The Premio Biblioteca Breve is a literary award given annually by the publisher Seix Barral (now part of Grupo Planeta) to an unpublished novel in the Spanish language. Its prize is €30,000 and publication of the winning work. It is delivered in February, to a work from the preceding year.

History

On 14 June 1958, a jury comprising literary critics

Josep Maria Castellet Josep Maria Castellet Díaz de Cossío (15 December 1926 – 9 January 2014), also known as José María Castellet, was a Spanish Catalan writer, poet, literacy critic, publisher and editor. Born in Barcelona, he began his career in writin ...

and

José María Valverde José María Valverde Pacheco (26 January 1926, Valencia de Alcántara (Cáceres) – 6 June 1996, Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community o ...

, and editors (editorial director), Juan Petit (literary director) and

Carlos Barral Carlos Barral i Agesta (1928–1989) was a Spanish poet, considered (along with Jaime Gil de Biedma) to be one of the greatest poets of the so-called generation of the 1950s. He helped to establish the Formentor Group and their literary awards t ...

(director of the collection), gave the inaugural award in Sitges, Barcelona. As stated by members of the jury, it was intended to encourage young writers and the renewal of Spanish literature. Due to the death of Juan Petit in January 1964 (replaced as literary director by

Gabriel Ferrater Gabriel Ferrater i Soler (; 20 May 1922 – 27 April 1972) was an author, translator and scholar of linguistics of the sixties who wrote in the Catalan language. His poetical work is one of the most important among the authors of post-war Catalo ...

), the exile of José María Valverde to Canada in 1967, and the death of Víctor Seix in October of that year, the jury was joined by ,

Luis Goytisolo Luis Goytisolo Gay (born 17 March 1935) is a Spanish Catalan writer in the Spanish language. He is best known for his tetralogy ''Antagony'', which was published between 1973 and 1981. Goytisolo is a member of the Real Academia Española. Car ...

, and Juan García Hortelano for subsequent editions. The bases were also modified: for a few years the award took Petit's name as a tribute. In the same way, the Spanish political situation dictated that, in some editions, eligibility was extended to any Iberian Romance language, although no works in Catalan or Portuguese were awarded. The 1971 edition's jury comprised Luis Goytisolo, Juan Rulfo, , and Pere Gimferrer, with

Guillermo Cabrera Infante Guillermo Cabrera Infante (; Gibara, 22 April 1929 – 21 February 2005) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, translator, screenwriter, and critic; in the 1950s he used the pseudonym G. Caín, and used Guillermo Cain for the screenplay of th ...

joining in 1972. However, in 1973 the award ceased to be given due to numerous internal factors (dissensions within the publisher) and external factors (problems with censorship). In 1998, Basilio Baltasar, the new literary director of Seix Barral (by this time part of Grupo Planeta), decided to reconvene the prize, with the aim of recovering the spirit with which it was born, trying to recognize both Spanish and Latin American authors.

First era winners (1958–1972)

* 1958 – ''Las afueras'' by

(Spain) * 1959 – ''Nuevas amistades'' by Juan García Hortelano (Spain) * 1960 – Declared vacant; finalists were ''Encerrados con un solo juguete'' by

Juan Marsé Juan Marsé Carbó (8 January 1933 – 18 July 2020) was a Spanish novelist, journalist, and screenwriter who used Spanish as his literary language. In 2008, he was awarded the Cervantes Prize, "the Spanish-language equivalent" to the Nobel ...

(Spain), ''La criba'' by

Daniel Sueiro Daniel Sueiro (1931-1986) was a Spanish author and journalist. He was born in A Coruña, La Coruña and died in Madrid. He is best known for two of his ten books: the short story collection ''Los conspiradores'' (1959) which won the National Prize ...

(Spain), and ''Los extraordinarios'' by Ana Mairena (Mexico) * 1961 – ''Dos días de setiembre'' by

José Manuel Caballero José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

(Spain) * 1962 – ''

The Time of the Hero ''The Time of the Hero'' (original title: ''La ciudad y los perros'', literally "The City and the Dogs") is a 1963 novel by Peruvian writer and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa. It was Vargas Llosa's first novel and is set among the cadets at t ...

'' by

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

(Peru) * 1963 – ' by Vicente Leñero (Mexico) * 1964 – ''Vista de amanecer en el trópico'' by

(Cuba) * 1965 – ' by Juan Marsé (Spain) ** Finalist: ''

Betrayed by Rita Hayworth ''Betrayed by Rita Hayworth'' ( es, La traición de Rita Hayworth) is a 1968 novel by the Argentine novelist Manuel Puig. It was Puig's first novel. Literary critic Jean Franco writes that the book "was a revelation when it appeared, exploding ...

'' by Manuel Puig (Argentina) * 1966 – Not given * 1967 – ''

A Change of Skin ''A Change of Skin'' (Spanish: ''Cambio de piel'') is a 1967 novel written by Carlos Fuentes about a Mexican writer and his Jewish American wife. Plot This is the story about a frustrated Mexican writer named Javier, and his Jewish American wi ...

'' by Carlos Fuentes (Mexico) ** Finalist: ''El mercurio'' by (Spain) * 1968 – ''País portátil'' by

Adriano González León Adriano González León (Valera, Trujillo State, 14 November 1931 - Caracas, 12 January 2008) was a Venezuelan writer who is known in his country for the novel ''País Portátil'' (1968), widely regarded as the premier Venezuelan novel of the la ...

(Venezuela) * 1969 – ''Una meditación'' by

Juan Benet Juan Benet (7 October 1927 – 5 January 1993) was a Spanish novelist, dramatist and essayist who also worked as a civil engineer. Early life Benet was born in Madrid. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, his father was killed, and he left for ...

* 1970 – Due to internal problems at the publisher, no award was given in this edition. It would have gone to ''

The Obscene Bird of Night ''The Obscene Bird of Night'' ( es, El obsceno pájaro de la noche, 1970) is the most acclaimed novel by the Chilean writer José Donoso. Donoso was a member of the Latin American literary boom and the literary movement known as magical realism. ...

'' by José Donoso (Chile). * 1971 – ''Sonámbulo del sol'' by

Nivaria Tejera Nivaria Tejera (30 September 1929 – 6 January 2016) was a Cuban poet and novelist. She was awarded the Seix Barral Premio Biblioteca Breve in 1971 for her novel ''Sonámbulo del sol''. Life Nivaria Tejera, the daughter of a Cuban mother and ...

(Cuba) * 1972 – ''La circuncisión del señor solo'' by José Leyva (Spain)

Second era winners (1999–present)

Notes

References

External links

Premio Biblioteca Breve
at Grupo Planeta {{Authority control 1958 establishments in Spain 1973 disestablishments in Spain 1998 establishments in Spain Awards disestablished in 1973 Awards established in 1958 Awards established in 1998 Spanish literary awards