Award ceremony of 2014 EU Prize for Literature

Tonight (18 November), this year’s 13 best new or emerging authors in Europe will receive their award during a gala ceremony to be held at Concert Noble, in Brussels. The winners of the 2014 EU Prize for Literature (EUPL) are: Ben BLUSHI (Albania), Milen RUSKOV (Bulgaria), Jan NĚMEC (Czech Republic), Makis TSITAS (Greece), Oddný EIR (Iceland), Janis JONEVS (Latvia), Armin ÖHRI (Liechtenstein), Pierre J. MEJLAK (Malta), Ognjen SPAHIĆ (Montenegro), Marente DE MOOR (The Netherlands), Uglješa ŠAJTINAC (Serbia), Birgül OĞUZ (Turkey) and Evie WYLD (The United Kingdom).

The awards will be presented by Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Commissioner Tibor Navracsics, in the presence of Silvia Costa, MEP and chairwoman of the European Parliament's Culture and Education Committee and Italian Undersecretary of State for European Affairs Sandro Gozi, for the Italian Presidency. The ceremony will also be attended by culture ministers of this year's participating countries, and by other leading figures of the worlds of literature, culture and politics.

Organized by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Writers' Council, the Federation of European Publishers and the European and International Booksellers Federation, the competition is open to authors in the 37 countries involved in the EU Creative Europe progra. The winners, nominated by national juries, will receive €5,000 and will be given priority to receive EU translation grants through the support programme for Europe's cultural and creative sectors, Creative Europe. The translation of the 56 EUPL winners’ books since 2009, already allowed them to be read by a much larger audience throughout Europe.

Commissioner Tibor Navracsics said: “I am very pleased to be honouring these outstanding authors for their work. The European Prize for Literature is a great way of celebrating the wealth of creativity and diversity that the cultural sector of our continent has to offer. Above all, it shows the power of words to overcome borders. Well done to all the winners!”​

“Once again we are spoiled with 13 promising writers who illustrate our strong European literary heritage. As representatives of booksellers, we are looking forward to providing them with the promotional platform they deserve and to seeing their books displayed in as many bookshops as possible, all over Europe, and hopefully beyond,” said Kyra Dreher, Fabian Paagman and Jean-Luc Treutenaere, co-presidents of the European and International Booksellers Federation.

Dr. Pirjo Hiidenmaa, President of the European Writers’ Council, said: “Thirteen new authors coming to the European scene! These authors are already known in their own countries and their own languages, and now their critics and experts have selected them to drive them forward. We welcome these new language creators and storytellers who will entertain readers and challenge our thinking.”

Pierre Dutilleul, President of the Federation of European Publishers, added: “The European motto is “united in diversity”. In this search of a balance between union and national singularity, literature plays a rather unique role, as it helps building bridges between our different cultures. These bridges, which foster mutual understanding, are more than necessary if we are to pursue our European endeavor. This year again, 13 European laureates, have succeeded in making us more European, more open to diversity and differences by sharing with us the uniqueness of their cultures. As a publisher, I hope these emerging authors will find readers throughout Europe thanks to the magic of translation.”

More information

Website of the prize
Culture portal of the European Union

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