Mercado Takes Sor Juana Prize

By Jessica Bermúdez -- Críticas, 11/15/2007

This year’s notable Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize, given to Latin American and Spanish women writers, will go to Argentinian author and journalist Tununa Mercado (b. Córdoba, 1939) for Yo nunca te prometí la eternidad (“I Never Promised You Eternity”), published in 2005 by Planeta. Mercado will receive $10,000 at this year’s Feria Internacional del Libro (FIL) Guadalajara, which will take place Nov. 24–Dec. 2. In addition to the cash award, Mercado’s winning work will be translated into English by Curbstone Press should the author and publisher reach an agreement.

Yo nunca te prometí la eternidad is a story of exile and persecution that takes place in Europe and Mexico during the 1940s. According to the jury—made up of Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, Verónica Grossi, and Ignacio Díaz Ruiz selecting from among 71 submissions—the novel is “a profound reflection on human passions” and “raises the huge problem of emigration prompted by wars and persecution.”

Mercado is the author of numerous novels and short story collections and the recipient of many prizes. The 2007 Premio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz will be awarded on November 28 at Guadalajara’s convention center.