Airport operator Aena has taken an unexpected step in the cultural sphere with the launch of Aena Prize for Hispanic American NarrativeA new award that aims to become a benchmark for Spanish-language literature on both sides of the Atlantic. The company, majority-owned by the State, is thus entering the publishing world with an initiative of strong symbolic and economic significance.
This new literary prize will be endowed with one million euros for the winning work y 30.000 euros for each of the four finalistsThis initiative places Aena at the forefront of cultural patronage in Spain. Beyond the figures, the company emphasizes that the project aims to promote reading, support authors and publishers, and help Spanish-language narrative gain international recognition.
An award that rivals the Planet Prize and aspires to a global impact
The announcement of the Aena Prize for Hispanic American Narrative It was carried out at an event held at the Piarist Schools in Madrid, with the presence of the company's president and CEO, Maurice Lucenaand of the writer and journalist Rosa Monterowho will serve as president of the jury. During the presentation, it was emphasized that the prize was created without editorial constraints and with the intention of guaranteeing an independent selection process.
With its one million euros for the first prize, the new call equals the prize money of the Planeta Prize, until now the highest-paying award in Spanish literature. Behind it are other prestigious but significantly smaller awards, such as the Alfaguara Award, endowed with around $165.000-$175.000, or the Fernando Lara Award, with 120.000 euros, figures that also approach that of Miguel de Cervantes Award, considered the most important in the Hispanic world from a symbolic point of view.
Lucena explained that Aena's ambition is for this award to achieve a similar level of recognition to that of major international awards in other languages, such as the Goncourt in France or Booker in the United KingdomAs he pointed out, in a linguistic space with more than 630 million Spanish speakers There is still no literary prize in Spanish with a weight comparable to that of those benchmarks in their respective literary systems.
The president of Aena has insisted that “There is no editorial interest that could interfere with the impartiality of the award”The project structure has been designed, according to the company, to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure that decisions are made based on purely literary criteria, without commercial interference.
Until now, the Spanish scene was dominated by a small group of major private or institutional awards. With the entry of Aena, a semi-public company linked to the Ministry of Transport, a new player has been introduced that aims to strengthen the cultural patronage from an infrastructure company, something unusual but that connects with the idea of airports as points of cultural dissemination.
Works already published and a focus on narrative in Spanish
One of the main distinguishing features of this award is that it is aimed at works of narrative already publishedUnlike other well-known awards in the Spanish publishing market, the Aena Prize is not intended as a tool to launch an unpublished book, but as a recognition of titles that have already reached readers.
They will be eligible for the prize narrative books originally written in Spanish, and Works in co-official languages of Spain —such as Catalan, Galician, or Basque— provided they have a Spanish translation in the year of the call for applications. In all cases, the following will be taken into account: literary quality, originality, and cultural contribution of each work, without distinction between titles published by large groups or by small publishers.
The rules state that the works will be taken into consideration. published throughout 2025A team of professionals in cultural and literary journalism from Spain and Latin America will act as the first filter: they will be responsible for reviewing the year's editorial output and proposing a list of five finalist books which will be sent to the jury.
This mechanism transforms the prize into a kind of annual snapshot of Spanish-language narrative, by requiring this group of specialists to closely follow what is published both in Spain and Latin America. Furthermore, Previous sales will not be taken into account Regarding the works: the financial endowment and the selection will not be linked to the previous commercial performance of the titles.
In this way, Aena seeks for the award to recognize both established authors and emerging writers. emerging voices that may have gone more unnoticed in the market, but that stand out for their literary merit. The company emphasizes that all books and writers will compete “on equal terms.”
Calendar, venue and budget of the prize
The award's design includes a calendar already marked on the cultural map. The company has announced that the The winner of the first edition will be announced at a gala in Barcelona., on a date set for the April 8The choice of the Catalan capital reinforces Aena's desire to promote the award from a city closely linked to the Spanish-language publishing world.
Before that gala, the organization will make public the names of the five finalist works on a prior date: the March 17.This pre-selection will allow the candidate titles to gain visibility for several weeks, something that can be especially relevant for medium or small publishers, which often have less promotional capacity.
