The Argentine author Viviana M. Hernández Alfonso, resident in Valencia, has won first place in the 63rd edition of the Gabriel Miró Short Story Prize thanks to Who is who, a story with a gothic atmosphere that explores the boundaries between creation and identity, with a meta-literary play that runs through the entire narrative and which the jury unanimously praised.
The second award went to They're coming, from the writer from Madrid Adrian Zamarro, while the public verdict was held at the headquarters of the Mediterranean Foundation in Alicante. The event brought together 2.290 stories submitted by 1.689 authors from 41 countries, with a prize of 3.000 euros for the winning story and 1.000 for the runner-up.
The jury's decision and the event in Alicante
The announcement was made this Wednesday at the Mediterranean Foundation, with the presence of its president, Luis Boyer, and the director, Carmen Morales. The jury was chaired by Antonio Redero Bellido and was made up of Francisco Javier DÃez de Revenga Torres, Mariano Sánchez Soler, José Ferrándiz Lozano and Cristina Llorens Estarelles, with Alejandro Cano as secretary.
As the jury highlighted, the edition was particularly competitive due to the diversity of approaches and the literary level of the texts; even so, Who is who was imposed by unanimous criterion after an intense debate that highlighted the wealth of styles present at the competition.
The winning entry: 'Who's Who'
The winning story builds a story within the story from the discovery of some manuscripts, and turns the appropriation of another's voice into a meditation on authorship, identity and ghosts of creationIts haunting atmosphere and gothic pulse serve as a framework for a very contemporary reflection on fame and the price of literature.
For the vocalist Francisco Javier DÃez de Revenga, the piece stands out for the fine handling of the tension between reality and imagination and for condensing, in the brief framework of the story, a risky conceptual bet on the definition of identity without losing narrative intensity.
The finalist: 'They're coming', by Adrián Zamarro
Zamarro's story places the reader on a sun-scorched road where a couple is stranded in a traffic jam for no clear reason, and transforms that apparent wait into a a riddle full of tension which reflects on alienation and the broken promises of everyday life.
The jury highlighted his ability to transform a common scene into a symbolic experience, with a surprising ending. Zamarro (Madrid, 1987) is a philologist and Spanish language teacher in Rennes, and developed a career focused on short stories and poetry.
Participation, endowment and international reach
In this 63rd edition they have competed 1.689 authors from 41 countries, with the possibility of submitting up to two stories per participant. Among the territories with the greatest presence are Argentina (452 ​​stories), Colombia (120), Mexico (112), as well as Uruguay, Chile and Peru (52 each), in addition to the United States (36).
The prize is endowed with 3.000 Euros for the winning work and 1.000 for the runner-up, a distribution that reaffirms the commitment of the Mediterranean Foundation to short stories in Spanish and to the promotion of new narrative voices.
Career of the award winners
Viviana M. Hernández Alfonso (Rosario, 1966) is a lawyer and holds a master's degree in Creative Writing. She has developed an extensive career in short fiction and poetry, with recognition in Argentina, Spain, and Latin America. She currently resides in Valencia, where he continues his creative and research work.
Adrián Zamarro (Madrid, 1987), philologist and writer, lives in Rennes, where he works as a Spanish language teacher while combining his teaching with writing stories and poetry, and participating in various literary competitions.
An award with history
Created in 1955, the Gabriel Miró Short Story Prize is one of the oldest competitions and prestigious in Spain in their genre. Over the course of its 63 editions, it has recognized both emerging authors and established names in Spanish literature, including Francisco Umbral (1964) and Félix Grande (1966).
In the set of its literary calls Since 2025, the Mediterranean Foundation has received more than 3.500 works, including the entity's 3rd Novel Prize. Both awards, aimed at Spanish-language authors, distribute a total of 24.000 Euros in awards.
With ever-growing participation and a unanimous verdict, the victory of Hernandez with Who is who confirms the vigor of the story in Spanish and the role of Gabriel Miró as a reference for measuring the diversity and quality of contemporary short fiction.
