The deadline to participate ends on November 2 and in the last edition received more than 1,700 short stories

The founding of Hidralia, the Aquae Foundation, launches the VII edition of its Scientific Micro-Story Competition. Its goal is to promote the dissemination of science and value literary prowess.

In this contest, which in its previous edition received about 1,700 short stories, can participate anyone, regardless of their nationality or country of residence, as long as their stories - maximum of three per participant - are original and unpublished and written in Spanish.
The central axis of this contest should be Science in any of its aspects (science, innovation, progress, art and science, water, new technologies); and the extension must not exceed 100 words. The filing deadline is November 2. 

"When I think of a micro-story the image that comes to my head is that of a spark, which for an instant illuminates the darkness and leaves a mark on our retina even after it has become extinct. It is in the same tradition as the classical root epigram, our avant-garde greguería, Japanese haiku or anglo-Saxon limerick satirist, but it is also related to popular forms such as saying, joke and riddle. Even the sonnet, with its precise metric, imposes a formal limitation similar to that faced by micro storytellers, and also requires maximum condensation and an exhibition of ingenuity", explains María Zapata, winner of the First Prize in 2019 thanks to her micro-story 'Walking on the Waters'.

The final of this competition will be held on 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development, as part of Science Week (4-17 November). The two prizes to be given are: First Prize of 500 euros for the best story, chosen by a jury of experts; and Audience Award, valued at 250 euros, which will be decided by the jury among the 50 most voted stories through the Aquae Foundation website.

"Microrelate is a postmodern genus, difficult to constrain with standards. It can present various, often non-literary forms, such as instructions or a WhatsApp conversation. It has the intensity and evocative capacity of a poem. It is much more important what awakens in the reader's imagination than what he actually says. Therefore, it is imperative that words are precisely chosen. It has to be polished like a diamond. That's why it's convenient, once finished, to let it rest and return to it some time later," says Zapata.

The jury of this contest is composed of Valerie Miles, New York writer and editor based in Barcelona; Marta Peirano, Spanish writer and journalist; Angeles Puerta, director of Aquae Foundation; and David Calle, a driver of the Unicoos educational platform and a member of Aquae's Strategy Council.

"The history of literature is full of scientific stories, whether short or in the form of novels, exciting, astonishing and disturbing. In 1961 the Polish Stanislaw Lem surprised the world with 'Solaris', a claustrophobic novel in which he delves into the study of human psychology. And I'm sure many have read 'Contact', the only novel by American science spreader Carl Sagan; or '2001: A Space Odyssey', for which Arthur C. Clarke relied on some of his own short stories, mainly on 'The Sentinel', written in 1948 for a BBC contest. By the way, they've all taken to the movies," says Valerie Miles, co-founder of Granta magazine in Spain and a member of the jury. 

"A micro story has to have a pictorial look. Picasso's Guernica represents for me like no other image that idea: the high moment, the torn cry, but stopped in the throat just before it was broadcast. It is worth stopping to contemplate this painting before writing", concludes María Zapata.