Overview

• At the Barcelona gala, Juan del Val won with Vera as Banzas received the €200,000 finalist award.
• Her novel is a historical drama set in postwar Galicia that centers on a Santiago hospital and draws on her childhood hospitalization, highlighting the role of hospital libraries.
• Premio Planeta juror Luz Gabás praised the work’s Galician gothic tone and its lyrical style.
• Banzas submitted the manuscript under the working title El color de la lluvia, setting key scenes in the Hospital Real de los Reyes Católicos, now a Parador.
• A former public-administration consultant with about 70,000 copies sold of earlier novels, she drew wide online praise including a personal message from Vice President Yolanda Díaz.