‘Galapagos’ tells the story of a turtle who in another life worked as a correspondent for the ‘London Post’ and discovered the secrets of the Windsors
The jury of the 4th Pedro Soler Journalist Short Story Contest has awarded the first prize of this competition – convened by the City Council of Abarán, the Cajamurcia Foundation and the newspaper LA VERDAD – to Hugo Folk, a writer from Barcelona with two novels published on Amazon (‘Los herederos’, ‘El sanatorio’), literary critic and author of articles and short stories. The winner of this fourth edition, a German teacher, proofreader and translator, won the first prize (with 800 euros) for the story entitled ‘Galapagos’. The two second prizes – of 100 euros each – go to the Asturian Emilia García Castro, a doctor and writing enthusiast, and the Madrid-born Vicente Pérez Masedo, winner of numerous literary competitions, for the stories entitled ‘El alma del Valle’ and ‘ Saturday’, respectively.
The jury, composed of the official chronicler of Abarán, José Carrasco, and the journalists José Carreres, María Soler, Encarna Yelo and Manuel Madrid, appreciated the winning story “its originality and its innovative stamp, both in content and form: a literary style that breaks with traditional expression by narrating in the first person the narrator’s metamorphosis in the galápago.» Irony and humor are other strengths of the story, especially when the protagonist recalls his time as a correspondent for the ‘London Post’ , with which he traveled the world and discovered some secrets related to the British royal family. “It is a story that goes beyond the purely anecdotal to delve into the realities of life, the human struggle and survival,” emphasizes the jury.
Hugo Folk, who was a finalist for the Gabriel García Márquez Foundation Award 2021, points out that “Galapagos” reflects on the fact that “each person has their aspirations and dreams, some of which may have been fulfilled in another lifetime or, simply, be that I’m interested in identity problems and the ‘metaphysics of animals’, a theme that comes back in this story, in which I also wanted to delve into human concerns: if we know what we are and where we are going and if we are happy with our lives ».
The award ceremony will take place on Friday, December 2 at the Don José Vargas de Abarán Municipal Library, located in the CIMA building. The event is expected to be attended by the mayor of Abarán, Jesús Gómez Montiel; representatives of the Cajamurcia Foundation and LA VERDAD; the author of this year’s poster, the painter Antonio Tapia, and the judges. The journalist of LA VERDAD, art critic and official chronicler of Murcia Pedro Soler – who died in November 2018 – was much loved in his birthplace, Abarán, which is why the city council of this city launched this initiative in 2019 to keep his memory alive and encourage creation. During its deliberation, the jury had a memory of José García Martínez, promoter of the competition since its inception, who died in April.
The winner of the first edition of this competition was José Carlos Losada Díaz, professor at the Faculty of Communication and Documentation of the University of Murcia, for the text ‘The profession, butcher’. In the second call, in 2020, the first prize went to Alejandro Lorente Ibáñez, a Murcian journalist specializing in new technologies and multimedia communication, for the ‘240 pages’ story. With his work ‘La Vela’, the winner of the third edition, in 2021, Pedro Ángel Serrano Molina, graduated in Business Administration.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
