Mozambican writer Mia Couto has once again made history. He is the winner of the FIL Prize (Guadalajara International Book Fair) for Literature in Romance Languages 2024.
The announcement was made on Monday by the jury, at a press conference held in Mexico. The team of evaluators, made up of academics from several countries, namely Carlos Reis, Graciela Montaldo, Jerónimo Pizarro, Juan Luis Cebrián, Lucía Melgar, Oana Fotache Dubalaru and Vittoria Borsò, decided to award the prize unanimously.
“It says everything about the recognition of (Mia Couto’s) work, what it means in terms of literature, for the Portuguese language and for those who write literature in this suburb of the Portuguese language that is Mozambique”, said Portuguese essayist and professor Carlos Reis, who was part of the jury and who was responsible for announcing the name of the winner.
As the winner, Mia Couto receives a prize of 150 thousand dollars (around 9.5 million meticais).
The author of works such as “Terra Sonâmbula”, “A Varanda do Frangipani” and “O Outro Pé da Sereia” was chosen among 49 authors from 20 countries, who write in six languages, namely Portuguese, Catalan, Castilian, French, Italian and Romanian.
“This award is of great international prestige, with a jury of academics from various countries around the world”, reacted Mia Couto, adding that “I can't help but be very happy, knowing that this is a sharing that I make of the country to which I belong ”.
Mia Couto is, it should be noted, a prize “machine”. For example, Camões, the most relevant in the Portuguese language, and José Craveirinha, the greatest in Mozambique, have already won.
(By Mozavibe)
