site.btaBulgarian Writer Ruskov One of 13 Winners of 2014 European Union Prize for Literature

115 CULTURE-EU LITERATURE PRIZE-BULGARIAN WINNER

Bulgarian Writer Ruskov One of
13 Winners of 2014 European Union Prize
for Literature


Frankfurt/Brussels/Sofia, October 8 (BTA) - The winners of the
2014 European Union Prize for Literature were announced
Wednesday at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the European Commission
said in a press release on its website. The award recognizes the
best new and emerging authors in Europe.

Bulgaria's writer Milen Ruskov and his "Summit" are one of the
thirteen winners of this year's awards.

The others are: Ben Blushi (Albania), Jan Nemec (Czech
Republic), Makis Tsitas (Greece), Oddny Eir (Iceland), Janis
Jonevs (Latvia), Armin Ohri (Liechtenstein), Pierre J. Mejlak
(Malta), Ognjen Spahic (Montenegro), Marente de Moor (The
Netherlands), Ugljesa Sajtinac (Serbia), Birgul Oguz (Turkey)
and Evie Wyld (United Kingdom).

Ruskov's "Summit" was published by the Janet 45 Publishing House
in 2011.

Writer and translator Ruskov was born in 1966 in the Black Sea
city of Bourgas. He now lives in Sofia. He graduated in
Bulgarian philology from Sofia University in 1995. He has
written three novels: "Summit" (2011), which received the Golden
Century Award from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, the
Hristo G. Danov National Award for fiction, and the Elias
Canetti Award for fiction, "Thrown into Nature" (2008) which was
awarded the Bulgarian Novel of the Year Prize, and "Little
Encyclopaedia of Mysteries" (2004) which was awarded the
Bulgarian Prize for Debut Fiction.

"Summit" is set in Turkish-ruled Bulgaria in 1872, the feverish
period known as the Bulgarian Revival. The pretentious pomp of
revolutionary ideals is filtered through the consciousness of
the practical Bacho Gicho and his credulous companion Asen, in a
rich, crude Renaissance language which deserves to be read out
loud. Ruskov's daringly blows away all the patriotic cliches,
without underestimating the desperate heroism of the times.

Congratulating the winners, European Commissioner for Education,
Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou said:
"The Prize is dedicated to the best new and emerging authors in
Europe, regardless of their country of origin or language. The
aim is to showcase Europe's best contemporary literature,
encourage cross-border sales and promote the translation,
publishing and reading of literature from other countries. The
EU's new Creative Europe programme offers grants for
translation, helping authors to attract readers beyond national
and linguistic borders."

Each winner receives a cash prize of 5,000 euro. More
importantly, they also benefit from extra promotion and
international visibility. Their publishers are encouraged to
apply for EU funding to have the winning books translated into
other languages to reach new markets.

This year's winners will get their awards during a gala ceremony
at the Concert Noble in Brussels on 18 November, in the
presence of the European Commissioner for Education and Culture,
members of the European Parliament and representatives of the
Italian Presidency of the EU.

The EUPL is organised by the European Commission in cooperation
with the European Booksellers' Federation, the European Writers'
Council and the Federation of European Publishers. LN /ZH/