The finalists of Premio Oceanos 2024 were announced in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday, October 29, 2024.
Oceanos-Prêmio de Literatura em Língua Portuguesa (English: Oceanos-Prize for Literature in the Portuguese Language) is a Brazilian literary award for poetry and prose founded in 2003. In the first years, only work by Brazilian writers was eligible for the Portugal Telecom-sponsored award until 2007 when Portuguese-language works from other countries were considered. Now run by the Oceanos Foundation, in partnership with the Itaú Cultural Foundation and linked to the Brazilian Itaú Bank, it is worth $60,000. Some of its previous winners have been Luís Cardoso, Itamar Vieira Junior, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Marília Garcia, and Joaquim Arena.
The 2024 jury is composed of the Brazilians Carola Saavedra and Cristóvão Tezza, the Portuguese António Araujo and Simão Valente, and the Mozambican Teresa Manjate. In poetry, the Brazilians Ademir Assunção and Luiza Romão, the Portuguese Helena Buescu and Hugo Pinto Santos, and the Mozambican Teresa Noronha. On Friday, August 23, they announced the longlist or semifinalists of 60 texts in fiction and prose, 30 in each category.
The finalists were announced on Tuesday with the following writers of African descent in the running;
Fiction
- Os infortúnios de um governador nos trópicos (Leya), Germano Almeida.
Poetry
- Perder o pio a emendar a morte (The Poets and Dragons Society), José Luiz Tavares.
- Criação do fogo (Alcance), Álvaro Taruma
Álvaro Taruma said, “This recognition is an important milestone, not only for me but for Mozambican literature, as it highlights our stories and our talent on an international stage. Thank you all for your support and I hope this will be an encouragement to keep dreaming and believing in the power of our writing. This book is of great importance to me, as it depicts part of the historical moment we go through. I believe it brings reflections that echo into our reality, and I hope that each page can be a source of dialogue and reflection for all. I wish you a great read.”
The winners will be announced on December 5 at a ceremony held at Itaú Cultural Centre.
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