Vila-Sanjuán Wins Fernando Lara Prize for His Novel 'Mystery in the Gothic Quarter'

Journalism, culture, and mystery. With this formula, writer and journalist Sergio Vila-Sanjuán has won the Fernando Lara Novel Prize with his work 'Mystery in the Gothic Quarter', under the pseudonym 'In the Heart of the Old City'. This well-known literary contest, which awards 120,000 euros to the winner, saw him enter this time under the pseudonym Pablo Amstrong—in memory of his grandparents—and his new title will be published on June 25th.

Vila-Sanjuán highlighted, during a meeting with the media on Thursday after receiving the award, that the novel is born from his walks through the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, "in a mysterious atmosphere that integrates investigations from both past and present times." Additionally, "it touches on the theme of culture and tourism, in a book where both converge," for which the author has provided his perspective.

The protagonist of the work is a cultural journalist with a "very long" career, drawing from the author himself, who claims that there is "40%" of him in this character. The work addresses "how to embrace old age with the utmost joy possible," with themes such as "insomnia or colleagues from the same generation who have already passed." On another note, as reported by Europa Press, he pointed out that the journalism profession is "undergoing a transformation due to new generations, reading habits, and the technological revolution," and he noted that he has been "tremendously happy" throughout his career.

The decision was made by the jury of this twenty-ninth edition of the literary contest, composed of Ana María Ruiz-Tagle, Clara Sánchez, Nativel Preciado, Pere Gimferrer, and Emili Rosales, who will act as secretary with voting rights. This edition has seen record participation, with a total of 1,116 original novels received, according to the award's organization.

The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, present at the award ceremony, thanked Grupo Planeta before presenting the award, "for their commitment to Andalusia and Seville." Meanwhile, the president of Grupo Planeta Atresmedia, José Crehueras, expressed gratitude, "to all those who have supported this award year after year" and to the family of Fernando Lara, for whom he requested applause.

In the previous edition of this literary prize, the winner was the work 'When the Storm Passes', presented under the title 'The Paths of a Dark God', by writer Manel Loureiro, while in 2023, the winning work was 'The Rebellion of the Good', by Roberto Santiago.

Other winning works include 'The Bitter Gift of Beauty' by Terenci Moix, 1996; 'Parallel Deaths' by Fernando Sánchez Dragó, 2006; 'With You I Learned' by Silvia Grijalba, 2011; 'My Memory is Stronger Than Your Forgetfulness' by Paloma Sánchez-Garnica, 2016; 'After Love' by Sonsoles Ónega, 2017; Ángela Becerra with 'Someday Today', 2019; Gonzalo Giner with 'The Green Mist', 2020; or Alaitz Leceaga with 'Where the Sea Ends', 2021.