The Ovid Prize, established in 2002, is a literary prize awarded annually to an author from any country, in recognition of a body of work. It is named in honour of the Roman poet Ovid, who died in exile in Tomis (contemporary Constanța), on the Black Sea, in Romania. Laureates are awarded 10,000 euros.

Ovid Prize
Imaginary depiction of Ovid with laurel wreath (from an engraving)
LocationNeptun, Romania
Presented byRomanian Cultural Institute and Romanian Writers' Union
Reward(s)€10,000 Ovid Prize; €5,000 Ovid Festival Prize
First awarded2002
Websitewww.uniuneascriitorilor.ro

The Ovid Festival Prize, worth 5,000 euros, was also established in 2002. Past recipients include George Szirtes, Tomaž Šalamun, and Ismail Kadare. The prize underwent a change of mandate in 2007. Since 2008, it has been awarded to a prominent young talent.

History

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Both Prizes are the joint initiative of the Writers' Union of Romania and the Romanian Cultural Institute (Romanian: Institutul Cultural Român). The winners are nominated by the Festival jury. The awards ceremony takes place during the Days and Nights of Literature Festival (Romanian: Zile și nopți de literatură) held jointly in Neptun and Mangalia in June. The Prize is also referred to as the Ovidius Prize.

Past recipients include Orhan Pamuk,[1] Andrei Codrescu,[2] Amos Oz,[3] Jorge Semprún[4] and António Lobo Antunes.

The 2011 Laureate was the Czech writer Milan Kundera. In a letter addressed to the chairman of the jury, Kundera, who could not attend the ceremony, accepted the award. Kundera donated the prize to Humanitas Publishing House, which has published most of his works in a Romanian translation, with the mention that the money should go to assisting Romanian literature.[5] The 2012 edition was cancelled due to lack of funds.[6]

List of Laureates

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Mario Vargas Llosa
 
Orhan Pamuk
 
Amos Oz
 
Ismail Kadare

2011

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2010

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2009

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2008

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2007

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2006

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2005

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2004

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2003

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2002

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Orhan Pamuk Official Web Site". www.orhanpamuk.net.
  2. ^ a b "Andrei Codrescu: Going Home Again". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Amos Oz receives Romanian Ovidius Prize".
  4. ^ "Ovid Literary Prize Awarded to Spanish Author Jorge Semprun". Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Milan Kundera and Ognjen Spahic awarded at "Days and Nights of Literature" Festival". 14 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Un semnal trist pentru lumea scriitoricească". 8 June 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Milan Kundera – laureatul din 2011 al Marelui Premiu Ovidius". adevarul.ro. 13 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Jean d'Ormesson reçoit le prix Ovide". Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  9. ^ "Péter Esterházy şi Joey Goebel – premiaţi la "Zile şi nopţi de literatură"". Observator Cultural.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Romania Culturala". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  11. ^ "Among the participants, Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, who received the festival's Ovidius Prize". Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
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