María del Carmen Piñas Saura, winner of the IV María Zambrano International Essay Prize from the Málaga Provincial Council

María del Carmen Piñas Saura has won the fourth María Zambrano International Essay Prize with her work 'Artesanía de la luz', "a form ... of an apology to poetry and thought that gathers multiple voices in a well-woven and inspiring manner," according to the jury. The second prize was awarded to Domingo Alberto Vital Díaz, for 'María y otros poetas: una mujer y lo divino'.

The María Zambrano International Essay Prize, organized by the Provincial Council of Málaga through the Generación del 27 Cultural Center, was created four years ago with the purpose of encouraging research on the life and work of the thinker born in Vélez-Málaga or on studies that explore the relationships between literature and philosophy.

This was announced by the Vice President of Culture and Education, Manuel López Mestanza, after the jury's deliberation, which was composed of Francisco Ruiz Noguera, as its president; Rosa Mascarell, painter and poet, personal secretary and editor of María Zambrano's work; Rosa Fernández Gómez, associate professor of Aesthetics and Philosophy of the Arts at UMA; José Antonio Mesa Toré, director of the Generación del 27 Cultural Center, and María Jesús Bernet, secretary of the jury.

"The Provincial Council of Málaga wants to honor this distinguished figure from our literature through the awarding of this prize, in line with the institution's intention to promote and stimulate artistic and poetic creation, which now includes philosophical inquiry," López Mestanza stated.

The prize includes a financial endowment of 10,000 euros distributed as 6,000 euros for the work selected in first place and 4,000 euros for the work selected in second place. The work awarded first place will be published by the Provincial Council of Málaga's Publishing Center (CEDMA).

In the three previous calls, the first prize was awarded to the works 'L´Altro Viaggio de Dante. A philosophical analysis of the journey through The Divine Comedy', by María Rodríguez Lorca, in 2022; 'Panorámicas íntimas', by Beatriz Santiago and Vicente Ordóñez, in 2023 and 'El silbido de la seducción. Lo ofídico en María Zambrano' by Herminia Luque Ortiz, for her work (2024).