The 10 novels nominated for the 2016 Planeta Award

The next October 15, during a literary dinner at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, in Barcelona, ​​will be held the 65th edition of the Planeta Awards, the second most gifted literary award in the world after the Nobel Prize for Literature. An occasion for which the jury has already selected the 10 novels nominated for the 2016 Planeta Award from more than 552 originals from around the world.

Planeta Award 2016: Barcelona dresses in letters

This 2016 marks the 65th anniversary of the first Planeta Award. To do this, the committee of the famous publishing group has decked out the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya with a commemorative canvas up to 18 meters high without forgetting the enthusiasm and quality required by the one that is the second best-endowed literary prize in the world (601.000 euros for the winning work and 150.250 euros for the finalist) only behind the Nobel Prize for Literature, an award that happens to be given on the 13th, in a privileged week for lovers of letters.

Tras the reception of 552 novels, just a few minutes ago the award jury confirmed the 10 novels finalists for the 2016 Planeta Award, which are the following:

The gypsy's husband, wow (pseudonym)

Sun of ThebesJim Hawkins (pseudonym)

7 LR (Seven Red Tears), Dalmatian White (pseudonym)

Running ink, Mariano Negri

Red sardinesLuis Escalante Galan

The Birth, Oscar Garcia (pseudonym)

With a pair of wings,Hope (pseudonym)

The road to Santiago, Master Mateo (pseudonym)

The rest of the earth during winter, Maria mercedes irigaray (pseudonym)

Nothing prevents, Anxo Novoa (pseudonym)

The 2016 Planeta Prize call requires, like all the previous ones, unpublished works written in Spanish, so for the moment little else is known about the nominated material beyond the title and its author.

A record edition

On June 15, the call for the 2016 Planeta Prize was closed, with to its credit: 552 works presented, quite a record compared to the last registered mark of 550 works received.

Of these 552 works, 298 were sent from Spain, with Madrid (67), Barcelona (29), Alicante and Valencia (12) being the provinces with the highest number of works submitted.

The works sent from other European countries reach 12 manuscripts, divided between Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

As far as the other side of the pond is concerned, South America has sent up to 93 manuscripts, with special emphasis on Argentina (33) and Colombia (12). The number of works received from the rest of the American continent is divided into Central America (18) and North America (60), with Mexico as the main exponent (36).

The only work from Africa came from Morocco, while Asia sent two from Israel and Japan.

The Planeta Prize Jury, which has worked very hard in recent months when selecting the 10 finalist works, is made up of Alberto Blecua, Fernando Delado, Juan Eslava Galán, Pere Gimferrer, Carmen Posadas, Rosa Regàs and Emili Rosales, all of them great personalities from the world of letters.

Next Saturday, October 15, the winner and finalist of the LXV edition of the Planeta Prize will be known, and Actualidad Literatura will be there to tell you how the most important literary event in our country is happening.

Did you submit your work to the Planeta Award this year?