I’m always on the look out for good women SF writers, and given my interests in translations that applies all over the globe. I’m therefore pleased to get news from Spain about the Albertus Magnus Science Fiction Prize. This is awarded by the Faculty of Science and Technology at UPV / EHU, which describes itself as the University of the Basque Country. The first prize was won by “Kindergarten”, written by Sara Sacristán, a young writer from Madrid with a degree in geology who is now doing a PhD in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature. The report doesn’t seem to say what the prize is worth, but second prize was €1,500 so hopefully she got a nice sum.

With a bit of help from Google Translate, this is what the winning story was about:

In “Kindergarten” there is never enough for everyone, and a color code divides the children into strong and weak, those who live and those who die. The more privileged, who have imposed themselves on their classmates by force or cunning, sense that there must be something beyond the white walls of the garden, so they try to survive at all costs, pending the day when the doors open. Only the protagonist realizes that the path to freedom is something he will have to build himself, and at whatever cost. The story aims to reflect on the limits of ambition and friendship, and the anxieties of society that derive from creating increasingly competitive individuals at the expense of humanity.

Here’s hoping we get to see that in English sometime. Many thanks to my friend @odo on Twitter for the link.