SPANISH AMERICAN WRITERS, LITERARY PRIZES, AND BIBLIOMETRIC INDICATORS

The purpose of this paper is to study the Spanish American literary field in order to compare the awards system to the critical reception of literary work. Thus, I identify the Spanish American writers that have won main literary prizes and I analyze the bibliometric indicators associated to their work. Firstly, I consider the 26 most prestigious literary awards received by Spanish American writers: Alfaguara, Alfonso Reyes, Anagrama, Biblioteca breve, Cafe Gijon, Cervantes, Golden Wreath, De la critica, Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels, Felipe Trigo, Formentor, Grinzane Cavour, Herralde, Jerusalem, Juan Rulfo, Loewe, Medicis, Menendez Pelayo, Neustadt, Nobel, Planeta, Principe de Asturias, Primavera, Reina Sofia de poesia, Romulo Gallegos, Salambo. Secondly, I identify all the Spanish American authors that have received these awards and I obtain the number of publications associated to each writer, according to the Modern Language Association International Bibliography. Finally, I compare the volume of the critical bibliography to the number of literary awards. At a higher level of analysis, this article illustrates the importance and the potentiality that digital resources and bibliometrics represent for studying the development of the literary field.