"It's a reflection on masculinity": the keys to Inma Pelegrin's novel, which won the Lumen Prize

She still hadn't fully recovered from her shock , it hadn't fully sunk in yet. However, the procession is going on inside. With measured words, Spanish author Inma Pelegrin acknowledged that she was surprised when she received the news that she had won the 2025 Lumen Novel Prize.

Her novel Fosca , a rural thriller exploring cruelty, tenderness, and the end of childhood in a hostile environment with a gripping and revealing ending, will be published on September 25. She also received a prize of 30,000 euros.

In her debut novel , the poet had time to talk to the press via a virtual conference and share her impressions of winning the Lumen 2025 Novel Award.

“It was a very pleasant surprise. I was hanging up laundry when a phone number I didn't recognize rang. It never occurred to me it could be something like that. It was a huge joy , a surprise, and I'm still overwhelmed. I think I need a few days to fully grasp what's happened to me,” she said.

“I'm especially happy for the publisher where this novel will be released. It means a lot to me to be here in Madrid today, and especially to be publishing with Lumen ,” added Inma, who lives in Lorca and traveled to Madrid, the Spanish capital, to receive the award.

Speaking to the Spanish-language press, Pelegrin was accompanied by members of the jury, who shared their thoughts on the winning entry. One of them was Ángeles González-Sinde.

"Reading this manuscript , I understood who was behind a writer who is careful when it comes to telling a good story, a writer who works by choosing each word and each image almost like a goldsmith," he concluded.

About Fosca , the brand new novel that won the 2025 Lumen Prize, he said, “ It is a story full of emotion where each action delves into a somber climate where shadows fight: each in their own way and with their own reasons for opening that path to the light. It is also a reflection on masculinity , a misunderstood and widespread way of seeing masculinity, that painful transmission of what we call the attributes of man.”

He also praised the characters created by the Spanish writer and highlighted the brilliance of the female characters. "Those who want to break away from this oppressive tradition also shine," he asserted.

For her part, Elena Medel, another member of the select jury, said: “We have used an expression of an anti-learning novel in the sense that Inma focuses on the nickname of the typical learning novel, but subverts it .”

In this sense, he noted that " there is a protagonist who doesn't experience an adventure, a lesson, but rather the opposite : he wants to destroy what he's learned in order to survive. There's a very strong symbolism here: his forgetting of a dark fable with a very legendary tone in which there is no moral. It's a path we explore as we read."

Inma Pelegrin also answered questions from the press. One of them focused on the qualities of Gabi, the central character in Fosca . "There's a characteristic of the protagonist: he has difficulty recognizing faces , recognizing people by their faces. It's called prosopagnosia, a condition I also have," she revealed.

“I wanted to talk about that trait in a novel. I can relate to it. But, on a general level, life is made up of evil and tenderness. I think the novel is also made up of that . We're capable of doing things we might not want people to know about. That's where my emotional involvement with the character and the happiness I feel I share with him comes from,” she added.

What will readers expect when the novel is published in September? “ I would like them to find a story that captivates them , that they want to keep reading. I would like whoever gets this book to feel like they're enjoying it,” said the winner of the 2025 Lumen Novel Prize.

The author also spoke about her transition from poetry to novels: “More than a transition, it was something natural. There are things I can write or convey using a poem, and things like these, I couldn't write a poem that spoke about this whole story, this novel: father, mother, all these people. I couldn't even use a collection of poems to tell this whole story .”

"So, more than a step, it was a natural one, just as when we speak, we sometimes use more lyrical language and other times more prosaic. I'm comfortable when I write poetry, and I was comfortable when I wrote this novel," he added.

Argentine Clara Obligado , another member of the jury who was absent from the virtual press conference, shared her impressions of Pelegrin's novel. She highlighted "its language, the creation of a poetic idiom, and the use of popular speech in a memorable setting in the Spanish literary tradition, and at the same time, a unique character where nature, helplessness, and humanity merge."

In this regard, Lola Larrumbe, literary director of Lumen, also spoke about the language Pelegrin used in his landmark work, as well as the importance of the novel's nature. " These are characters who are in a very special natural setting , where the protagonist develops a very strong connection with a dog. There's a space for tenderness there."

“Like all my colleagues, I was impressed by the language : at times it reminded me of Panza de burro (by Andrea Abreu) ​​or Cometierra (by the Argentine writer Dolores Reyes), and the power of the images that took me to scenes from films by Buñuel or As bestas , a film by Rodrigo Sorogoyen,” praised Ángeles González Sinden.

“ The story takes place in the countryside, in Murcia. Unfortunately, it could happen in many places in Latin America or Africa . Throughout the novel, there's a sense that you can smell and touch the concrete darkness and the metaphysical darkness within the characters. Above all, it's striking how the tension builds until the very end, an unexpected and unforgettable ending,” he concluded.

“Have you found the mix of stories and languages ​​difficult?” the winning author was asked from Mexico.

"There's a difference in language and the spoken language of the conversations between family members. The boy is the only one who has had the opportunity to go to school ; the others haven't, and one of them had to stop attending. In fact, the father doesn't want him to go to school," Pelegrin explained.

"So, his conversation with himself has a different level than when he speaks to others, to his entire family: it's a very organic way of speaking, in terms of the Murcian-Lorquino language, using words characteristic of the area. I like to think that any place can be a literary place and any language can be a literary language. I like to explore that aspect," he argued.

Furthermore, Inma Pelegrin revealed that she has “many demons,” some of which she captured in her recent work.

“ Perhaps literature helps me experience things I can't in real life . I like being able to live lives I won't experience in reality. After all, that's what literature, fantasy, and art are for. It helps me understand that in a given circumstance, we can be who we don't want to be.”

The winner also shared intimate moments from her writing process. “I really liked when Elena Medel said that it was obvious someone was enjoying the novel. It's true : for me, the best moments of writing are those when I find things I'd like to read and enjoy them. I have a great time; time flies.”

Regarding Gabi, the main character in Fosca said she has a wart on her hand caused by an infection. Ates didn't have a solution; there were only home remedies.

“This morning, a girl was moved. At one point, she talked about how to dry a tree, you have to pour vinegar on it. To dry a wart, her mother bandages her hand with vinegar all night. The child wondered how deep the roots of her warts reached, but they still didn't dry out. I was surprised that she mentioned that part because I felt happy when I was writing it, and I feel happy now. I don't know if that happiness goes beyond the paper, and I'm very excited that it does, ” she added.

Regarding the writing process, Pelegrin admitted that he followed a single path, without making too many changes to the story or the characters he created. “Sometimes I reached a point where the path seemed to continue. It was very little. I planned the plot from the beginning, writing it down. Then it's harder to get lost,” he asserted.

Regarding the title of the winning novel, she said, “Fosca is a rather strange word. In some places in the north of Spain it means ‘fog’ . In the south, where I’m from, ‘fosca’ is the word used on days when it’s unbearably hot , with temperatures over 40 or 45 degrees. Then a cloud of dust comes over, as if from the Sahara Desert, and the sky becomes cloudy. We don’t see the sun; we know where it is because of the light, but you don’t see the clouds; you can’t see any closer than 100 meters. That’s when people say, ‘what does fosca mean?’ It’s a different word depending on where you say it .”

“But it's also used in the book. It doesn't make it very clear where or when it happens. There are many things left open. So, I use that same image because sometimes in life things aren't always clear . That's where the title comes from, because the story takes place on extremely hot days, immersed in that darkness that ultimately becomes another character in the novel.”