Ugljesa Sajtinac wins EU Prize for Literature

BELGRADE - Serbian writer Ugljesa Sajtinac has been presented with the European Union Prize for Literature at a gala ceremony at the Concert Noble in Brussels for his novel "Quite Modest Gifts" (Sasvim skromni darovi) issued by Arhipelag publishing house.

Sajtinac also received the Vital Prize for the book of the year and the Bora Stankovic Award for the best prose book of the year, and he was presented with the EU Prize for Literature in Brussels on November 18.

The award was presented by EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics and the ceremony was attended by Silvia Costa, president of the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education, majority of ministers of culture of the EU countries and the countries of this year's winners and numerous prominent figures in the world of literature, Arhipelag released in a statement on Wednesday.

The EU Prize for Literature includes a charter and an amount of EUR 5,000, and the awarded book will be translated into other European languages.

The EU Prize for Literature was introduced in 2009 in support of presentation, translation and publishing of modern European literature.

Every year, the EU Prize for Literature is granted to 10 authors. Another Serbian author to win this prize was Jelena Lengold for "Fairground Magician" (Vasarski madjionicar) in 2011.

A total of 37 countries participating in the EU Culture Program are competing for the EU Prize for Literature.

Photo Tanjug, T. Valic (illustration)