Two of them, Luz Gabás and Javier Sierra, will be members of the jury that, starting at 9 p.m., will decide in Barcelona which manuscript wins the top prize and which is the finalist (€200,000). Among the shortlisted authors, it is still possible that one of them is Aragonese, as most of them submitted their novels under pseudonyms.
A total of 1,424 works were submitted, with nine novels making the shortlist. The contenders include "La sombra de Isabel," by Pedro Regalado Rodríguez, and "Letraherido," by Pepe M. Carrascosa. These are the only two that were not submitted under pseudonyms.
The selection is completed by "Alba Naranja," by Tamsilt El Hayani; "Los Caminantes," by Martín Guerrero; "Kintsugi o tres almas rotas," by Hugalma de la Sierra; "La noche de los faroles," by Mencía Salazar; "Los que faltan," by Luz Ventura; "El jardín de Lennon," by Jorge Herrero; and "La mujer desnuda sale a las once," by Bernardo Galeana. The gala can be followed through the social media accounts of Premio Planeta, Planeta de Libros and Casa del Libro.
ARAGONESE AUTHORS WHO HAVE WON THE PLANETA PRIZE
Five Aragonese writers have won the Planeta Prize throughout its history. The first was Santiago Lorén, born in Belchite, who won it in 1953 with Una casa con goteras. He was followed by Huesca-born Ramón J. Sender in 1969 with En la vida de Ignacio Morel and Zaragoza-born Soledad Puértolas in 1989 with Queda la noche.
In this century, Javier Sierra, who was born in Teruel, won the award in 2017 with El fuego invisible, while Luz Gabás, born in Monzón, became the latest Aragonese winner in 2022 with Lejos de Luisiana.