Hortensia Roig Prize awarded to Andrea Navarro Ruiz: Prof. Lechuga among the jury members

by Virginia Greco

'Elsa y el club de los números', by mathematical engineer Andrea Navarro Ruiz was voted unanimously by the jury. The ceremony was held in Valencia on September 28.

On September 28, the award ceremony of the Hortensia Roig Prize for children's literature was held in Valencia at EDEM Escuela de Empresarios. The first prize was conferred to 'Elsa y el club de los números', by Valencian mathematical engineer Andrea Navarro Ruiz. 'Margarita no es nombre de flor' by Celina Ranz Santana, from the Canary Islands, was runner-up.

The ceremony was hosted by the promoter of the initiative, Hortensia Roig, President of EDEM, accompanied by the other members of the jury: Prof. Ana Lluch, head of the haematology and medical oncology department of the Hospital Clínico Universitario of Valencia, Prof. Laura Lechuga, leader of the NanoBiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications Group at the ICN2, Gloria Lomana, President of GL 50&50, and Jordi Nadal, CEO and founder of Plataforma Editorial.

The jury unanimously awarded the first prize Andrea Navarro, a mathematical engineer, currently in charge of Data Science at a technology company in Castellón, because her story manages to "integrate scientific and technical concepts into school activities and games". The award consists in an 8,000 euro prize and the publication and distribution of 3,000 copies of the book nationwide. Her novel will be available in Spain’s main bookshops in December.