Out of 672 submissions, Hidalgo’s manuscript emerged as a candid, emotionally potent portrait of desire and longing. Critics describe it as a stark, heartful examination of how a person endures a personal crisis shaped by social expectations, home routines, and a fascination with what lies beyond the permitted. The jury underscored the novel’s emotional honesty and its fearless look at vulnerability amid ambitious, contemporary lives.
The jury was chaired by Antonio Orejudo, with Bárbara Blasco, Eva Cosculluela, Cristina Araujo, the previous edition’s winner, and editor Juan Cerezo forming the panel. Hidalgo has spoken openly about her unlikely path to literature, noting a background in computer engineering before literature claimed her attention. Her lifelong love for fiction and storytelling shapes a view of writing as a powerful catalyst for future projects.
Hidalgo has described her writing process as intuitive. She recalls not consciously drafting the novel, yet when she revisited the manuscript, the prose became intensely sensorial and deeply rooted in emotions that previously felt difficult to face. She suggests that resentment, the urge for revenge, anger, jealousy, and other potent feelings can surface from vulnerability, and that this openness often reveals a kind of beauty. The protagonist’s journey leads back to a simpler, purer sense of self, discovered through confrontation with discomfort.
The plot follows a Seville woman waiting in a car for her ex-husband to pick up their daughter. A distraction from her phone invites a charged encounter with a stranger, shifting attention from motherhood, domestic duties, and work to raw, consuming desire. The moment becomes a test of balance as the woman confronts the lure of the forbidden and the illusion of happiness. The narrative probes how a person might escape a mirage of contentment only to face a more unsettling truth about unhealthy attachments.
The story further develops through a perilous entanglement with the ex-husband’s manager, portrayed as a manipulative figure who embodies danger. The tension grows as the heroine faces a chasm of control and dependency, marking a collision between longing and precarious power dynamics.
Bárbara Blasco highlighted Hidalgo’s ability to capture the drift of love in postmodern times, noting a shift that feels decisive for the era. The author’s stylistic choices drew praise for linguistic audacity. Eva Cosculluela remarked on a voice that is brazen and unapologetically sharp, resisting sentimentality. Hidalgo explained that she initially considered a first person perspective but ultimately placed the narrator in dialogue with the heroine, creating dynamic tension that drives the story. Editor Juan Cerezo compared Hidalgo to Marguerite Duras, describing scenes that unsettle and emotions that linger, calling the writing fluid and brilliant and noting its lasting impact.
The author, born in Seville in 1978, continues to live and write in the city. Hidalgo identifies as a computer engineer, a mother, a film enthusiast, and an avid reader. Her previously published novels include Grow Bangs (Mother’s Love, 2016) and I Lie (Transit, 2021), works that have helped establish her distinctive voice in contemporary Spanish literature.
When asked about literary influences, Hidalgo spoke of an altar of desquiciadas, a kind of homage to writers who portray female protagonists who endure violence and resist it. She cites Elfriede Jelinek, Ariana Harwicz, Olga Tokarczuk, María Fernanda Ampuero, and Marguerite Duras as inspirations, explaining that this lineage shapes a narrative universe focused on female agency and resilience in the face of discomfort and risk. In interviews and public appearances, Hidalgo emphasizes depicting women who confront pain head-on, aiming to resonate with readers beyond Spain. [Cited: Tusquets Prize remarks and author interviews]