Andrés Neuman wins the 12th annual Alfaguara Literary Prize

The writer Andrés Neuman (Buenos Aires, 1977) has won the 12th annual Alfaguara  Literary Prize, with prize money of 175,000 dollars and a commemorative sculpture by Martín Chirino, for his work El viajero del siglo (The traveller of the century), presented under the pseudonym of Von Stadler.

The jury, presided over by Luis Goytisolo and composed of by Ana Clavel, Carlos Franz, Julio Ortega, Gonzalo Suárez y Juan González, hailed the novel's "literary ambition and quality", adding that "it recreates the feel of 19th-century narrative, and is written with a contemporary perspective and is wonderfully set against the backdrop of post-Napoleonic Germany".

A total of 546 previously unpublished manuscripts in Spanish were submitted to the 12th outing of the competition. 178 were from Spain, 96 from Mexico and 95 from Argentina.

As on previous occasions, the announcement of the winning entry was broadcast live online at the web sites: www.alfaguara.com, www.alfaguara.santillana.es, www.elpais.com y www.cadenaser.com.