New Prize Names Best Author and Publisher in Barcelona

By A�da Bardales -- Críticas, 10/1/2007

The first Premios Qwerty awards, promoted by BarcelonaTV’s literary television show of the same name, were presented on September 27. Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vázquez, who lives in Barcelona, received the Best Narrative in Spanish award for Historia secreta de Costaguana (“Secret History of Costaguana”; Alfaguara, 2007). Meanwhile, the Best Publisher award went to Barcelona’s Edicions La Campana, which publishes books in Catalan, and Libros del Asteroide. Established two and a half years ago with the goal to translate and publish in Spanish the major literary works of the 20th century, Libros del Asteroide has already published 25 works.

The Premios Qwerty was established to acknowledge all fields within publishing in Barcelona, from the most important literary works to best news coverage of books to best bookseller. The jury was composed of journalists, agents, booksellers, literary critics, and writers. Other categories included best foreign literature [El arte del Placer (“The Art of Pleasure”), Lumen, 2007], best literary agent (Sandra Bruna), best bookstore (Negra y Criminal), best play adaptation (for Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, directed by Àlex Rigola), and more.