Por Redaccion 
The City Council of Benidorm, through the departments of Culture and Historical and Cultural Heritage, will recover in 2025 the Short Narrative Literary Prize in Valencian ‘El Gos i la Tortuga’, an initiative focused on promoting culture, literary talent, and the Valencian language. Councilors Jaime Jesús Pérez and Ana Pellicer have explained that the Local Government Board approved the rules for this contest yesterday, which will be reissued coinciding with the celebration of the 700th Anniversary of the foundation of Benidorm, distributing a total of six prizes worth 1,200 euros.
The ‘El Gos i la Tortuga’ Literary Prize was first held in 1982 and had a total of fifteen editions, the last of which was in 1999. «It is a contest that had quite a following in its time and, moreover, bears the name of a very emblematic and beloved place for the people of Benidorm, which also has its own story,» said Ana Pellicer, who also pointed out that «for this reason, we thought it would be a good idea to bring it back during this ‘700th Anniversary’.»
The rules approved for this new call include certain changes compared to the prize held several decades ago, limiting the scope of participation to the population of Benidorm, both residents and students. Thus, anyone over 14 years of age who is studying at any educational center in the city of Benidorm or who is registered in Benidorm and attends a school in another location can participate, as stated by the person in charge of Historical and Cultural Heritage.
On the other hand, the Councilor for Culture has delved into the rules of this Literary Prize, which establish two categories: one for young participants aged 14 to 17, inclusive; and one for adults, who can submit works from the age of 18 onwards. Jaime Jesús Pérez has indicated that, in both cases, there will be three prizes valued at 300, 200, and 100 euros, respectively, in addition to a Special Prize that the jury will award to a work whose narrative discourse is about the history of Benidorm.
Likewise, the Benidorm City Council will publish an edition of 200 copies that will include the winning works, allowing the winners in each category to have the opportunity to see their story published beyond the cash prize, as conveyed by the councilor.
Requirements to participate
In addition to the aforementioned requirements, the rules of the ‘El Gos i la Tortuga’ literary prize state that each participant may submit one original and unpublished work for this competition, written in Valencian, with a minimum length of 10 sheets of DIN A4 paper and a maximum of 25 sheets on one side, double-spaced, and in Times New Roman font size 12.
The deadline for submitting works will start from the publication of the rules in the Official Provincial Gazette and the municipal Notice Board and will end on September 19, at 23:59 hours. Submissions must be made by certified mail addressed to the Municipal Public Library, located at Plaza de SS MM los Reyes de España, number 3 in Benidorm.
Each work must have two envelopes, A and B, with the motto written on the outside. Envelope A will contain three copies of the original work that must not be signed; while envelope B will contain the document with the contestant’s identification, including a photocopy of ID, NIE, or passport, as well as personal information – address, phone, email; a responsible declaration of the creator according to Annex 1 of the rules; and a signed authorization by the parent/guardian in case the author is a minor, in accordance with Annex 2 of the rules.
As for the jury, it will be composed of five people and chaired by the mayor or councilors delegated by him. A technician from the Benidorm Library Network will act as the secretary, who, like the jury president, will have a voice but no vote. The other three jury members will be individuals who have been recognized with the «Distinguished Citizens of Benidorm» award, whose appointment will be published on the Transparency Portal.
The jury will rate from 1 to 10 based on the following evaluation criteria: creativity and originality of the work; narrative coherence; and literary quality and style of the work.
The Councilors of Culture and Historical and Cultural Heritage have stated that this initiative is «a very good reason for young and not so young literature enthusiasts in our city to submit their short stories, especially in such a special year as the 700th Anniversary of Benidorm,» and have encouraged the citizens to participate in it.