The highest award for literature in the Portuguese language was awarded this year to Brazilian novelist, critic and essayist Silviano Santiago who has collaborated with Electra Magazine.
Herbert List, 1933
Established in 1988 by the Governments of Portugal and Brazil, the highest award for literature in the Portuguese language has been awarded this year to the Brazilian novelist, critic and essayist Silviano Santiago. The announcement was made on 24 October.
The awarding of the prize to this author, who collaborated on editions 8 and 9 of Electra magazine, was communicated by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture and justified by the judging panel in the following terms:
"Besides being a writer with a body of literary work that has received multiple national and international awards (Jabuti, Oceans, etc.), Silviano Santiago is a thinker of great civic and cultural relevance, having made a remarkable contribution to the projection of the Portuguese language as a language of critical thought in both Brazil and beyond (in Ibero-American and African countries, in the United States and in Europe)."
In previous editions, the prize, which is worth €100,000, has been awarded to esteemed authors such as Chico Buarque (Brazil), Mia Couto (Mozambique), Ferreira Gullar (Brazil), António Lobo Antunes (Portugal), Agustina Bessa-Luís (Portugal), Rubem Fonseca (Brazil), Maria Velho da Costa (Portugal), Eugénio de Andrade (Portugal), Pepetela (Angola), Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (Portugal), Eduardo Lourenço (Portugal), José Saramago (Portugal), Jorge Amado (Brazil), and Vergílio Ferreira (Portugal).