Andalusian writer Galan receives award in Naples

Naples - Naples and Spain enjoy a long-standing bond that has been strengthened in the last couple of years with the literary prize 'Quaderni Ibero Americani' moving from Rome to Naples. This year's winner is Juan Eslava Galan, an Andalusian (born in Arjona, Jaen, in 1948), author of history and short story genre best-sellers and published in Italian by Feltrinelli, under the alias of Nicholas Wilcox.

Galan himself recalled this bond and particularly appreciates it. "Spain is culturally indebted with Italy, and with Naples in particular. I am fond of Naples, thanks to Miguel Cervantes, a great promoter of European culture profoundly influenced by the culture of the city he lived in and, above all, by the atmosphere of understanding and tolerance which one breathes here too, just by walking down the street."

This bond between the writer and Naples dates back to Charles II Bourbon, better known as Charles VII of Spain. Upon arriving to the Spanish throne, "he was already an experienced king who wrote a very important chapter of our history and the history of Europe, beginning with Naples and teaching the difference between sin and guilt." The jury panel of the literary prize includes Giuseppe Tavani, president, and writers such as Bernardo Atxaga, Alfredo Conde, Ramon Pernas, Marcos Giralt Torrente, Rossana Balduzzi Gastini, Brad Epps, Raffaele La Capria, Bruno M. Damiani, Juan Maria Alzina and Luisa Castro. It is sponsord by the oldest and most prestigious periodical on Hispanic literature, Quaderni Ibero Americani, and by Ambito Cultural of the Corte Ingles. It also enjoys the support of the Instituto Cervantes in Naples and the Gallerie d'Italia Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, under the aegis of the Municipality of Naples.