The Camões Prize (Portuguese: Prémio Camões, said in Portuguese as [ˈpɾɛmju kaˈmõjʃ]), named after the famous writer Luís de Camões, is the most respected prize for literature in the Portuguese language. It was created in 1989 and is supported by the governments of Brazil and Portugal. The prize is given every year to an author who has written a very important collection of work in Portuguese. A group of judges chooses the winners, who have come from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Portugal. The cash prize is €100,000, making it one of the richest literary prizes in the world. Past winners include Miguel Torga, Vergílio Ferreira, Jorge Amado, José Saramago, Eugénio de Andrade, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and Chico Buarque.
History
The Camões Prize was first created by an agreement between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Federal Republic of Brazil on September 7, 1966. This agreement was signed in Brasilia on June 22, 1988, and approved in Portugal by Decree No. 43/88 on November 30, 1988.
This agreement was later replaced by a new one between the Portuguese Republic and the Federative Republic of Brazil, signed in Lisbon on April 17, 1999. It was approved in Portugal through Decree 47/99, published in the official gazette on November 5, 1999.
The first Camões Prize was given in 1989, with Miguel Torga as the winner. In 2006, José Luandino Vieira became the first person to decline the award.
Description
The Camões Prize is the most respected literary award in countries where Portuguese is spoken. It is given every year for a collection of work that helps spread and promote the Portuguese language. The prize is awarded by the Portuguese Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Biblioteca (National Book, Archives and Libraries Department) and the Brazilian Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (National Library Foundation). The prize includes money donated by Brazil and Portugal. The amount of money is decided each year by agreement between the two countries and is now €100,000.
Writers who write in Portuguese from countries where Portuguese is an official language are eligible for the prize. A special jury selects the winner. The jury includes members from Brazil, Portugal, and African countries where Portuguese is an official language.