The Tenerife Island Council has launched the First Island Narrative Prize 'Nicolás Estévanez Murphy'A new literary competition has been launched with the aim of becoming a benchmark for contemporary narrative linked to the Canary Islands. The initiative is aimed at writers who maintain a close connection to the islands, whether by birth or continued residence.
With this call for applications, the island corporation seeks strengthen the Canarian cultural fabric and to offer a solid platform to those who work on long narratives in Spanish, supporting unpublished works and participation that strictly respects authorship and the originality of the text.
A new literary competition for authors from the Canary Islands or residents
The 'Nicolás Estévanez Murphy' Island Narrative Prize is configured as a cultural initiative of the Tenerife Island Council through its Department of Culture, Museums and Sports, approved by the Governing Council. The main objective is to recognize long narrative works that have not yet been published and that are directly linked to the Canary Islands context.
They may compete for the award writers born in the Canary Islands or authors who can prove they have been registered as residents on any island of the Archipelago for at least the last three years. This ensures that the talent being promoted maintains a real and ongoing connection with the region's cultural life.
The call is framed with a scope regional and also national, insofar as it seeks to project Canarian authors beyond the island borders, positioning Tenerife and the Canary Islands as a whole as an important focus of literary creation in Spain.
The Culture Department emphasizes that the award aims to establish itself as a a stable reference point in the literary calendar, called to be repeated in future editions to create a trajectory and a catalog of winning works with their own identity within the narrative landscape in Spanish.
Financial award and publishing projection of the winning work
The award is backed by a financial endowment of 10.000 euros The winning work will receive a prize, a figure that places this award among the most prestigious narrative competitions promoted by an island institution. The Island Council is thus reinforcing its commitment to literary creation as a professional field that requires real support.
In addition to the monetary prize, the competition incorporates the institutional commitment to edit and disseminate the winning workThis means that the prize is not limited to a one-off reward, but offers the winner an entry into the publishing industry and greater public visibility. Edit and distribute the winning work It facilitates its reach to readers both in the Canary Islands and in other parts of Spain.
The island councillor for Culture and Museums, José Carlos Acha, has stressed that this part of the award is key to promoting the public and publishing projection of the selected book, facilitating its arrival to readers both in the Canary Islands and in other parts of Spain.
At the same time, the Cabildo points out that this call for applications is part of a broader effort to support the cultural sectorwhich includes, among other measures, grant programs for businesses and artistic projects on the island for the coming years, with the aim of boosting cultural and creative life.
Participation requirements: unpublished works and defined length
The rules of the 'Nicolás Estévanez Murphy' Island Narrative Prize state that only those who submit unpublished works of long narrativeSubmissions must be written entirely in Spanish. Texts that have already been published, either in whole or in part, in any format or medium, will not be accepted.
Regarding length, the works must be located within a strip of between 150 and 250 pagesThis clearly defines the type of manuscripts sought: extensive narratives with a solid development of characters, plot and context, far removed from short stories or shorter formats.
These conditions reflect the desire for the award to focus on the long-form narrative, offering a space for novels or lengthy texts that require a more prolonged and complex literary construction process.
The requirement that the content be completely original also aims to guarantee the novelty of the proposals presented and ensure that the recognition falls on works that are made known for the first time thanks to this call.
Defending authorship: banning creative artificial intelligence
One of the most striking points of the award rules is the express prohibition of the use of artificial intelligence for the generation of creative content for participating works. The organization only allows non-creative technical support tools, such as spell checkers or layout assistants.
With this measure, the Tenerife Island Council wants to protect literary authenticity and integrity of the manuscripts that are eligible for the award, making it clear that the text must be the exclusive result of the talent and work of the author.
The island's vice-president, Lope Afonso, has stressed that the creation of the award responds to the the institution's commitment to promoting contemporary literary talent from the islands, highlighting the ability of the writers themselves to create original works without resorting to automated solutions.
In a context where the use of AI tools in the creative field is becoming increasingly common, this stance establishes a clear line: The literary recognition that the prize grants is directed solely towards human creation., understood as a personal, artisanal and conscious process.
Tribute to Nicolás Estévanez Murphy and strengthening of the cultural fabric
The competition takes its name from a historical figure linked to the Canary Islands, whose memory it seeks to honor through an award focused on narrative excellence. By choosing this name, the Island Council reinforces the link between tradition, island identity, and contemporary creation.
The Ministry of Culture emphasizes that the initiative aims not only to recognize specific works, but also to establish a consistent literary benchmark Over time, it may add editions and outstanding authors to its list of achievements.
The launch of the first 'Nicolás Estévanez Murphy' Island Narrative Prize is thus part of a broader strategy by the Tenerife Island Council to strengthen the cultural ecosystem of the island and the archipelago as a whole, generating opportunities for creators and cultural agents.
For writers with a connection to the Canary Islands, the prize is conceived as a real opportunity to make a qualitative leap in its trajectory, both for the economic endowment and for the visibility derived from the editing and promotion of the winning work, which aspires to circulate in the publishing market with the institutional support of origin.
Looking ahead to future editions, the expectation is that this award will gradually shape a relevant space of recognition on the Spanish literary map, positioning the Canary Islands as a particularly active territory in promoting narrative in Spanish and fostering the emergence of new voices with a projection beyond the islands.
With this combination of financial support, guaranteed publication and defense of original creation, the 'Nicolás Estévanez Murphy' Narrative Prize is emerging as a key tool for those working on extended narrative from the Canary Islands or in close relation to the Archipelago, while reinforcing the image of Tenerife as an actor committed to culture and literature at the national level.
