Alma Delia Murillo wins Bellas Artes de Narrativa Colima Prize

Mexican writer Alma Delia Murillo has been awarded the 2026 Bellas Artes de Narrativa Colima Prize for her work, ‘Raíz que no desaparece’. The award was presented by the Mexican Secretariat of Culture and the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), in collaboration with the University of Colima.

The jury selected the novel for its narrative approach to forced disappearance, memory, and the search for missing persons through the lens of nature. The judges noted that while the tragedy is often expressed through administrative files and statistics, Murillo’s work “returns names, bodies, dreams, and memory.” The story follows Ada, a woman searching for her missing son through premonitory dreams, utilizing the metaphor of roots to connect loss with the land and pre-Hispanic heritage.

Murillo expressed her surprise at receiving the award, stating her hope that it helps to “make visible the story that ‘Raíz que no desaparece’ tells,” which resonates with thousands of Mexican families.