Havana, Cuba.- The 17th edition of the Julio Cortazar Ibero-American Short-story Prize will be awarded here on August 29 in honor of the renowned Argentine writer, considered one of the greatest exponents of the Spanish language, according to the organizers.

The event, created in 2002 at the initiative of the Lithuanian intellectual Ugne Karvelis, is considered a relevant literary event to encourage narrators who write in Spanish to present their short stories.

As in previous years, this contest presents more than 200 texts by resident authors in all continents.

This year the jury is composed of writers Martin Kohan, from Argentina; and Maria Elena Llana and Rafael de Aguila, from the Caribbean island.

Cuban intellectual Miguel Barnet serves as president of honor of this contest, leading the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC).

Julio Cortazar Ibero-American Short-story Prize is sponsored annually by the Cuban Book Institute, Casa de las Americas and UNEAC, plus the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Argentine Republic and the Alia Foundation.

Julio Cortazar (1914-1984) is considered a master of short story, poetic prose and short narrative in general.

He wrote important novels such as Rayuela (1963), one of the main works of the so-called Latin American boom, a phenomenon that emerged in the decade from 1960 to 1970.

According to specialists, his creations broke classic molds with a narrative that escaped from temporal linearity.