Lagoa: «Sparrow Cemetery» by João Morgado wins the Santos Stockler Literary Prize

The award ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 pm on Wednesday, June 25, at the Lagoa Municipal Library.

The award-winning work — an intimate and poignant monologue about the last 24 hours of an 88-year-old man — proposes a reflection on old age and abandonment, in a society centered on youth. The narrative traverses memories of love, loss, friendship and remorse, offering a raw portrait of the limits of existence.

João José da Conceição Morgado, distinguished by the jury of the 5th edition of the award, has a literary career marked by novels, poetry and children's stories.

He was also a worker, journalist, consultant and chief of staff for three mayors, and today he is active in civic and economic associations.

In the words of the jury, it is “a novel that, starting from the last 24 hours of the narrator-protagonist’s life, tells the story of the formation and evolution of a family, tragically shaken, with Portugal and Spain before and after democracy as a backdrop”.

The session will feature speeches by Luís Encarnação, Mayor of Lagoa , Adriana Nogueira, President of the Jury, and António Venda, from the publisher Onyva . There will also be a musical moment, followed by the offering of autographed copies.

“Old age in a world that prefers to forget it” is the motto of the work now distinguished.

Entry is free.