Awards: Plumas Pioneras Literary Competition – 3rd Edition

Honourable mention in Plumas Pioneras: Year 12 student’s literary talent recognised

On Tuesday 18 November, the awards ceremony for the third edition of the Plumas Pioneras, Narrativas de Futuro literary competition took place. The short story contest is organised by Faro UDD together with the Vargas Llosa Chair.

In this edition, the central theme was Mystery, inspiring hundreds of young writers from across the country. The competition brought together more than 261 secondary students from Chile and 54 undergraduate students from Universidad del Desarrollo, establishing itself as an important platform for encouraging creativity and writing among new generations.

During the ceremony, Martina I. from Year 12A received an honourable mention for her short story Read Between the Lines, a recognition that highlights her talent and literary promise within the competition.

Below, we share an extract from her story:

Read Between the Lines

Today I arrived at the library with hesitant steps. Who knew what other absurd mistake I was going to find, I thought, recalling Fleming’s line in Goldfinger, “Once is happenstance; twice is coincidence; the third time it’s enemy action.” In my mind, the possibilities of that third time multiplied. I walked towards the desk and the old man’s outstretched arm was waiting for me with a new discovery for this Monday. I sat in a corner to lose myself in the story, but it had other plans, because the moment I opened the cover I found myself face to face with the dedication: “For my avid reader Darío, who must find the answer between the lines.” It was printed confirmation of my suspicions: someone was playing with the books, and worse still, with me.

My mind spiralled downwards. He knows my name. He knows my reading routine well enough to anticipate my next books before I had even touched them. He comes and goes unnoticed before my eyes. But worst of all, I believed I was in control of the situation because I was the one consuming, devouring, the books, yet this person had realised that the books had consumed me. On impulse, I grabbed the three victims and tried to work out what they meant. Did he want me to look for an explanation or was this simply a carefully measured inconsistency to catch my attention? Was he forcing me to witness his “work of art”? Do I have all the clues in my hands, or are there more sentences that complete this puzzle?