2012 ALBA Fiction Contest Opens in Cuba

Havana, Nov 9. -The 2012 ALBA Fiction Contest is now open to Latin American and Caribbean writers up to the age of 40, with novels in English or Spanish that provide a fresh perspective, The Havana Reporter newspaper reported on Wednesday.According to the latest edition of the weekly publication edited by Prensa Latina, the contest is sponsored by the ALBA Cultural Fund and Havana’s Dulce María Loynaz Cultural Center, and is aimed at encouraging creativity among young people in

America.

ALBA is the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, an international cooperation organization based on the idea of social, political, and economic integration between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The winner of the first edition of the contest, in 2010, was Venezuelan writer Sol Linares, for her book Percusión y tomate, and Argentine Juan Pablo Fiorenza won second prize for Verde Alicia.

In 2011, the winner of the ALBA Fiction Contest was Daniel Ferreira, for his novel Viaje al interior de una gota de sangre. Second place went to Puerto Rican writer Alejandro Carpio for El papel de lija.

First prize consists of $15,000 or the equivalent in the national currency of the winner’s country, and the publication of the winning novel.

Eligible novels should not have their publication rights committed to any publishers nor should they be entered in other contests. The novels may be written in any esthetic tendency and with any theme and should be 120 to 400 pages long.

Two copies should be submitted with a sealed envelope containing the name of the contestant, a copy of his or her identification or accreditation document, mailing address, telephone and email, along with a brief CV. The outside of the envelope should bear the name of the novel and a pseudonym of the author.

Entries that are illegible or poorly bound, or that do not meet the other abovementioned requirements, will not be accepted.

Originals will be sent or personally delivered to the following address: Centro Dulce María Loynaz, 19 y E, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, La Habana, Cuba, CP 10400.

Entries may be sent by email in Word format, using 12-point Times New Roman font, with spacing at 1.5 lines, to: albanarrativa @loynaz.cult.cu or albanarrativa @yahoo.es.

The deadline for submission is Dec. 10 of this year and the final jury deliberations will be part of the activities of the 2012 Havana Book Fair. (Prensa Latina)