The failure to agree on the National Prize for Children's Literature and the National Prize for Poetry and Short Story this year is not a simple fact or a gap in the protocol of an official ceremony. It is an act of symbolic, cultural and educational weight, which raises serious questions about the orientation of cultural policies and the hierarchy of values ​​given to Albanian literature.

As a representative of a publishing house with almost 20 years of experience in children's literature in particular, this decision seems to me not only incomprehensible, but also disturbing. Children's literature is not a peripheral genre, nor a small branch of "great" literature. On the contrary, it is the foundation on which the individual's first relationship with books, with language, with imagination and with human values ​​is built.

A society that does not value children's literature risks cutting off the roots of reading at its very beginning. The national award for this genre is not just a reward for authors, illustrators or publishers; it is a public statement that the culture of reading starts early and that investing in children is investing in the future of the country.

The failure to award this prize sends the wrong message: that the many years of work, professional dedication, and great responsibility that children's literature carries are not enough to be considered worthy of national recognition. This is a silent form of undervaluation that, in the long run, discourages young authors and weakens the quality market for children's books.

Equally worrying is the lack of coordination of the National Poetry Prize. Poetry is the most concentrated voice of language, the highest form of artistic expression and the conscience of a culture. It is often said that poetry is read little, that it has a limited audience and a narrower influence. But is this a reason to leave it without institutional recognition? Should poetry be punished twice: once by the lack of mass reading and the second time by the lack of award recognition?

If poetry is not read enough, then the duty of institutions is not to retreat, but to support, promote, and create bridges between poetry and the reader. The national prize is one of these bridges. Its removal deepens the gap and pushes poetry even further towards the margins.

In this context, it is worth highlighting another important fact: Albanian literature, historically, is a narrative literature. The short story has been and remains one of the most successful forms of our literary expression. Today, more than ever, the contemporary reader is orienting himself towards short forms: the story, the condensed poem, the condensed text, for reasons of time, the pace of life and a new way of reading.

In this sense, the undervaluation of poetry and short narrative forms contradicts the very reality of reading today. The reader is not moving away from literature; he is seeking a literature written briefly, but with depth, weight, and aesthetic value. It is here that poetry and storytelling play an essential role.

The lack of agreement on these prices should be seen as a national alarm and a call for serious reflection.

Because where children's literature begins, storytelling continues, and poetry rises, that's where the reader, the citizen, and the future of a nation are formed. And no price disagreement can undo this, but neither should it ignore it.

The price is not the determining factor for the success of a book. Its success depends on the reader, on the time that accepts or rejects it, on the impact it manages to have on the mind and soul, and on its ability to stay alive beyond the moment of publication. The history of literature has proven that many fundamental works have been recognized and appreciated late, often without any price in their time.

But when prizes are awarded, they have another essential function: they do not declare winners, but declare values. They indicate what is considered important to a culture and what is placed in the center of institutional attention. Precisely for this reason, the assessment of children's literature, poetry, and short stories has a significance that goes beyond individual authors.

By appreciating these genres, we do not only reward specific books, but reaffirm that they have been and will remain cornerstones of Albanian literature. Children's literature because that is where the reader is born; poetry because that is where language and sensitivity are concentrated; the short story because that is where the mastery of storytelling appears in its purest form. Even when they are not at the center of the market, these genres are at the center of culture.

In this sense, the lack of coordination of prices does not diminish their real value, but risks obscuring the cultural message conveyed to society. Because prices are not measures of success, but orienting signs. And a culture that gives up on these signs risks losing direction.

However, despite this institutional disappointment, one thing remains unwavering: writers and publishers of literature will continue to create. Because literature is not just a prize. Literature is a passion, it is a mission and it is a responsibility. Those who write do not do so for quick glory, but to leave deep and lasting traces in the minds and hearts of readers. And as long as they have breath, they will continue to convey beautiful Albanian literature.