The José Manuel Lara Foundation highlighted on Monday in a statement that it is collaborating for the second consecutive year in the School of Young Writers of Andalusia 2025, organized by the Andalusian Center for Letters. The opening of the XVIII edition took place on Monday at the CEULAJ de Mollina (Malaga), where it will remain until the 12th, bringing together 35 young people from all over Andalusia in a unique experience of creation, training, and literary exchange.
Among the participants are the winners of the ‘My Favorite Book’ contest in Andalusia, Ceuta, and Melilla, organized by the José Manuel Lara Foundation with the collaboration of the Cajasol Foundation. They are Olmo Villa Fernández from the San Juan Bosco school in Seville, for his reflection on the book ‘American Prometheus’; and Ariadna Padilla Fernández from SAFA Funcadía in Huelva for her story about ‘A Monster Calls’.
Their participation through these scholarships in the School is a recognition of the literary quality and reading maturity of their texts, as well as a way to promote their development in creative writing and foster their reading habits.
«With these scholarships, we want to continue opening paths for young talent and demonstrate that literature remains a key tool for the personal, educational, and social development of the new generations. At the José Manuel Lara Foundation, we firmly believe in the transformative power of reading and writing, especially when it comes to youth. That is why supporting this School of Young Writers is a strong commitment to emerging talent and a concrete way to accompany those who are taking their first steps in the literary field,» said Pablo Morillo Pérez, general director of the José Manuel Lara Foundation.
On the other hand, Justo Navarro, director of the Andalusian Center for Letters, stated: «We aim to contribute to the training of a new generation of young people interested in improving their literary education, helping them to consolidate their vocation. I want to remind you that former students of the School now enjoy the respect of critics and the public, and have won some of the most important literary awards granted in Spain.»
AN INNOVATIVE AND DIVERSE PROGRAM
As part of the collaboration agreement between both entities, the José Manuel Lara Foundation promotes two of the most outstanding activities of this edition: a literary training and a meeting with the writer Jorge Díaz, member of the pseudonym Carmen Mola.
The workshop ‘Dada Poem. Create and Read’, taught by teacher and writer José Antonio Francés, proposes a playful, creative, and experimental approach to poetic writing. This initiative, recognized with the second prize in the teaching category of the Teach to Read competition, is an example of how play and experimentation with language can be powerful tools for promoting reading.
The closing conference, on Friday, July 11, will be given by the novelist Jorge Díaz, one of the members of the pseudonym Carmen Mola, and author of ‘The Spy’. He has spent most of his career in television as a screenwriter and director, and has also taught screenwriting at various universities and master’s programs. The author will share with the young people his life and professional experience regarding the transformative power of reading and writing.
The program is completed with workshops on narrative, poetry, and dramaturgy, taught by recognized voices in current literature such as Rosario Villajos, Abraham Guerrero Tenorio, and Ruth Rubio, in addition to recreational, training, and coexistence activities.
