The writer and journalist Alberto Valle (Barcelona, 1977) has been named the winner of the 16th edition of the L'H Confidencial International Black Novel Prize with the work Todos habían dejado de bailar. The award, promoted by the Biblioteca la Bòbila and convened by the L'Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council and Roca Editorial, thus returns to normality, after being declared void last year. Endowed with 12,000 euros and the publication of the novel, the L'H Confidencial Prize has consolidated itself as one of the most prestigious in the black genre.
The winning novel of this edition narrates what was known as the crime of the existentialists, with the murder of a businessman on Aragó street in Barcelona. Presented under the pseudonym of Fermín Valero and chosen from more than 160 originals, the jury has valued the recreation it makes of Barcelona in the 60s, focusing on the arrival of American jazz in El Raval and the venues in Plaza Reial.
This has not been his first novel. Under the pseudonym of Pascual Ulpiano, Valle has published the series starring detective Palop, a collection of pulp literature in its black and criminal aspect. Likewise, in 2018, he won the Ciudad de Vila-real Narrative Prize with Soy la venganza del hombre muerto. Recently, he won the Castell de Canyelles Prize with the short story No llores por mí cuando me haya ido.
Beyond his literary career, Alberto Valle has worked in various media such as ABC, Metro or Italian public television, RAI3. Currently, he is dedicated to communication consulting, although he does so without abandoning journalistic activity, writing about music and culture for various publications. Among them, The New Barcelona Post, where he weekly radiographs little-known profiles of the city in his section, El Bar del Post. He is also a promoter of musical events and remains involved in the organization of numerous initiatives linked to black music.