Ondjaki awarded the 2023 Vergílio Ferreira Literary Prize
Established by the University of Évora (UÉ) in 1996, this award, which annually distinguishes the body of work of an author who has distinguished himself in the fields of fiction or essays, this year recognized Ondjaki, a writer, poet and artist of various disciplines.
The jury decided unanimously to award the Vergílio Ferreira Literary Prize to Ndalu de Almeida, popularly known as Ondjaki, highlighting "the contribution that Ondjaki makes so that the Portuguese language is a language of reconciliation and even of critical consciousness for all Portuguese speakers.
Translated into French, Spanish, Italian, German, English, Serbian, Swedish or even Mandarin, this prose writer and poet is famous for poetic works such as "Actu sanguíneu", short story books such as "Momentos de aqui", children's works including "A bicicleta que tinha bigodes" or even novels, examples of which are "Quantas madrugadas tem a noite" or "Bom dia, camaradas."
Passionate about painting and theater, he also writes dramatic plays and film scripts. Throughout his career he has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Sagrada Esperança Prize in Angola, the 2005 António Paulouro Prize in Portugal, the Camilo Castelo Branco Short Story Grand Prize in 2007, and the 2008 Grinzane for Africa in the category of best young author. In 2012, the British newspaper The Guardian named him as one of the five most important African writers and in 2013, he received the José Saramago Literary Award for his novel The Transparent Ones.
In the 2023 edition, the jury, chaired by University of Évora Professor Antonio Sáez Delgado, also includes Professors Eunice Ribeiro, from the Department of Portuguese and Lusophone Studies at the University of Minho, Fátima Freitas Morna, from the Faculty of Arts, University of Lisbon, Elisa Nunes Esteves, from the School of Social Sciences, University of Évora, and Miguel Filipe Mochila, Literary Critic.
As in previous editions, the award ceremony is scheduled for March 1st, the anniversary of the death of the writer Vergílio Ferreira (1916-1996), patron of the award and author of "Aparição".
