Twelve winning authors Kalin Terziyski Immanuel Mifsud Има ли кой да ви обича, Fl-Isem tal-Missier (tal-iben) (2010) Издателство (2009) Andrej Nikolaidis The European Union Tomáš Zmeškal Sin (2006) Milostný dopis klínovým písmem (2008) Rodaan al Galidi De autist en de postduif (2009) Prize for Literature Kostas Hatziantoniou Agrigento (2009) Jelena Lengold Vašarski mađioničar (2009) Ófeigur Sigurðsson Jon (2010) Çiler İlhan Sürgün (2010) Inga Zolude Mierinājums Ādama kokam (2010) Adam Foulds The Quickening Maze (2010) Iren Nigg Man wortet sich die Orte selbst (2006) Twelve winning authors The European Union Prize for Literature Prize for Union European The 2011 2011 The European Union Prize for Literature Twelve winning authors 2011 www.euprizeliterature.eu Table of Contents Foreword . 5 2011 winning authors Bulgaria Kalin Terziyski – Има ли кой да ви обича . 7 Czech Republic Tomáš Zmeškal – Milostný dopis klínovým písmem . .25 Greece Kostas Hatziantoniou – Agrigento . .41 Iceland Ófeigur Sigurðsson – Jon . .57 Latvia Inga Zolude – Mierinājums Ādama kokam . .73 Liechtenstein Iren Nigg – Man wortet sich die Orte selbst . .85 Malta Immanuel Mifsud – Fl-Isem tal-Missier (tal-iben) . 105 Montenegro Andrej Nikolaidis – Sin . 12. 1 The Netherlands Rodaan al Galidi – De autist en de postduif . 135 Serbia Jelena Lengold – Vašarski mađioničar . 149 Turkey Çiler İlhan – Sürgün . 165 United Kingdom Adam Foulds – The Quickening Maze . 171 Bibliography . 189 EUPL 2011 National Juries . 197 EUPL 2011 Jury Reports . 205 The European Union Prize for Literature 2011 3 4 The European Union Prize for Literature 2011 Foreword Foreword by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission It is a great pleasure for me to present the 12 winners of the 2011 European Union Prize for Literature, coming this year from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Mon- tenegro, Serbia, Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom. This completes a 3 year cycle for the prize: launched in 2009, it has been awarded to authors from all the 36 countries participating in the Culture Programme of the European Union. This edition is very timely in terms of the Commission’s new funding proposals for the post 2013 period. We are proposing to strengthen the EU’s support to the cultural and creative sectors through a new “Creative Europe” Programme. Its key aims will be to foster the safeguarding and promotion of our rich cultural and linguistic diversity while at the same time seeking to strengthen the cultural and creative sectors, with a view to boosting their contribution to jobs and growth. At the heart of the future programme will be efforts to strengthen the capacity of these sectors to work internationally, as well support for promoting the circulation of cultural and creative works beyond national borders in order to reach new audiences in Europe and further afield. The EU prize for literature fits in well with these aims and is truly unique: it is the only award to celebrate authors in so many European countries writing in such a broad array of languages. It brings some of the newest and best European literary talent under the spotlight, helps these authors break into new markets and reach new readers. More generally the prize seeks to raise long-term interest among pub- lishers, booksellers and the public in reading works by foreign authors. Books can also be life changing for us as individuals, fostering empathy for those with other lives, often less fortunate than ourselves. Reading works by authors from different countries opens up our eyes to entirely new cultural contexts, and helps us to understand each other better. This is all the more important in today’s world. Translation is of course central to emerging authors to find success outside their home base and the prize helps the winners in this regard. The winners are given priority under the literary translation strand of the EU’s Culture Programme and I am happy to see that over the last two years 19 of the 23 Prize winners from 2009 and 2010 have been translated into twelve different languages with EU support. This has broadened access to these works, which can now be enjoyed by readers across Europe, from Bulgaria to Italy and from Slovenia to Poland. Let me thank the European Booksellers Federation, the European Writers’ Council and the Federa- tion of European Publishers for their commitment to the Prize. Working together with a Consortium representing the whole book sector has in itself been a positive experience, showing how European support can stimulate new initiatives and cooperation. A warm word of thanks also to the national juries, who have dedicated precious time and hard work to a challenging process of selecting only one winner – out of so many talented authors – from each country. I wish the winners every success with their future careers and hope that they will be discovered and enjoyed by many readers from across our entire continent as well as far beyond. José Manuel BARROSO The European Union Prize for Literature 2011 5 6 The European Union Prize for Literature 2011 Bulgaria Kalin Terziyski Има ли кой да ви обича (2009) Is there anybody to love you (short stories) Publishing House JANET 45 © Emil Georgiev Biography Kalin Terziiski was born in 1970 in Sofia. He graduated from medicine at the Medical Institute in Sofia, and for four years worked as a psychiatrist in the second largest psychiatric hospital in Bulgaria, the ‘St. Ivan Rilski’. However, he says, “because young doctors were receiving very low wages, making it hard to live”, he started writing for newspapers and magazines. During this time, he wrote a series of stories and cutting-edge alternative texts for magazines. At the beginning of 2000, he quit his job as a doctor and devoted his whole time to writing, working as a writer for television and radio, and writing collections of short stories between 2007-2010. He also took part in literary evenings and, in 2006, he became a member of the literary alternative club ‘Litertura dictatorship’. His brother, the writer Svetoslav Terziyski, is also a member of this club. Kalin is а very talented author in the field of new Bulgarian literature. Synopsis This collection incorporates 16 short stories. The book conveys the author’s knowledge of modern cities, containing a subtle sense of humour and depicting larger than life characters. The young author turns life into a new narrative reality, into a new writer’s philosophy. His stories relate to the mysteries of life in the urban space. But the big city in the book is not one we would know so well. It resembles a city in a fairy tale – filled with secrets and drama. It is a big city that offers very colourful theatrical decors, against the background of which deep and strange human drama develops. For example, the short story ‘Love’ is about the unacceptable love that a university teacher has towards her student – a pretty but unapproachable young man, who only looks unapproachable because everyone else thinks he is. The story unfolds in a microbiology lab where the teacher works. Out of despair, she decides to poison this young man. In the end, in a bizarre twist of fate, she finds out that he also loved her… Another story, ‘Collector of Values’ is about a poor man who collects waste from the streets that only he, his eyes unburdened by social prejudice, can see the true riches of. He discovers a small bundle of discarded love letters, which become a real treasure to him. The short stories of Kalin Terziyski are an attempt at establishing a new tradition in Bulgarian prose: a tradition of humanistic and poetical urbanism. The European Union Prize for Literature 2011 7 Има ли кой да ви обича Kalin Terziyski ПРОСЯК Докато вървим с дъщеря ми по Иван Асен, аз оглеждам къщите. Къщите в София са грозни, защото са стари и старостта не ги облагородява, а само съсипва мазилките им. Затова вървя и гледам всичко, все едно е нищо. Това се постига трудно, но всеки несъзнателно го прави всеки ден. – А може би искаш пица? – М-м, да… – отговаря провлачено дъщеря ми. Много ме дразни, когато гледа встрани, унесена в някакъв неин си момичешки транс. Блее. Аз съм същия. Тя също гледа всичко все едно е нищо. – Ама ще я ядеш, нали? – питам, като я подръпвам за ръката. – М-м, да… – и пак гледа в невидимото пространство, унесена. Знам този унес. Когато не мислиш, не чувстваш, не виждаш и не чуваш. Само си жив. Нещо като лесно постигната, детска Нирвана. Вървим си към павилиона, където продават пици, аз вни- мавам да не ни блъсне кола, дъщеря ми е отпуснала ръка в моята и се побутва леко в крака ми, защото не гледа къде ходи. 8 The European Union Prize for Literature 2011 Kalin Terziyski Аз, докато внимавам да не ни блъсне кола, си мисля за дет- ството. Дали през своето детство съм се чувствал добре? И въобще, дали нещо съм чувствал? Дали съм изпитвал постоянно тая смес от чувство за вина и раздразнение от постоянно напиращите задължения? Естествено, че не. Ето, откакто станах възрастен все такива неща чувствам. А като дете сигурно съм чувствал някакви детски глупости. Дъщеря ми се сепва и ме дръпва, защото до нея минава едро куче. Сега аз съм се унесъл. Къде гледаш… уж си възрастен – дърпа ме тя за ръката. Да, възрастен съм. Толкова е тъжно това. Но май като дете ми беше по-тъжно. Съвсем ясно осъзнавах, че съм зависим от всичко и всички. И че всички истински удоволствия са скрити от мене. В гардероба, под ключ – от строгата мама. Мисля, че за да се отърва от детството си, пораснах. Татеш /Кой знае откъде ми измисли това унгарско име дъщеря ми/… тука сме.