Leopold Brizuela, Argentine author and 2003 resident of the International Writing Program, was awarded the 2012 Alfaguara Novel Prize for his work Una misma noche. The prize consists of a $175,000 award and a sculpture by Marin Chirino. The Alfaguara Novel Prize rewards quality, unpublished works written in Spanish - the prestige of the award throughout the Spanish-speaking world ensures the winning selection’s success and international distribution, with simultaneous publishing runs in Spain, Latin America and the United States.

Una misma noche was selected from over 780 original manuscripts competing for this prize. It tells the story of Leonardo Diego Bazan, a middle-aged writer who returns to his childhood home to care for his widowed mother. Unwittingly, he witnesses the robbery of a neighboring house. The robbery, carried out by a group of police officers, brings back repressed memories of a time when the house was occupied by the Kupermans. A constant dialogue between the years of 2010 and 1976, the story catalyzes one of the darkest periods in the history of Argentina and echoes, with no intent to oversimplify, the voices of both victims and executioners.

As a winner, Brizuela will enjoy a one-year promotional tour that visits nearly every Spanish speaking country. Additionally Una misma noche will be distributed simultaneously in 19 Spanish-speaking countries, reaching an audience of over 400 million. Visit Brizuela’s profile on the International Writing Program’s website to learn more about the writer and read a sample of his work.