On the 18th May, the European Writers’ Council, the Federation of European Publishers and the European and International Booksellers Federation, published the names of those winning a European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) this year.
Prose writer Lucie Faulerová won the award, along with 12 other authors from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden and Tunisia. Highlighting the work of emerging writers and helping them to become visible on the international stage, the award is accompanied by a prize of € 5,000.
This is the fourth time a Czech author has won the award; the previous Czech laureates were Tomáš Zmeškal (2011, Milostný dopis klínovým písmem, Love Letter in Cuneiform), Jan Němec (2014, Dějiny světla, A History of Light) and Bianca Bellová (2017, Jezero, The Lake).
The Czech panel consisting of Pavel Mandys, Ivana Myšková, Petr A. Bílek, Vladimír Opatrný and Eva Klíčová, chose the novel entitled Smrtholka (Deathmaiden, published by the Torst publishing house) by prose writer Lucie Faulerová.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “The EU Prize for Literature celebrates and promotes the incredible creativity and diversity that can be found in the current European literary setting. The vast value of literature is now more apparent than ever. In a year in which we lived in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, books became ‘indispensable.’ Congratulations to the winners!”
The award ceremony takes place on 9 November in Brussels.
LUCIE FAULEROVÁ
A graduate of the Palacký University in Olomouc (the Faculty of Arts), Faulerová worked as an editor at the literary magazine Aluze; she also works with social architect Kateřina Šedá (books entitled BRNOX and UNES-CO). She debuted with the novel Lapači prachu (Collectors of Dust), nominated for the Jiří Orten Award and the Magnesia Litera Award) in 2017; the unsentimental and lacerative story tells of a young woman of today, more specifically, her “no relation” to children and motherhood, the latter being a chance to escape loneliness and achieve a lifetime power to control someone else. The main character of the author’s second novel, Smrtholka (Deathmaiden, 2020), faces several tragic family events that may seem hard to comprehend, trying to find their causes.
ABOUT THE PRIZE
The purpose of the European Union Prize for Literature (EULP), which has been awarded since 2009, is to highlight the wealth of contemporary European literary fiction production, as books and literature occupy a privileged place in culture and mutual knowledge.
The prize is awarded to writers from a total of 41 European countries; each year the award goes to authors from one third of the countries. The main objective of the award is to make authors more visible in the international book market, to promote the culture of each of the countries and to promote intercultural dialogue. The award ceremonies are organized by the European Commission as part of the Creative Europe programme through a consortium composed of the European Writers’ Council (EWC), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF).
Please see www.euprizeliterature.eu for more details.
Detailed information on this year’s award winners: https://bit.ly/3onXRz9
CONTACT PERSON
Viktor Debnár
Kancelář Kreativní Evropa Kultura (Creative Europe Desk Czech Republic – Culture Office)
728 39 66 67
viktor.debnar@kreativnievropa.cz
www.kreativnievropa.cz