On Wednesday, 2 October 2019, the 14 winners of the EU Prize for Literature finally gathered in Brussels at BOZAR to claim their well-deserved awards. The ceremony began with a true highlight as best-selling Finnish author Sofi Oksanen delivered an eye-opening keynote speech, emphasizing the need for a diversity of voices in literature to convey the reality of current events and human lives in different countries, but also the universal themes they share. Prior to the handing over of the awards, attendees at the ceremony were able to hear the authors themselves reading excerpts from their award-winning novels and discussing their work.
The EUPL Consortium, comprising the European Writers Council (EWC), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), and the European & International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), congratulates these outstanding literary talents for their achievement. Looking towards the future, we wish that this award will help these emerging authors to get their works translated into as many languages as possible and launch their international careers, so that their voices may transcend geographical borders and inspire an ever-increasing and diverse readership.
We would also like to reiterate our gratitude to our distinguished guests whose contributions helped make this evening a resounding success and a celebration of creativity, free artistic expression and cultural diversity: Mr Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, Ms Hanna Kosonen, Finnish Minister of Education and Science and Ms Dace Melbārde, Member of the European Parliament.
The 2019 EUPL Laureates:
Laura Freudenthaler (Austria), Piia Leino (Finland), Sophie Daull (France), Réka Mán-Várhegyi (Hungary), Beqa Adamashvili (Georgia), Nikos Chryssos (Greece), Jan Carson (Ireland), Giovanni Dozzini (Italy), Daina Opolskaitė (Lithuania), Marta Dzido (Poland), Tatiana Țîbuleac (Romania), Ivana Dobrakovová (Slovakia), Haska Shyyan (Ukraine) and Melissa Harrison (United Kingdom).
