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Julian Barnes speaks to students in Gijón
British author Julian Barnes, recipient of the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, participated in a conversation with students at the IES Doña Jimena in Gijón. The event served as the conclusion to ‘Los vértices de la memoria’, a cultural project within the ‘Toma la palabra’ program promoted by the Princess of Asturias Foundation.
The project involved 47 educational centers and received 7,709 works from secondary and high school students. The assignment required students to write short stories about a single daily event from three different perspectives, inspired by Barnes’s novel ‘Talking About the Subject’.
The meeting in Gijón brought together 238 students and teachers from 39 participating centers. During the session, Barnes discussed themes of memory, fiction, and imagination, sharing personal reflections on his adolescence and how literature provided him with a sense of truth during periods of doubt and anxiety.
Entities
Gijón · IES Doña Jimena · Julian Barnes · Princess of Asturias Foundation
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 2 SOURCES] The ‘Toma la palabra’ program is promoted by the Princess of Asturias Foundation. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es
- [● 2 SOURCES] Students submitted 7,709 works for the project. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es
- [● 2 SOURCES] The event in Gijón was attended by 238 students and teachers from 39 centers. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es
- [● 2 SOURCES] The ‘Los vértices de la memoria’ project included 47 educational centers. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es
- [● 2 SOURCES] Julian Barnes was awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Literature. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es