Francisco Panguana Junior’s novel Os peregrinos da ajuda won Prémio Literário Fernando Leite Couto 2024 in Maputo on Friday, July 12, 2024.
Fernando Leite Couto was a Mozambican journalist, writer, poet, and translator. Prémio Literário Fernando Leite Couto (English: The Fernando Leite Couto Literary Prize) was founded in his honour by the Mia Couto led Fernando Leite Couto Foundation. It aimed to stimulate the production of literary works in poetry and prose (novels, chronicles, dramatic texts, and short stories), by new Mozambican authors in Portuguese. Previous winners have been Macvildo Bonde (2017), Otildo Justino Guido (2019), Maya Ângela Macuácua and Geremias Mendoso (2022), and Gibson João and Óscar Fanheiro (2023).
The 2024 judging panel comprised Teresa Manjate who chaired alongside academics Aurélio Cuna and Agostinho Goenha, librarian Aissa Mithá, and journalist Gil Filipe. The jury read the 67 texts from 18 women and 49 men, from all over the country and Mozambicans residing in Portugal and Brazil. The winner was declared to be Francisco Panguana Junior’s novel Os Peregrinos da Ajuda (English: The Pilgrims of Help).
“The work ‘Os Peregrinos da Sobrevivência’ was selected due to its creativity, thematic innovation, linguistic accuracy, and technical narrative mastery”, said jury president, Teresa Manjate.
Francisco Panguana Junior wins the 150,000 MT cash prize, sponsorship from Moza for the printing of their works, and a literary residency in Portugal, where he will participate in the Óbidos International Literature Festival in October. Os peregrinos da ajuda will be published by the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation with 600 copies, of which 100 will be printed in Lisbon, with the sponsorship of the Portugal-Mozambique Chamber of Commerce, and the book will be presented during the Óbidos literature festival.
Francisco Panguana Junior came to our attention when he won the Prémio Literário Carlos Morgado 2023.
Please support our work at Writing Africa with a one-off donation or regularly on Mobile Money, PayPal, or Patreon starting at US$3 a month by clicking here.
Leave a Reply