The jury of the Illa Nova Narrative Prize decided by majority to award the Illa Nova Narrative Prize in its ninth edition to the novel ‘Perder o norte’ by María López Quiroga.
The jury was composed of Ana Arias Castro, Iria Collazo, Lara Dopazo, Ramón Nicolás and Adrián Pérez Bote, with Malores Villanueva acting as secretary of the jury on behalf of Editorial Galaxia.
The jury emphasized that ‘Perder o norte’ is a modern-style novel that dialogues with the dramatic genre to address current issues such as mental health and grief. The story delves into the intimate relationship of the protagonists and, through them, even explores the emotion of that feeling.
This story travels through different territories, physical and emotional, from the landscapes of Lugo during her childhood to the itinerant geography that the protagonist travels through. These spatial references, together with other artistic, literary and musical ones, build a powerful generational portrait. The author exhibits a powerful and careful style to narrate the process of development of the narrator's voice.
