Raul Quinto (Cartagena, 1978) received the prize National Story Prize 2024 who grants the Ministry of Culture and endowed with 30,000 euros for his work’Hammer of the Shadow King” (Jekyll and Jill).
The work tells of the moment when Ferdinand VIon the orders of the Marquis of Ensenada, carried out the mass arrest of the Spanish gypsy population, known as the Great Gathering.
The jury highlighted the author’s work “for being a brilliant proposal which, at the border of genres, creates an original fiction essay of historical interpretation.
“With a style rich in nuances, rich in metaphors and magnificent descriptions, Raul Quinto presents a vigorous vintage portrait in which he precisely dissects the practices, conflicts and rites of the Ancien Régime State and the attempts to exterminate a minority such as the Gypsy people”, adds the judgment.
Raúl Quinto was born in Cartagena in 1978 and holds a degree in History of Art from the University of Granada. He currently resides in Almería where he works as a teacher.
wrote poetry books such as “The Vigilante’s Skin” (DVD, 2005), “The Flower of Torture” (Renacimiento, 2008), “White Noise” (La Bella Varsovia, 2012), “The Broken Tongue” (La Bella Varsovia, 2019 ). ) or the ‘Sola’ notebook (La Bella Varsovia, 2020). He also published hybrid narrative books such as “Idioteca” (El Gaviero, 2010), “Yosotros” (Caballo de Troya, 2015) and “Hijo” (La Bella Varsovia, 2017).
In addition, he is one of the coordinators of the José Ángel Valente Faculty of Poetry and has collaborated as a critic in publications such as the Quimera magazine.
During its last edition, the prize rewarded Pilar Adonjoining a full list of winnersincluding Marilar Aleixandre, Xesús Fraga, Juan Bonilla, Cristina Morales, Almudena Grandes, Fernando Aramburu or Cristina Fernández Cubas, among others.
