The Short Story Contest of Tecnun has already its winners.

Thanks to the collaboration of bookshop Zubieta, La Perla Thalassotherapy Center of San Sebastian and the San Telmo Museum, the winners will receive a set of books, a voucher to access the spa and tickets to the museum.

The competition Short Story Tecnun was launched for the first time last year during the quarantine. goal Doctoral student Fátima Villa and professor David del Rio organized the contest with the aim that "the reflections of those days could be reflected on paper and remain in time". In this way the students were also offered a cultural activity that they could do at home.

In view of the good reception it received, and in order to "continue sharing their passion for reading and writing with the rest of the students and "continue sharing their passion for reading and writing with the rest of the students and staff of the School"they have organized a second edition. Both are grateful and happy for the quality of the texts and the high level of participation. To make the challenge more original, on this occasion, participants were asked to use the words feather, blueberry and ladder in their stories, chosen at random.

The competition has gathered 56 stories from all over the world, of which the jury has awarded 4 in Spanish and 2 in Basque. Thanks to the collaboration of the bookshop Zubieta, La Perla Thalassotherapy Center of San Sebastian and the San Telmo Museum, the winners will receive a set of books, a voucher to access the spa and tickets to the museum.

Victor Peñas Núñez, student Industrial Organization Engineering from Tecnun, has obtained the first place in the category Spanish with his story 'Vienen unos antiguos amigos' (Some old friends are coming).. "I thought that since I had to include the three constraints (feather, staircase and blueberry), I could make them take on a special meaning, that they weren't just there for the sake of being there. It was clear to me that I wanted the action to center on a staircase. Then I thought the feather might represent a why, and the pie the murder weapon. Researching against the clock about pacharán and the Italian mafia, and fitting the pieces together to build a little story around it was, to say the least, entertaining. Maybe it will encourage me to fill in a little bit of the puzzle", the student explains.

The first award in this category in Basque was not awarded.

The second award of short stories at Spanish was won by the story 'Duque', written by María Inés Heidenreich, a teacher at the Colegio de Traductores Públicos de Buenos Aires, Argentina.  

"I found it an interesting challenge to construct a story respecting the three-word slogan. The text is loosely inspired by a real event, which I set in our pampas. Sometimes reality far exceeds fiction," says Heidenreich from the other side of the pond. 

For his part, Jon Odriozola Amigorena, a native of Hernani, won 2nd place in the Basque language category with the story 'Postala'. "I have always liked to write and from time to time I do it for myself. I think it was in confinement when I heard about the first edition of the competition short story contest organized by Tecnun. Several months later, I found instructions for the second edition and I decided to participate. I have to admit that I was very excited to receive the news that my writing has been awarded", confesses Odriozola. And he explains: "Colored with some touches of humor, the story focuses on the perseverance of the day to day. I wanted to emphasize that perseverance has neither age nor expiration date. The postcard' is a brief allegory of the phrase, so often used, 'He who follows gets it.

It is worth mentioning the accredited specialization of honor that the jury has awarded to José Ramón Ramos Martínez and his story "La mansión de Frankestein", to the professor of Tecnun HéctorSolar and his writing "Compañero de piso", and to Iñigo Legorburu Arregi and his work `OstikozkoUkabilkadak'.

The organisers of the competition would like to thank the participants and the sponsors for the support they have once again given to the initiative.