Regional Government of Madrid receives more than 4,800 texts from underground travellers on occasion of first Metrorrelatos [Metro Tales] Literary Event

Regional Government of Madrid receives more than 4,800 texts from underground travellers on occasion of first Metrorrelatos [Metro Tales] Literary Event
Called by the Madrid underground and the School of Writers, the jury’s decision will be announced on 4 February. The jury will decide on the best submissions taking into account the way they are written and the story they tell. The final winner will receive an annual travel card valid for all the different tariff zones of Madrid.

The Regional Government of Madrid has received more than 4,800 short stories submitted by Metro de Madrid travellers to the first Metrorrelatos [Metro Tales] Literary Event, called by the Madrid underground and the School of Writers. The deadline for their submission was 9 am on 31 December and the jury, made up of the faculty of teachers of this school, now faces the task of choosing 12 winning texts, both in terms of the way they are written and the story they tell. The winning decision will be announced on Friday, 4 February. The final winner will receive an annual travel card valid for all the different tariff zones of Madrid.

All of the texts submitted must begin with the phrase, “As I walked along the platform…” and must not contain more than 100 words (without including the title or the initial phrase). The backdrop to the story must also refer to the Madrid underground.

Both the winner and the other 11 finalists will receive free enrolment on an intensive short-story course, for a duration of one month, organised by the School of Writers.

In addition, the 12 texts selected will be published on posters that will be displayed in the facilities of Metro de Madrid, including a QR code to access the text in audio format.

METRO AND LITERATURE

Metro de Madrid has always shown a great interest in literature, as can be seen in the Books to the Street campaign, which held its 24th edition this year. Thanks to this collaboration, fragments of works by different authors can be read in the underground trains.

As part of this campaign, held in collaboration with the Association of Publishers of Madrid, a competition was organised to launch the initiative “Choose your Destination, Literary Map of Metro de Madrid”, which primarily sought to foster reading and publicise great literary works among users. Accordingly, the stations changed their name to those of the favourite literary works of readers and travellers in a new virtual literary map.

Previously, more than 3,600 contestants took part in the “Between lines” short story competition that Metro de Madrid organised back in 2012, also jointly with the School of Writers, and the free publication Cuentos para el Andén [Stories for the Platform]. This competition helped see the different reflections and emotions of travellers on this mode of transport and was very well received.

In addition, the Madrid underground has Bibliometros [Metro Libraries] – a system to lend out books free of charge - located in 12 stations on the underground, set up to facilitate reading by passengers.