The Provincial Council of A Coruña presented its cultural activities program in collaboration with the Torrente Ballester Foundation today, highlighting the relocation of the literary award's juries to the foundation's headquarters. Culture Deputy, Natividade González, emphasized the importance of "collaboration between cultural institutions" to broaden access to culture.
A key novelty this year is that the juries for the Galician and Castilian language categories will convene at the Torrente Ballester Foundation on Monday, November 16. This meeting will conclude the award process, aiming to connect the prize with the writer's memory and invigorate the Foundation's space, which also receives support from the Provincial Council.
The Torrente Ballester Award, now in its 37th edition, is the oldest organized by the Culture Department of the Provincial Council of A Coruña, established in 1989. This year, it received a significant 593 original submissions, a substantial increase from the 113 in the previous edition, underscoring its prestige and appeal.
The 2026 call for entries saw 481 works in Castilian and 112 in Galician. These figures position the award as a key component of the Provincial Council's annual literary prize offerings, which totaled 768 submissions this year, including the González Garcés, Raíña Lupa, and Castelao awards.
The two Torrente Ballester awards each carry a prize of 15,000 euros. Throughout its history, the award has recognized authors such as Manuel Rivas, José María Merino, Víctor Freixanes, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, Luisa Castro, Eli Ríos, and Blanca Riestra.
The juries, comprising ten individuals from literary fields, cultural journalism, bookstores, and libraries, will convene on November 16. The Galician jury includes Estro Montaña and Samuel L. Paris, while the Castilian jury features Pablo Escudero Abenza and Xosé Monteagudo.
As a prelude, on Sunday, November 15, the Foundation will host «Le comigo» (Read with me), a collective reading event open to the public, featuring writer Luisa Castro as the guest. Castro, the first Galician author to win the award in 2004, will participate in this initiative promoting community reading.
