Makis Tsitas was awarded the 2014 European Union Prize for Literature for his novel God Is My Witness (Kichli Publications, 2013). The names of the authors who won the prize, which is only awarded to the most exceptional new and emerging writers across Europe, were announced at the International Frankfurt Book Fair on October 8, 2014.

Androulla Vasileiou, Commissioner of the European Union responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, remarked: “The prizes are awarded to the most exceptional new and emerging authors across Europe, regardless of their country of origin or their language. The awards aim to single out the best pens of contemporary European literature, to encourage cross-border sales, and promote the translation, publication and reading of literary works coming from countries other than our own. The new EU program Creative Europe sponsors the translation of the award-winning works into other languages, facilitating, thus, the authors in the process of attracting readers outside and beyond their own national and linguistic borders.”

Award winners receive a monetary prize of €5,000. The most important aspect of the award, though, is the additional promotion and international publicity the authors’ works receive. Their publishers are encouraged to apply for EU funding in order for the award-winning books to be translated into other languages and become accessible to new markets. Aside from Makis Tsitas, the rest of 2014 EUPL prize winners were: Ben Blushi (Albania), Milen Ruskov (Bulgaria), Jan Němec (Czech Republic), Oddný Eir (Iceland), Janis Jonevs (Latvia), Armin Öhri (Liechtenstein), Pierre J. Mejlak (Malta), Ognjen Spahić (Montenegro), Marente de Moor (the Netherlands), Uglješa Šajtinac (Serbia), Birgül Oğuz (Turkey), and Evie Wyld (United Kingdom).

The 2014 European Union Prize for Literature’s award ceremony took place at Concert Noble, Brussels, on November 18, 2014, in a reception hall brimming with people.

The awards were given by Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, and Silvia Costa, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education, in the presence of Under-Secretary for European Affairs, Sandro Gozi, who attended on behalf of the Italian Presidency. The ceremony was also attended by many government representatives, high-ranking officials of the European Union, and members of the European Parliament.

The EUPL was established and is awarded by the European Commission, the European Booksellers Federation, the European Writers’ Council, and the Federation of European Publishers.