The City Council of Cerdanyola del Vallès and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have announced today the winners of the 2025 literary prizes. Sergi Félez Navarro (Esparreguera) with his work Indómit, presented under the pseudonym ‘Rabalero’, is the winner of the 16th ‘Caterina Albert’ short story prize for young people, worth 500 euros. David Carreres Lacasa (Castelló), with his work Allà on t'estime, submitted under the pseudonym ‘Danna Harbour’, is the winner of the 30th ‘Miquel Martí i Pol’ poetry prize of 1,000 euros. Francesc Cabiró Gómez (Tortosa) with his work Aquell any a Xangxun, submitted under the pseudonym ‘L'aprenent’, was the winner of the 31st ‘Valldaura-Memorial Pere Calders’ novel prize, worth 3,000 euros. A total of 147 works competed for the prizes in this edition, of which 43 took part in the short story competition, 53 in the poetry competition and 51 in the novel prize. The winning works will be published by the UAB Publications Service and will be presented in November in Cerdanyola del Vallès.
During the ceremony, Cristina Ruedas, cultural technician of the City Council and secretary of the jury of the XVI Short Narrative Prize ‘Caterina Albert’, was in charge of reading the minutes of the meeting of the jury of this same award, where she said that the winning story, Indómit, stands out for ‘being very well written with an intimate lexicon that describes the environment so well, that transports you to the scene where the protagonist lives’. The jury also highlighted the fact that it is an ‘ecological’ work that highlights the healing power of nature, as if it were just another character.
Joan Carles Marset, director of the UAB Publications Service and secretary of the jury of the 30th ‘Miquel Martí i Pol’ Poetry Prize, explained that the winning work, Allà on t'estime, has been awarded because it is very cohesive and its author stands out for his good knowledge of language, lexical mastery and intertextuality linked to tradition.
Finally, David Vidal, lecturer in the Department of Media, Communication and Culture at the UAB and member of the jury of the XXXI ‘Valldaura - Pere Calders’ Novel Prize, read the minutes of the jury's decision that the novel Aquell any a Xangxun deserves the prize because the author demonstrates a good command of style and places the plot in an exotic environment, where the protagonist explores various moral and relational dilemmas, which end up leading to a tense scenario in which he is forced to make a final decision.
The awards ceremony was also attended by representatives of the two organising institutions, including Virginia Luzón Fernández, Vice-Rector of Communication at the UAB; Carlos Cordón, Mayor of Cerdanyola del Vallès Town Council; and Cerdanyola del Vallès Town Council councillors Andrea Borrego Valero and Concepción Martínez Rodríguez.
For his part, Luzón emphasised the complex task of the members of the literary prize jury, and the contribution that these awards make to the promotion of the Catalan language. Cordón also emphasised the emotive nature of the speeches of the winners, who were present at the event, and the commitment of the council and the university to the promotion of knowledge, culture and reading.
Journalism alumni Marta Ejarque presented the event, which was enlivened by a series of performances by the classical and contemporary music string quartet, Moana. The video of the awards ceremony will soon be posted on the UAB YouTube channel.
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