Calendario 2026 Awards Presented at Havana Book Fair

The Calendario Awards of the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS), granted this past February, were presented today at the Nicolás Guillén Hall, as part of the activities of the International Book Fair taking place through Sunday at the Línea and 18 Cultural Station in this capital.

The competition, co-sponsored by the Cuban Book Institute and the Abril Publishing House in the categories of poetry, children's and young adult literature, theater, science fiction, narrative, and essay, honored young writers under 35, whether or not they are AHS members.

The Science Fiction award went to Panel de alarmas, by journalist and communicator María de Jesús Chávez Vilorio, who told the Cuban News Agency that the Calendario is one of the most eagerly awaited honors among young Cubans because it, in a sense, consolidates a career before the age of 35.

She described it as "an enormous showcase to expose yourself, to showcase your work," adding that a career largely develops from that point on, and recalling that after a difficult year, it feels as though the clouds are beginning to part and life is genuinely starting to improve.

A communicator at the Gente Nueva Publishing House and the Jorge Cardoso Center, this Santiago native now living in the Cuban capital does not believe literature will be her professional focus for now, though she values communication work and journalism every day.

Several of her books are set to be released soon, prizes from previous years that were in preparation. Yesterday marked the first presentation of "74 días" (Sanlope Publishing House), winner of the 2023 Portus Patris Prize; another title is expected to receive the 2023 Regino E. Botti Prize from the Guantánamo publishing house, along with a further honor won at the David Prize from Ediciones Unión.

José Bárbaro Guerra, winner of the Calendario Award in Theater for his debut work in the genre, "Del hombre Ayaxxx," explained that he drew on the Greek myth of the virile Trojan War figure Ajax, and the shame of slaughtering an entire flock of sheep after mistaking them for the Achaean leaders Odysseus and Agamemnon.

He described it as the myth transplanted into a far more contemporary, more relatable context—the world of bodybuilding and the gym—carrying that so-called toxic, forceful, physical masculinity into that setting as well, expressing immense joy at what he called the start of a path he is very eager to pursue.

Another young author honored with the Calendario was Náthaly Hernández, who won the Prize and an Honorable Mention in the Poetry and Children's and Young Adult Literature categories, respectively, for the poetry collection "Cera" and the work "Para levantar vuelo -canción de una bruja-."

"I am grateful to the AHS for its tremendous work, helping to promote young literature, and for the support they give us as young authors," Hernández said, adding that she was thankful to have attended the awards ceremony and to know her books will be published by Abril Publishing House, with a print run that is currently a great luxury.

The Essay category recognized "Ecce homo: arqueología del discurso-Martí en La Lucha (1900-1902)," by Raúl Escalona Abella, with honorable mentions from the jury going to "Estado y sociedad civil en Cuba y Venezuela (1952-1961). Una perspectiva comparada," by Alejandro Sánchez Fernández, and "Ideología anarquista en Cuba. El caso de Marcelo Salinas," by Adrián Fornet Capote.

In the children's and young adult category, the top honor went to "Los cuentos de un tal Timoteo el bardo," by Eduardo Daniel Rosell Herrera, alongside an Honorable Mention in Poetry for the collection "Canción del cuerpo a rastras," by Jessica Chabeli González Smith.

Jorge Fornet, noted researcher and director of Casa de las Américas magazine, closed out the event, as is customary, alongside the authors and winning titles from the previous edition of the Calendario Awards.

The awards ceremony was presided over by Elier Ramírez Canedo, deputy head of the Central Committee's Ideological Department; Lizette Martínez Luzardo, Deputy Minister of Culture; Aracelys Bedevia, director of Abril Publishing House; Yasel Toledo Garnache, president of the AHS; and Yuris Nórido, vice president of the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists, among others.