Piotr Paziński, photo: Dominik Pisare / Forum
The winners of the 2012 European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), which recognises the best new or emerging authors in the EU, were announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair on the 10th of October, 2012. The young Polish Piotr Paziński who made his debut in with the novel Pensjonat was among the 12 winners of this year’s award
The 39-year-old Paziński was previously presented with the prestigious Passport award of the Polityka weekly. Before his debut novel, the young writer has published two monographies: "Dublin z Ulissesem. Wraz ze słownikiem bohaterów Ulissesa" (Dublin with Ulysses. Together wih the dictionary of Ulysses’ heroes” and "Labirynt i drzewo. Studia nad Ulissesem Jamesa Joyce'a" (The Labirynth and the Tree. Studies on James Joyce’s Ulysses). Paziński is the editor-in-chief of the Midrasz monthly.
The other laureates of the prize are: Anna Kim (Austria), Lada Žigo (Croatia), Laurence Plazenet (France), Viktor Horváth (Hungary), Kevin Barry (Ireland), Emanuele Trevi (Italy), Giedra Radvilavičiūtė (Lithuania), Gunstein Bakke (Norway), Piotr Paziński (Poland), Afonso Cruz (Portugal), Jana Beňová (Slovakia) and Sara Mannheimer (Sweden). Each winner receives € 5 000 and, more importantly, priority for funding from the EU Culture Programme to get their book translated into other languages.
Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth congratulated the winners with the following words:
"My warmest congratulations go to all of this year's winners. We hope that the Prize will increase their visibility and renown, both inside and outside their home countries. Ensuring that literature crosses borders is not only good for authors and publishers, who want to reach new markets; it is also great for readers who have more choice and are exposed to works which they might never otherwise have come across. Our new Creative Europe programme will enable us to provide even more support for writers and cultural diversity in future,"
The official award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Brussels on the 22nd of October, 2012.
The European Union Prize for Literature is supported by the European Commission and organised by a consortium created by the European Booksellers Federation (EBF), the European Writers' Council (EWC) and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP). The EUPL is a great opportunity to enhance the creativity within the European Union.
This Prize is open to the 37 countries involved in the EU Culture Programme (27 EU Member States as well as Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia and Turkey). Each year, national juries in a third of the countries nominate the winner authors, so that all countries in the programme are represented over a three-year period. According to Anna Duennebier, Vice-President of EWC, "The EUPL presents the broad spectrum of new and important European authors. In a period when financial problems threaten to make citizens weary of Europe, literature can highlight the value of European tradition and the potential of the future."
Since the Prize was launched in 2009, the EU Culture Programme has provided funding for 32 of the 35 winners to have their books translated into different languages. To date, more than 100 translations in total, covering 19 languages, have received EU funding. The winners also benefit from extra visibility at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the London Book Fair and the Passaporta festival in Brussels. Piotr Marciszuk, President of the FEP, said ‘I am very proud that FEP got involved in the organisation of the European Union Prize for Literature. As Europeans, literature is one of the most fantastic doors to understanding each other. Each of the winning authors is contributing to the European construction by sharing her/his culture, imagination, passion with us, readers. I wish for all of them that their literature will appeal to colleagues all over Europe and that they will get many translations during this Fair and afterwards’.
This year's winners will be presented with their awards and celebrated at a ceremony in Brussels on 22 November, in the presence of Commissioner Vassiliou and leading representatives of the worlds of literature, culture and politics.
The European Commission invests €3 million a year on literary translation and more than €2.4 million on cooperation projects involving the book sector. The industry contributes €23 billion to the EU's GDP and employs 135 000 people full time. Books are the second most exported cultural goods in the EU, after works of art and antiques.
Editor: SRS
Source: press release