The Europese Literatuurprijs 2021 will go to Saša Stanišić's novel "Where You Come From" in the Dutch translation by Annemarie Vlaming.
The Europese Literatuurprijs is awarded annually to the best contemporary European novel published in Dutch in the previous year. Both the author and translator of the winning novel are awarded; the author receives €10,000 and the translator €5,000. The award ceremony will take place on November 6, 2021 at the Crossing Border Festival in The Hague.
The prize is an initiative of the academic-cultural center SPUI25, the Dutch Foundation for Literature (Nederlands Letterenfonds), De Groene Amsterdammer magazine and Athenaeum Boekhandel and is supported by the Lira Foundation.
From the jury report: "The jury was touched by the very careful, playful search for what constitutes the essence of our identity. What 'origin' actually is. And it always turns out to be found in the connections between people, in the connection with language, and in the great and moving capacity of people to always and again attach themselves, to grasp back, and to reattach the past that has become loose, with the precious people present in it, not without pain and great efforts of strength, to the present. [...] In the end, Stanišić raises this to the level of a compositionally strong piece of writing. Translator Annemarie Vlaming has flawlessly transferred these jumps and lightness from the German. The sharp word play and quick, pointed, very individual treatment of language coincide effortlessly with the story, and the narration retains its natural tone throughout even in Dutch."
