In February, the Secretary of Culture of Entre Ríos opened the annual call for the Fray Mocho award in the short story genre. The deadline for receiving works for the province’s most important literary award ends on June 28.
Within the framework of what is established by Law No. 7823, promulgated at the end of 1986 and its Regulatory Decree No. 2967 of 1987, the call for competition will award on this occasion a work of the story genre.
Envelopes with works will be received until Friday, June 28, 2024. The call was opened in February and during the time that has passed, submissions with proposals have been received, as reflected in the graphic record.
Once the reception period has concluded, next Friday, the candidate works (signed with pseudonyms) included in the contest will be announced through the Secretariat’s communication platforms. The formal ceremony is assisted by the Government Notary Office.
The procedure continues with the work of the jury, which on October 25 will announce its verdict and the envelope will be opened to find out the identity of the author of the winning work. The steps were established in the Regulation approved by Resolution 04/24 of the Ministry of Culture, the provincial institution that carries out the administrative process of the award.
Once the winner is announced, the editing and publication of the book continues, a task that is carried out by the Editorial de Entre Ríos (EDER). The call for applications from Fray Mocho is year-over-year: that is, in 2024 the opening of the contest corresponding to 2023 was announced. Fray Mocho’s last publication corresponds to La Verdad, a play by María Esther Bulacios from Colon, which won the prize. 2021 and was printed in March of this year. Awaiting its turn to be published is The Astonishment of the Days, a collection of poems by Carla Olivera, the winning work of the 2022 call, whose call and analysis process was carried out in 2023.
The award is the highest literary distinction awarded by the provincial government, with the winning work receiving an edition of 1,000 copies, of which 200 are given to the author.
The Fray Mocho has continuity through annual calls, with rotation of different literary genres and in accordance with the following order: theater, poetry, short story, novel and essay.
Requirements for the current call
According to article number 5 of the Regulations, a set of original and unpublished stories must be submitted to compete. In addition, they must have a minimum length of 60 pages and a maximum of 100 pages, on a free topic.
The works must be sent only by certified postal item with the following legend: Fray Mocho Annual Literary Award – Story 2023 – Secretary of Culture of the Province of Entre Ríos. Gardel 42, CP 3100, Paraná, Entre Ríos, without placing the sender or document number or other information that identifies the author of the work sent.
Regulation 2024, which contains the bases and conditions, can be downloaded from the following link: RULES. For reports and queries, interested parties can contact the email: culturaconvocatoriaer@gmail.
The stories of Fray Mocho
Since the regulation of the Law in June 1987, there have been seven editions of the short story genre that were published by the Editorial de Entre Ríos (EDER). The titles and authors were: Cornfield Stories by Marta Spagnuolo (1988); October Hills by Juan José Manauta (1993); The Lady with the Unicorn by Juan Manuel Alfaro (1998); Stories with painters by Marcelo Olmos (2003); Texts without destiny by Fernando Belottini (2008); Half Without One by Matías González (2013) and The Dance of the Vizcachas by Fabián Reato (2018). The award-winning writers of this stage are from Colón, Gualeguay, Nogoyá, Paraná, Concordia, and Mansilla. All of these titles can be read in the Provincial Library in the reading room that serves users from Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in Alameda de la Federación 278, Paraná.
To purchase copies
The EDER is the organization, dependent on the provincial Ministry of Culture, that handles the editing process of the award-winning works. The institution has a sales room where you can discover a wide variety of titles ranging from children’s literature to works by established Entre Ríos authors, and also books from the Fray Mocho competitions of different genres.
Days ago, a special 50% discount was announced on all their books during June, coinciding with Book Month.
It should be noted that Fray Mocho specimens range between 3,000 and 7,000 pesos. To make purchases, interested parties must go to the bookstore located on 25 de Junio 39 de Paraná. Customer service is from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday.
