Josef Winkler awarded Vilenica Prize 2021
News19.09.2021
We are delighted to announce that Josef Winkler has been awarded the Vilenica Prize 2021.
Established in 1986 by the Slovene Writers’ Association, the prize honours Central European writers for outstanding achievements in the field of literature and essay writing with »literary excellence and plurality in geographic, generational and generic sense« as part of the Vilenica International Literary Festival.
Excerpt from the laudatio by Amalija Maček, member of the Vilenica Jury:
»Many laudations probably begin by observing that the prize could hardly have been conferred on a more appropriate author, but the motto of this year’s Vilenica Festival, ›Fear and Courage‹, might in fact serve as the motto of the prize recipient’s life and work. With his constant reminders that Nazism did not disappear at the end of World War II, as well as his unrelenting admonitions of our transience, the year’s winner remains an extremely relevant author. […] Reading his books is no blithe undertaking, but in this era, when neo-Fascist tendencies are on the rise and the pandemic daily confronts us with transience, it is urgent and relevant.«
Previous laureates include Juri Andruchowytsch, Jáchym Topol, Mircea Cărtărescu, Dževad Karahasan, Andrzej Stasiuk and Ilma Rakusa.
Established in 1986 by the Slovene Writers’ Association, the prize honours Central European writers for outstanding achievements in the field of literature and essay writing with »literary excellence and plurality in geographic, generational and generic sense« as part of the Vilenica International Literary Festival.
Excerpt from the laudatio by Amalija Maček, member of the Vilenica Jury:
»Many laudations probably begin by observing that the prize could hardly have been conferred on a more appropriate author, but the motto of this year’s Vilenica Festival, ›Fear and Courage‹, might in fact serve as the motto of the prize recipient’s life and work. With his constant reminders that Nazism did not disappear at the end of World War II, as well as his unrelenting admonitions of our transience, the year’s winner remains an extremely relevant author. […] Reading his books is no blithe undertaking, but in this era, when neo-Fascist tendencies are on the rise and the pandemic daily confronts us with transience, it is urgent and relevant.«
Previous laureates include Juri Andruchowytsch, Jáchym Topol, Mircea Cărtărescu, Dževad Karahasan, Andrzej Stasiuk and Ilma Rakusa.