The names of the winners of the awards presented by the Ministry of Culture at one of the most important literary events in our country have been announced. National Award for the Promotion of Reading This year's award has fallen to two proposals that, although operating in different fields, share the goal of spreading a love of books, aligning themselves with any reading promotion plan comprehensive. On the one hand, the tireless work of the IES Rosalía de Castro in Santiago de Compostela has been recognized and, on the other, the talent of the directors of a well-known literary program on public television.
The truth is that this distinction not only comes with the prestige of official recognition, but also with a economic injection of 30.000 euros for each of the award categories. It's a way of giving a boost to those who are committed to making reading a pleasurable activity and not a burdensome obligation, ensuring that both young people and adults find refuge or a most enriching adventure within its pages.
The prominence of students in the San Clemente Prize
The project, which originated at the Rosalía de Castro Secondary School, is not a newcomer, as it has been around for some time. more than three decades of experience behind them. Since its inception in 1995, the San Clemente Literary Prize has innovated in the educational field, becoming a true benchmark that transcends the borders of Galicia to connect with other centers in various parts of Europe, similar to how the storytelling project of the IES Berenguer Danoia celebrates his own journey.
What truly makes this competition special is that the jury is not composed of learned academics, but rather High school students are the bosses who decide who wins each year. This initiative involves young people from a dozen schools across Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, who evaluate narrative works in Galician, Spanish, and other foreign languages in a completely independent and critical manner.
Throughout its history, the award has attracted figures of the stature of three Nobel Prize winners: Mario Vargas Llosa, José Saramago and Han Kang They approach the students to chat about their works. This direct contact between the great names of world literature and the students fosters an artistic sensibility that is difficult to achieve in the classroom in any other way, thus rewarding a constant effort that many of those involved proudly describe as quixotic.
'A country to read' and the magic of literature on television
In the category that recognizes media outreach, the jury wished to highlight the work of Luis Miguel Gómez and Miguel Ángel Hoyos. Both are the directors of the program 'A Country to Read', which airs on La 2 of TVE and has managed to refresh the television schedule with a very careful aesthetic and a visual language that hooks all types of audiences since its premiere.
The magazine, which began in 2022 and is currently presented by Laura Chivite, proposes a journey through different corners of Spain to bring us closer to literature. The idea is using literature as a roadmap to discover book clubs in Spain With charm, active spaces and those places where some of the most important works in our history were created, giving voice to both established writers and emerging talents.
This recognition highlights the program's ability to showcase the connection between landscapes and letters from our territories in an engaging and professional way. By visiting different cities each week, the program makes the book ecosystem feel alive and accessible, demonstrating that culture can also have a modern and groundbreaking presentation that invites any viewer to open a book as soon as the broadcast ends.
These awards clearly demonstrate that promoting reading habits is thriving when innovation and direct community involvement are prioritized. Both the educational commitment of the Santiago de Compostela high school and the public television's outreach efforts prove that Reading is a transformative tool capable of uniting different generations and territories under a common interest in well-told stories and critical thinking.