June 17, 2026
Gibraltar Cultural Services (GCS), on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Spring Festival Short Story Competition. Organised in conjunction with the Gibraltar Chronicle, this very popular annual competition attracted a total of 238 entries across a wide age range, from school children to adults.
The awards were presented by the Minister for Culture, The Hon Christian Santos GMD MP, on Wednesday 17th June at an awards ceremony held at BOOKgem.
A panel of judges consisting of Melissa Bosano and Josephine Cassaglia judged the competition.
The Winners are:
The Ministry of Culture Award – Overall Competition Winner – £1000
Winner: Naomi Duarte with ‘El Cuenco de Castañas’
Best Adult Story in English Language:
Winner (£500): Jaime May Rudder Knight with ‘Vantage of Ruin’
Runner-up: Laura Harper with ‘The Fog’
Best Story in Spanish Language:
Winner (£500): Eugenia Maria Torres García with ‘Antes De Olvidar
Runner-up: Brian Gordon with ‘La Curanderita’
Best Story in Llanito Language:
Winner (£500): Kaylan Escamez with ‘Que Bonito Es La Hora Del Te’
Runner-up: Yvonne Sacarello with ‘Mamaita’
School Years 11 to 13:
Winner: Siena May Lee with ‘Unnoticed’ – Prior Park School
Runner-up: Grace Oxley with ‘The Memory Box’ – Prior Park School
School Years 8 to 10:
Winner: Reuben Carruthers with ‘Roll Call’ – Prior Park School
Runner-up: Miriam Natasha Ramagge with ‘Where Are You?’ – Prior Park School
School Years 6 to 7:
Winner: Helena Baczynska with ‘What Stayed Unsaid’ – Westside School
Runner-up: Eli Brenig with ‘The Fallen Star’ – Gibraltar Boys Secondary School
School Years 4 to 5:
Winner: Hannah Allen with ‘Daydreaming’ – St Joseph’s Upper Primary School
Runner-up: Anna Sofia Medici Serfaty with ‘The Hooded Figure’ – Hebrew Primary School
GCS would like to thank the judges, the Gibraltar Chronicle and all participants for their continued support.