Presentation of the iv city of estepona novel prize
Singer Javier Ojeda will perform at the presentation of the IV Estepona City Novel Prize
Argentine writer Ariel Magnus will receive the award next Thursday, April 30, at an event that will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Mirador del Carmen Auditorium.
The Estepona City Council and the Manuel Alcántara Foundation organize this literary competition, which awards the winning work with 25,000 euros and its publication by the Pre-Textos publishing house.
The Estepona City Council informs that the singer and composer Javier Ojeda will perform at the award ceremony for the IV 'City of Estepona' Novel Prize, which will be held next Thursday, April 30, at the Mirador del Carmen Auditorium, at 7:00 p.m.
Javier Ojeda is one of the most beloved artists from Málaga in Spain since becoming the lead singer of the legendary band 'Danza Invisible'. An expert in Latin and Black music, Ojeda has developed an interesting solo career over the last two decades, releasing albums of covers and original songs, where musical fusion and exploration are fundamental. Admission to the event is free until capacity is reached.
The 4th 'City of Estepona' Novel Prize, organized by the Estepona City Council and the Manuel Alcántara Foundation, has been awarded to Argentinian writer Ariel Magnus for his novel 'Lying the Truth: Confessions of a Political Fraud'. The prize includes €25,000 and publication of the novel by Pre-Textos. Interested readers can purchase the book that same day at the Mirador del Carmen and in bookstores from May 6th.
The novel tells the story of Heinrich Jürges, a young German man who joined the Nazi Party and is believed to have worked for Goebbels. He later arrived in South America, where he joined the Black Front, a Nazi offshoot. As an independent agitator, he orchestrated the famous Patagonia plot in 1939 using forged documents, which led to the banning of Nazi Party activities in Argentina. Upon returning to Europe, he made a living as an informant for the highest bidder.
Blending real and fictional sources, Ariel Magnus recreates the autobiography of this shadowy con man, trafficker, and propagandist, whose adventures span four decades and two continents and involve various political and cultural figures such as Perón, Borges, and Kafka, among others. The award-winning work uses irony, cynicism, and sarcasm to explore the complexities of the press during tumultuous times and the pitfalls of those who work with sensitive information.
Ariel Magnus will accept the award at the ceremony next Thursday and will participate in a brief discussion with Guillermo Busutil, director of activities at the Alcántara Foundation. The Argentine writer, who currently resides in Germany, has several published works with various publishers and was even a finalist for the Biblioteca Breve Prize in 2020.
The jury for this edition was composed of renowned members of the Spanish literary and journalistic community. Chaired by the writer Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, it included the novelists Laura Ferrero and David Uclés; Rafael Arias, head of the Letras Corsarias bookstore; Silvia Pratdesaba, editor at Pre-Textos; and Guillermo Busutil, head of activities at the Manuel Alcántara Foundation.
In their ruling they highlighted “the literary quality of an autobiographical fiction against the backdrop of the history of the Nazis established in Argentina, in a literary game with Borgesian and picaresque novel resonances, which connects directly with current reality through the theme of fake news and information poisoning.”
Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, president of the jury, noted the high quality of this year's finalist novels, stating that all were of sufficient merit to be published. Referring to the winner, he said that Ariel Magnus blends real events with fiction, "telling the story with such verisimilitude that the reader questions what is real and what is invented." "It has documentary rigor and engaging prose, something that is appreciated by readers," the author concluded.
Participation success
Since its inception, the Estepona City Novel Prize has attracted the attention of writers from around the world. In its first edition (2021), it received over 300 submissions from countries such as Germany, France, Egypt, Canada, the USA, Guatemala, and Mexico, with the winning novel being 'Tumbas de agua' (Water Tombs) by Mexican author Miguel Tapia. In its second edition, participation doubled, exceeding 600 submissions, and the winning work was 'Buitrera' (Vulture's Nest) by Manuel Moya. In 2023, the novel 'El sabor de mi madre' (The Taste of My Mother) by Marina Perezagua won the prize from among nearly 700 entries from various parts of Spain, Europe, and Latin America.
This year, the call for entries for the Ciudad de Estepona Novel Prize has received a total of 771 works from Spain, Europe and Latin America, consolidating its international projection and its role as a platform for promoting new voices in contemporary narrative.