With this nomination, Llana—winner of the 2023 National Literature Prize—becomes the third known Cuban woman to contend for the Cervantes, following Fina Garcia Marruz (1923–2022) and Dulce Maris Loynaz (1902–1997).

The nomination was spearheaded by Alejandra Giovanna Amatto, a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a member of the prize’s jury, as confirmed by the Cuban newspaper *Granma*.

Born in Cienfuegos in 1936, Llana has built a career spanning over six decades across print media, radio, television, and news agencies.

A 1958 graduate of the Manuel Marquez Sterling School of Journalism, her debut work, *La reja* (1965), set a benchmark in Cuban fantastic fiction.

Notable titles among her works include *Casas del Vedado* (1984)—winner of the Critics’ Prize—*Castillos de naipes* (1998), *Ronda en el Malecon* (2004), and *Tras la quinta puerta* (2014).

In a telephone conversation with *Granma*, the author expressed that she was “very happy” and regarded the nomination as “the greatest honor” to which she could aspire.

Llana’s nomination highlights a curious continuity: Cuban women writers maintaining an almost constant presence among candidates for the Cervantes Prize—an award also received by Cubans Alejo Carpentier (in 1977) and Guillermo Cabrera Infante (in 1997).

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