Iberian literary prize goes to Italian

(AGI) Naples, May 25 - Luisa Castro, director of the Cervantes Institute in Naples, is the winner of the fourth edition of the "Quaderni Ibero Americani" literary prize, to be held for the first time in the capital of Campania on June 17. It will coincide with the celebrations of the 300th birth anniversary of Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788), King of the Two Sicilies, and then of Spain, who remains the symbol of the cultural ties between the two peoples. Raffaele La Capria will receive a special "southern culture" award. The prize, awarded by a jury whose members include the writers Bernardo Atxaga, Alfredo Conde, Ramon Pernas and Marcos Giralt Torrente, is promoted by the most ancient and prestigious Iberian literary magazine (Quaderni Ibero Americani) and the cultural arm of El Corte Ingles department stores, with the support of the cultural office of the Spanish embassy in Italy and under the patronage of the Naples provincial tourism body. For two days the city will host a large delegation of writers, Hispanists and cultural figures such as the former Director of the Holy See Press Office Joaquin Navarro Valls, and representatives of diplomatic institutions in Italy. The key innovation this year will be the "reportajes" - memoirs and travel stories - which the visiting writers will produce during and after their Neapolitan days, to be published in Quaderni and on the magazine's website. A video crew will also follow the writers as they stroll and meet each other around Naples, preparing a short film. "The prize is an annual event and is devoted to one of the most important and representative voices on the Spanish literary scene," explained Patricia Martelli, secretary of the prize. "The last edition was in Rome and for us it is an honour that this year, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of our magazine, the ceremony takes place in Naples, the city hub of cultural relations between Spain and Italy, during 2016's celebrations in memory of a monarch who left his mark on the history of humanity." (AGI). .