Spanish writers win children's lit prizes

Madrid, Mar 10 (EFE).- Spanish writer Jordi Sierra i Fabra won the El Barco de Vapor Children's Literature Prize, which is awarded by publishing house SM, for "Historia de un segundo."

Sierra i Fabra, who was born in Barcelona in 1947 and is one of the most popular children's authors in Spain, said he would donate the cash prize of 50,000 euros ($68,242) to his foundation, which works with disadvantaged children in Colombia and Spain.

The Gran Angular Children's Literature Prize, which also carries a cash award of 50,000 euros, went to Ricardo Gomez, who was born in Madrid in 1954, for his novel, "Mujer mirando al mar," the publishing house said.

This was the 32nd edition of the prizes, which are awarded by Fundacion SM and considered the top awards for children's authors in Spain.

Sierra i Fabra's "Historia de un segundo" beat out 250 other books for the El Barco de Vapor prize, with the jury calling it a work that "knows how to tell the universal romantic stories with tenderness, subtlety and ingenuity."

"Mujer mirando al mar," for its part, won over 156 other original works and serves, according to the jury, as "an ingenious stylistic exercise which, starting with a poem, unleashes an intrigue about passionate love and the search for justice."