Among the shortlisted authors for the 2025 European Union Prize for Literature are, top row from left: Ljuba Arnautovic; Philippe Marczewski; Mhaela Šumic; and Tea Topuria. Second row: Makis Malafekas; Sheila Armstrong; Nicoletta Verna; and Kotryna Zyle. Third row: Maria Kjos Fonn; Bogdan Cretu; and Lukáš Cabala
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
A Three-Year Cycle Covering 40 Nations
As our international readership at Publishing Perspectives knows, the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) honors emerging fiction writers from the European Union and beyond.
The program reaches the 40 countries that participate in the EU’s Creative Europe program, and it uses a cycle of three years to work its way through those 40 nations.
The prize program’s intent is described as “promoting the circulation of literature in Europe,” encouraging “greater interest in non-national literary works.”
The EUPL consortium, as it’s called—cooperative efforts between the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) with Creative Europe’s support—today (March 6) has announced the list of 13 shortlisted authors for the award’s 2025 edition, one for each participating country in this year’s part of the three-year cycle.
The authors and their novels were selected by national evaluators knowledgeable about the literary scenes in their respective countries, and accustomed “to promoting their own literature abroad.”
The 2025 European Union Prize for Literature Shortlist
- Austria: Ljuba Arnautović, Erste Töchter (First Daughters)
- Belgium: Philippe Marczewski, Quand Cécile (When Cécile)
- Bosnia-Herzegovina: Mihaela Šumić, Čovjek vuk (The Wolf Man)
- Georgia: Tea Topuria, იაკობის ჭასთან (By Jacob’s Well)
- Greece: Makis Malafekas, Deep Fake (Deepfake)
- Ireland: Sheila Armstrong, Falling Animals (Falling Animals)
- Italy: Nicoletta Verna, I Giorni di Vetro (The Days of Glass)
- Lithuania: Kotryna Zylė, Mylimi Kaulai (Beloved Bones)
- Norway: Maria Kjos Fonn, Margaret, er du i sorg (Margaret, Are You Grieving)
- Romania: Bogdan Crețu, Mai puţin decât dragostea (Less Than Love)
- Slovakia: Lukáš Cabala, Spomenieš si na Trenčín? (Will You Remember Trenčín?)
- Spain: David Uclés, La peninsula de las casas vacías (The Peninsula of Empty Houses)
- Ukraine: Halyna Matveeva, Ключ соль (The Key of G)
Next Steps
There are seven jurors who now will read excerpts from the shortlisted titles and choose the ones they feel are more prize-worthy. In addition to a main winner, two special-mention recipients. Those authors are to be named on May 16 at the Bohemian Pavilion of the Prague Book World event.
Shortlisted authors are to continue to be promoted in Europe in an effort to gain cross-border traction and, presumably, translation and publishing rights sales.
Sona Draga
Sonia Draga, the Polish publisher who now is president of the Federation of European Publishers, is quoted today, saying, “For a publisher like me and for all literature lovers, discovering a new literary talent is a wonder, then 13, you can imagine how extraordinary this is.
“Besides the European jury, many publishers around Europe and beyond, will be eagerly awaiting the sample translations.
“I wish the best to all shortlisted authors. On behalf of the Federation of European Publishers, our wish is for all shortlisted authors to find new readers in Europe through the variety of languages of Europe, as we do remember the words of Umberto Eco: “The language of Europe is translation.”
Fabian Paagman
And Fabian Paagman, president of the booksellers federation, says, “The years may pass, and the shortlisted authors may change, but, ultimately, the EUPL always achieves its mission: conveying the richness and diversity of European literature, always outlining some of the most promising fiction authors in the participating countries. …
“The true value of the prize lies in promoting literature from a plethora of different cultures and languages, which nurture and bolster the vibrancy of our societies. On behalf of the European and International Booksellers Federation, I want to congratulate all the authors, and I cannot wait to see their works perched on the shelves of bookshops across Europe – and beyond.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on international book and publishing awards programs is here. More from us on the European Union Prize for Literature is here, and more on the publishing markets and trends of Europe is here.