Writer Ndalu de Almeida won the 2023 Vergílio Ferreira Prize from the University of Évora (UÉ) due to his contribution to making Portuguese “a language of reconciliation” and “of critical awareness”, announced the Alentejo academy.
"This constitutes another significant step towards the qualitative recognition of contemporary Angolan literature and Angolan writers, in the context of the Portuguese language, our official language", stressed the Angolan minister, in a press release sent to newsrooms.
Filipe Zau wished the new generation of Angolan writers to "continue to follow the paths of success of the generation of older writers, so that their contribution, in favor of Portuguese-speaking Angolan literature", plays its "relevant role" in promoting of Angolan culture, as well as the dissemination of the Portuguese language within the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and in the different diasporas.
Established by the UÉ in 1996, to honor the writer who gives it its name, the Vergílio Ferreira Prize is intended to annually award the literary work of a relevant Portuguese-speaking author in the fields of fiction and/or essay.
In 2020, 20 years have passed since Ondjaki's literary debut, who, throughout his career, has already received several distinctions.
The award established by the UÉ was awarded, for the first time, to Maria Velho da Costa, followed by Maria Judite de Carvalho, Mia Couto, Almeida Faria, Eduardo Lourenço, Óscar Lopes, Vítor Manuel de Aguiar e Silva, Agustina Bessa-Luís and Manuel Gusmao.
Fernando Guimarães, Vasco Graça Moura, Mário Cláudio, Mário de Carvalho, Luísa Dacosta, Maria Alzira Seixo, José Gil, Hélia Correia, Ofélia Paiva Monteiro, Lídia Jorge, João de Melo, Teolinda Gersão, Gonçalo M. Tavares, Nélida Piñon, Carlos Reis, Ana Luísa Amaral and Helena Carvalhão Buescu were the other winners.
