Rosario Raro Wins Azorín Novel Prize 2025 for 'The Bride of Peace'

Rosario Raro has been awarded the Azorín Novel Prize 2025 for her work 'The Bride of Peace', a novel that delivers a clear message in today's world context marked by armed conflicts, particularly aiming to halt the weapons in Ukraine three years after the Russian invasion began. For the Castellón author, it is a clear call for pacifism and resolving differences through other means, no matter how significant they may seem.

The story is set in 1901 across South Africa, London, Scotland, and India. The protagonist concludes that 'there is no better revenge after betrayal than happiness'. With this novel, she has won a competition sponsored by the Alicante Provincial Council and Planeta publishing house, which awards 45,000 euros to the author, along with professional recognition.

A total of 643 manuscripts were submitted to the 32nd edition of this literary contest, from both Spain and abroad. This figure represents a 'historic record' compared to the 134 entries from the previous year, as for the first time, digital submissions were accepted, reports Europa Press. The decision of the contest was announced this year at an event in Alicante attended by the President of the Valencian Government, Carlos Mazón, amidst the political-judicial controversy that has intensified in recent days following the disastrous storm at the end of October.

According to the author, 'this novel is a plea for peace in this era of arms race'. It narrates how, in their quest to reunite, two fugitive lovers engage with a renowned journalist, whose career was dedicated to the pursuit of universal peace and the defense of human rights.

One of the protagonists is the British activist and pacifist Emily Hobhouse, 'unjustly silenced' and who 'tried to stop' any armed conflict, including the First World War. Raro explained that she found it 'a very interesting period' to 'rescue' this era coinciding with the turn of the century because, additionally, 'the years Gandhi spent in South Africa and how he began the liberation movement of the 150,000 Indians working there are not well known'.