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Daína Chaviano's novel wins Gold Medal at Florida Book Awards
The novel Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán (Grijalbo-Penguin Random House), by Cuban writer Daína Chaviano, has been awarded the Gold Medal for Best Book in Spanish Language at the 14th edition of the Florida Book Awards.
The contest, sponsored by Florida State University, recognizes and pays tribute to the best literature published annually. This year about 175 works were analyzed for the 11 categories of the contest.
Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán is a historical thriller that took her author more than a decade of research. The novel reconstructs the universe of the Taínos, the main indigenous culture of the Caribbean, establishing a link between that time and the hypothetical future of a Cuba in democracy, where a specialist in ancient documents tries to discover who is behind several murders between Miami and Havana, after the discovery of an enigmatic indigenous tomb.
Fourteen years ago, in 2006, Chaviano also won a Gold Medal during the first call for the prize with his novel The Island of Eternal Love (Riverhead Books - Penguin Group), translated into 27 languages.
In addition to Chaviano, the winners of the Gold Medal in other categories were: Sophia Gholz, for The Boy Who Grew a Forest; Ryan Calejo, for Charlie Hernandez and the Castle of Bones; Victor Andres Triay, for The Mariel Boatlift: A Cuban-American Journey; Paul Wilborn, for Cigar City; Jaquira Díaz, for Ordinary Girls; Maureen Seaton, for Sweet World; Robert N. Macomber, for Honoring The Enemy: A Captain Peter Wake Novel; Trish Doller, for Start Here; and Joy Sheffield Harris, for The Florida Cracker Cookbook.
In almost all categories, silver and bronze medals were also awarded. The Silver Medal for Best Book in Spanish Language went to Lizette Espinosa, for her poetry book Smoke. The third place was deserted.
The contest is organized by the Florida State University Libraries in collaboration with the State Library and Archives of Florida, Florida Association for Media in Education, Florida Center for the Book, Florida Historical Society, Florida Humanities Council, Florida Library Association, and Florida Literary Arts Coalition, among other institutions.
The contest, sponsored by Florida State University, recognizes and pays tribute to the best literature published annually. This year about 175 works were analyzed for the 11 categories of the contest.
Los hijos de la Diosa Huracán is a historical thriller that took her author more than a decade of research. The novel reconstructs the universe of the Taínos, the main indigenous culture of the Caribbean, establishing a link between that time and the hypothetical future of a Cuba in democracy, where a specialist in ancient documents tries to discover who is behind several murders between Miami and Havana, after the discovery of an enigmatic indigenous tomb.
Fourteen years ago, in 2006, Chaviano also won a Gold Medal during the first call for the prize with his novel The Island of Eternal Love (Riverhead Books - Penguin Group), translated into 27 languages.
In addition to Chaviano, the winners of the Gold Medal in other categories were: Sophia Gholz, for The Boy Who Grew a Forest; Ryan Calejo, for Charlie Hernandez and the Castle of Bones; Victor Andres Triay, for The Mariel Boatlift: A Cuban-American Journey; Paul Wilborn, for Cigar City; Jaquira Díaz, for Ordinary Girls; Maureen Seaton, for Sweet World; Robert N. Macomber, for Honoring The Enemy: A Captain Peter Wake Novel; Trish Doller, for Start Here; and Joy Sheffield Harris, for The Florida Cracker Cookbook.
In almost all categories, silver and bronze medals were also awarded. The Silver Medal for Best Book in Spanish Language went to Lizette Espinosa, for her poetry book Smoke. The third place was deserted.
The contest is organized by the Florida State University Libraries in collaboration with the State Library and Archives of Florida, Florida Association for Media in Education, Florida Center for the Book, Florida Historical Society, Florida Humanities Council, Florida Library Association, and Florida Literary Arts Coalition, among other institutions.