Award ceremony - The European Union Prize for Literature - 18 November 2010, Brussels
Winners of 2010 EU Prize for Literature honoured at award ceremony (18/11)
Eleven authors have been awarded the 2010 European Union Prize for Literature during a gala ceremony this evening at the Royal Flemish Theatre (KVS) in Brussels. The European Union Prize for Literature puts the spotlight on new and emerging authors. The 11 winners this year were selected by national juries in Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The prizes have been awarded by Androulla Vassiliou, the Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, together with Doris Pack, Chairwoman of the European Parliament's Committee on Education and Culture, and Fadila Laanan, the Minister for Culture of the French Community of Belgium, representing the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The aim of the European Union Prize for Literature is to increase the visibility of the authors outside their home country. Each winner receives €5 000 and their books are given priority for support from the EU's literary translation funding scheme. The works of 7 of the 12 award winners in 2009 have already been translated. The winners also benefit from other promotional activities, including publicity at the Frankfurt Bookfair.
The 2010 winners are:
Belgium: Peter Terrin, De Bewaker (The Guard)
Publishing House: De Arbeiderspers
Cyprus: Myrto Azina Chronides, To Peirama (The Experiment)
Publishing House: Armida Publications
Denmark: Adda Djørup, Den mindste modstand (The least resistance)
Publishing House: Samleren
Estonia: Tiit Aleksejev, Palveränd (The Pilgrimage)
Publishing House: Varrak
Finland: Riku Korhonen , Lääkäriromaani (Doctor Novel)
Publishing House: Sammakko
Germany: Iris Hanika, Das Eigentliche (The Bottom Line)
Publishing House: Droschl Verlag
Luxembourg: Jean Back, Amateur
Publishing House: Ultimomondo
Romania: Răzvan Rădulescu, Teodosie cel Mic (Theodosius the Small)
Publishing House: Polirom
Slovenia: Nataša Kramberger, Nebesa v robidah: roman v zgodbah (Heaven in a blackberry bush: novel in stories)
Publishing House: Javni sklad RS za ljubiteljske dejavnosti
Spain: Raquel Martínez-Gómez, Sombras de unicornio (Shadows of the unicorn)
Publishing House: Algaida Editores
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Goce Smilevski , Сестрата на Зигмунд Фројд (Sigmund Freud's sister)
Publishing house: Kultura
The European book sector is an important driver of creativity, growth and jobs in the EU, with sales revenues of €40 billion per annum.
The European Union Prize for Literature is awarded to authors from 35 countries over a three-year-period. In 2009, the winners came from Austria, Croatia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden. Next year, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Serbia, The Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom will select the winners.
The Prize is jointly organised by the European Commission with the European Writers' Council, the Federation of European Publishers and the European Booksellers Federation. The Prize is co-funded through the EU Culture Programme which also offers funding for the translation of literary works. Since 2007, it has provided €8.5 million for the translation of 1 500 books.