El The overall project budget exceeds 2,5 million eurosas Lucena explained. That amount includes a sum of approximately 1,4 million euros allocated to the purchase of copies of the five finalist works. The company plans to acquire more than 5.000 books of each title to distribute them through different channels.
Those copies will be donated to municipalities where Aena is presentAs well as educational and cultural spaces and the company's own employees. The intention is for the airports managed by Aena to become “cultural points”, reinforcing the presence of books in places with high foot traffic.
For the company, which defines itself as a key player in connecting Spain and Europe with the rest of the world, this patronage project fits with its objective of “social sustainability”It's not just about awarding a prize, but about putting thousands of copies into circulation and making its authors known in a wider context.
A literary jury with an international profile
The jury for the Aena Prize for Hispanic American Narrative will be chaired by Rosa Montero, one of the most recognized voices in narrative and journalism in Spain. She will be joined by writers from both sides of the Atlantic: Pilar Adón, Luis Alberto of Cuenca, Jorge Fernández Díaz, Jose Carlos Llop, Elmer Mendoza y Leila Guerriero.
The composition of this jury is intended to reflect the diversity of the Spanish-speaking worldFeaturing authors from diverse countries and backgrounds, ranging from poetry and essays to novels and journalistic chronicles, the event's inclusion of renowned figures aims to bolster the legitimacy of the award and attract attention from across Europe and the Americas.
In addition to the literary jury, the project has the support of two important entities in the field of Spanish-language culture: the Gabo Foundation and Vargas Llosa ChairBoth are collaborating on the operational architecture of the award, which also includes a team of scouts and technical directors in charge of monitoring editorial production.
As Aena has explained, All these profiles have been selected “meticulously” with the aim of ensuring an independent process. The company emphasizes that none of them respond to specific publishing interests and that their decisions will not be influenced by publishing contracts, market strategies, or commercial pressures.
Montero, who has been particularly involved in the presentation, stressed that for writers, not only is the financial support important, but also that the works are Read, circulate, and distributeIn his opinion, Aena's commitment to buying and distributing the finalist books makes this award something "different" within the current landscape, with a real impact on the publishing industry.
Reading, patronage, and the challenge of narrative in Spanish
Beyond the figures, Aena's discourse places this award within the framework of a reflection on the role of reading in democratic societies. Lucena has argued that, for a community to be free, pluralistic and critically minded, it is necessary to "promote reading and enrich the literary heritage, supporting creative talent."
The company president recalled the data from PISA Report 2022, which warn of a decline in reading performance among 15-year-old students in Spain and a widening gap between those who achieve the best results and those who fall behind. In this context, the award has been presented as another step in the effort to strengthen reading habits.
Lucena also pointed out that the Spanish cultural scene is lacking a stronger patronage and continued, and that this type of initiative can help to strengthen it. In his words, the project aims to "give back to society some of what it has contributed to the company" and consolidate a line of support for culture that Aena had already been developing in other areas.
With regard to Latin America, the organization insists that the award's purpose is clearly transatlanticThe intention is that the recognition not be limited to Spanish authors, but encompass the entire body of narrative in Spanish produced in Latin America, with the aim that the award "radiates towards the Americas" and contributes to strengthening the circulation of books between the two sides of the ocean.
Aena assures that it does not intend to compete with or detract from other literary prizesRather, it aims to create a new space for recognition that values Latin American narrative and encourages the publication of more and better books in both Spain and Latin America. The comparison with the Goncourt, the Booker, or the National Book Awards serves more as an aspiration than a declaration of war in the awards arena.
With the creation of the Aena Prize for Latin American Narrative, the map of major literary awards in Spanish incorporates a new player, backed by an infrastructure company with a presence in much of Europe and the Americas. The combination of High financial endowment, focus on previously published works, international jury, and commitment to purchase and distribute copies This places the award as one of the most ambitious initiatives in recent years to promote narrative in Spanish and strengthen the link between literature, readers and public space.
