Historical novel that recreates the revolution of Tupac Amaru II wins the 2021 Copé Award

PETROPERÚ announced the results of the XX Poetry Biennial and VIII Novel Biennial of the 2021 Copé Award, whose call was made virtually and managed to have the participation of more than 900 works by Peruvian writers.

The qualifying jury of the VIII Novel Biennial "2021 Copé Award", selected the work "Serpiente resplandeciente", as winner of the Gold Copé Award of the writer and Master in Literature José Luis Villanueva Victorio.

It is a historical novel that recreates the revolution of Túpac Amaru II. Narrated with a poetic, agile, intense and realistic language, it incorporates Andean mythology to this decisive event in the history of the country. Likewise, the construction of Túpac Amaru's character, from different points of view, offers a broader and more comprehensive look at an iconic figure in history, the qualifying jury highlighted.

Likewise, the work "Magdalena" by Hugo Coya Honores and the work "El fin de la fábula" by Javier Núñez Condori were designated as Honorable Mention. The finalists were awarded to the works “Independencia”, “La ciudad de los gatos”, “Cisne blanco” and “Héroe inocente”.

The winning work of the VIII Novel Biennial will be published by PETROPERÚ under the Ediciones Copé label next year.

The qualifying jury of the VIII Novel Biennial  was made up of Mariella Sala for the Ministry of Culture, Eliana Gonzáles Cruz for the Peruvian Academy of Language, Agustín Prado Alvarado for the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Victoria Guerrero Peirano for the Pontifical University Católica del Perú and Giancarla Di Laura Morales for PETROPERÚ. The winning novel was selected from a total of 209 participating works.

XX Poetry Biennial

After reviewing the 774 works submitted, the qualifying jury selected the collection of poems "Ciertas formas del fuego" by the writer and journalist Daniel Arenas Bardales, as the winner of the Gold Copé Award of the XX Poetry Biennial "2021 Copé Award".

The winning collection of poems stood out for the fluidity of the verses that express the daily tradition of Peru and its link with the Western canon from ancient Greece to contemporary French and German contributions. Likewise, the qualifying jury highlighted that the verses of the winning poem can be enjoyed by any attentive reader of poetry regardless of their knowledge of their age or gender.

Likewise, the collection of poems "Buey manso o doce cantos para disuadir al matarife (con interludios)" was designated as the winner of the Silver Copé Award. Its author is the writer César Humberto Olivares Acate. While the Bronze Copé Award of the XX Poetry Biennial was awarded to the collection of poems "Cinco días en Huarochirí", under the pseudonym "Trickster" and authored by the writer Miguel Luis Gil Castro. The collections of poems "Bóveda Rupestre", "Es también volver" and the collection of poems "El viaje" were designated as Honorable Mentions.

The winning poetry collections as well as the poems of the honorable mentions and finalists that the qualifying jury recommends for their quality will be published by PETROPERÚ under the Ediciones Copé seal in 2022.

The qualifying jury for the 2021 Copé Poetry Award was made up of Julia Wong Kcomt from the Ministry of Culture, Marco Martos Carrera from the Peruvian Academy of Language, Yolanda Westphalen Rodriguez from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Luis Fernando Chueca from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and Ricardo González Vigil for PETROPERÚ.

The recognition ceremony of the winners, honorable mentions and finalists of both biennials will be held the second week of January 2022, via the PETROPERÚ Cultural Center Facebook live.

PETROPERÚ and the qualifying juries highlight the great call for works in the 2021 edition of the poetry and novel contests and the high level of the works presented and selected. Likewise, they thank all the participants for their vocation in literary creation.