El Ministerio de Cultura celebrates that on December 8, 2025, it will be 100 years since the birth of writer Carmen Martín Gaite (Salamanca, 1925 – Madrid, 2000), with a program of activities and publications throughout the year. Among them, the issuance of a stamp, a photographic book, a dramatized reading, and an exhibition.
Thus, with the aim of recognizing and disseminating the figure of one of the «key» writers of Spanish narrative of the 20th century, explained by the department of Ernest Urtasun, a commemorative stamp will be issued, created from a design commission to the artist Yeyei Gómez, with a print run of 90,000 copies and available from this Monday, May 12.
This action is a tribute to the importance that Martín Gaite placed on the epistolary genre as a fundamental part of her conception of literature: «writing a letter is sending a message to the future.»
Beyond the program of public activities, highlights the publication of a photographic book by the portraitist Lisbeth Salas about Martín Gaite, which will serve to make visible the figure and work of the Salamanca writer. In addition, the National Library of Spain will host a commemorative exhibition about the author that will open on October 30 and will be curated by José Teruel and María Isabel Toro Pascua.
The centenary celebration began in 2024 with activities about the author at the three most prominent international book fairs: the International Book Fair of the City of New York, last October, the International Book Fair of Guadalajara, where Spain was the Guest of Honor last December, and the International Book Fair of Bogotá, where Spain was also the Guest of Honor this May.
After the kickoff at these three events, the celebration will continue in Spain, starting next Tuesday, May 20, when the round table ‘From imagination to freedom’ will take place at the Ateneu Barcelonès, where Pilar Aymerich, Angels Gregori, María Paz Ortuño, and Lisbeth Salas will pay tribute to Martín Gaite and Ana María Matute.
In October, the figure of the writer — who will also be honored by the Madrid Book Fair in its 84th edition — will once again be present at the New York Book Fair, the city where the writer lived and taught. A dramatized reading of the theatrical show ‘Little Red Riding Hood in Manhattan’ will be held there, with the presence of part of the cast of the play consisting of actresses Carolina Yuste, Mamen García, Carmen Navarro, and Miriam Montilla, musician Marcel Mihok, and director Lucía Miranda.
