The writer Alberto Lema on 10 October 2026 in the Museo do Mar de Galicia in Vigo gave the Premio Xerais de Novela. The publisher Edicións Xerais confirmed the formal presentation of the literary prize to Lema for the novel written in Galician, A boca do río. The winner of the 43rd edition had already been announced on 23 May 2026. The Premio Xerais is worth 10,000 euros .
A boca do río connects the story of the reservoir at Belesar (Chantada, province of Lugo) with a literary reflection on power, dispossession and the continuity of economic elites in Spain. At its heart is the large-scale flooding and relocation along the Miño during construction of the dam, which was inaugurated in 1963 under Francisco Franco. The industrialist Barrié de la Maza, a backer of the project, appears in the narrative as a pivotal figure between capital, the state and local society. Lema weaves historical allusions and fictional biographies into a panorama that exposes the violence of the dictatorship’s development model.
In an interview with elDiario.es on 8 October 2026, Lema said, referring to economic policy path dependencies: “La Transición dejó intactos los acuerdos económicos del franquismo.” This attribution is part of the novel’s narrative programme, which uses the political and social order of the post-war decades as a backdrop to individual lives. The statement is identified as the author’s position; it is not an official assessment, but a literary interpretation.
The Premio Xerais is regarded as one of the most important awards for literature in the Galician language. This year’s decision once again sees Edicións Xerais champion works that link regional history with a broader debate about memory, property rights and infrastructure policy. Regional media also highlighted the documentary precision with which the novel depicts relocations, land expropriations and the role of the energy industry in north-west Spain.
The book edition of A boca do río has been published by Edicións Xerais. According to the publisher, no Spanish-language translation is currently available. The novel is therefore initially aimed at a Galician-speaking readership, who are likely to recognise the historical landscapes of Belesar, the Miño and the province of Lugo directly. At the same time, through its cast of characters, the work addresses a nationwide issue: how the economic structures of the dictatorship may have continued into democracy—a perspective Lema explicitly sees as a literary intervention.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).