Peruvian writer David Antonio Silva Rojas wins Almadía Ventosa-Arrufat International Short Novel Prize

Peruvian author David Antonio Silva Rojas has secured the inaugural Almadía Ventosa-Arrufat International Short Novel Prize for his work “Donde el agua trabaja.” The jury lauded the novel for its profound exploration of labor exploitation and contemporary forms of vulnerability, highlighting silence as a central compositional element.

Cristina Rivera Garza, the jury president, described the novel as building an oppressive atmosphere of exploitation and unequal power dynamics between female laborers and their foremen. She praised its subtle language and brief sentences, likening them to the dripping of irrigation systems in vineyards, noting that the work avoids didacticism or declamation. Rivera Garza further elaborated on the narrative, which follows a young woman leaving her village for seasonal work as a harvester in a distant region. The jury emphasized the masterful use of silence, calling it the novel's most eloquent aspect, a bond between the narrator and her sole friend, a shield against injustice, and a pervasive presence that thickens the story's texture with an unnamed sense of dread.

Silva Rojas revealed that the novel's genesis came from a farmworker's quiet statement: “Many things happen here that nobody tells.” This resonated with him as he concluded an investigation into human trafficking for Peru's Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, where he witnessed hundreds of people waiting for buses before dawn to go to the fields. He felt compelled to write about the individuals whose labor underpins Peru's celebrated agro-export success but who are never the focus of the narrative.

The winning novel, chosen unanimously by the jury, comes with a 20,000 euro prize and will be published simultaneously in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, and Spain, with digital publication across Latin America. Rivera Garza expressed confidence that the novel has a bright future and that it is fitting to launch a new prize with a work that so impressed the judges.