Tenerife is launching a new literary award aimed at putting Canary Islands writers more firmly on the national cultural map.
And unlike many competitions these days…
This one comes with a very clear rule about artificial intelligence.
New Narrative Award Created by the Cabildo
The Cabildo de Tenerife has officially approved the first edition of the:
📚 Insular Narrative Award Nicolás Estévanez Murphy 2026
A new literary competition recognising unpublished long-form narrative works written by authors connected to the Canary Islands.
€10,000 Prize for the Winning Work
The award includes:
💶 €10,000 prize money
Alongside an institutional commitment to:
📖 Publish
📚 Promote
📰 Publicly distribute
The winning work.
Who Can Enter?
The competition is open to:
✍️ Writers born in the Canary Islands
✍️ Or residents registered in the islands for at least the past three years
Submitted works must:
📄 Be unpublished
🇪🇸 Be written in Spanish
📚 Be between 150 and 250 pages long
AI-Generated Content Officially Banned
One of the most interesting parts of the rules is the explicit ban on using artificial intelligence to generate creative content.
The Cabildo stated that:
🤖 AI-generated writing will not be accepted
Although technical support tools like:
✔️ Spell checkers
✔️ Layout assistance
✔️ Editing tools
Will still be permitted.
Which probably tells you quite a lot about where literary competitions think things are heading.
Honouring Nicolás Estévanez Murphy
The award is named after:
📖 Nicolás Estévanez Murphy
As a tribute to his literary and cultural legacy.
According to the Cabildo, the goal is to encourage:
✍️ Originality
📚 Narrative quality
🎨 Literary talent
While helping position Tenerife as a stronger cultural and literary reference point.
Worth Knowing
The fact organisers now have to officially specify “please don’t let AI write your novel” probably says everything about 2026.
Still… €10,000 for writing a book isn’t bad motivation either.