ESTORIL SOL AWARDS

The Agustina Bessa‑Luís Revelation Literary Prize, established by Estoril Sol in honor of the great writer, aims to distinguish, annually, an unpublished novel by a Portuguese author without any published work in the genre. The prize is worth €10,000 (ten thousand euros).

The competition for the 17th edition of the award will be open until May 31, 2024.

Established by Estoril Sol, the 9th edition of the Vasco Graça Moura - Cultural Citizenship Award, was given to José Pacheco Pereira. The panel acknowledged that "his life's journey" epitomizes an unmistakable model of cultural citizenship.

The panel, chaired by Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins, resolved to resolved to award this sought-after prize to José Pacheco Pereira, “in recognition of his life's work dedicated to advocating for the public interest, particularly in terms of historical knowledge and the conservation of cultural heritage, through the establishment of the Ephemera Library and Archive, which has facilitated the collection of unique documents and items, crucial for a deeper understanding of the events in Portuguese political history”.

José Álvaro Machado Pacheco Pereira, was born on 6 January 1949, in Porto. He is a historian, university professor, and Portuguese political commentator. He graduated in Philosophy in 1978 from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto. He also completed a supplementary course in Educational Sciences. 

From a young age, he was an active participant in political movements opposing the previous regime. He has taught at various levels of education. He systematically collected, classified, organized, and studied documentation on Portuguese political life. He has published over a dozen books on History and Politics. He regularly contributes to print media, radio, and television.

IN A SOLEMN CEREMONY, ON NOVEMBER 23, THE MINISTER OF CULTURE, PEDRO ADÃO E SILVA, HANDED OUT THE FERNANDO NAMORA AND AGUSTINA BESSA-LUIS LITERARY AWARDS, ESTABLISHED BY ESTORIL SOL, FOR 2021. 

The Jury decided to attribute the Fernando Namora Literary Award, with a pecuniary value of 15 thousand euros, to the writer João Tordo for his novel "Felicidade".

In the minutes, it was recorded that "Felicidade" "is a novel of emotional and affective formation of a man who is a narrator, although without a name that identifies him throughout the book. The drama of loneliness of the narrator and novel's protagonist assumes great intensity and power to involve the reader. Also the gear is set on a precise but creative plane of realization. The names of the three female figures, Felicidade, Esperança, and Angélica, project a symbolism that expands the imaginative process itself."



In turn, regarding the Agustina Bessa-Luís Literary Revelation Award, with the value of 10 thousand euros, the Jury distinguished the journalist Catarina Gomes with the original work "Terrinhas". 

In choosing "Terrinhas", the jury considered it "a novel that, from the point of view of a typically urban woman, confronts the rural and urban worlds. The memory of her parents, who almost religiously go to the land to bring potatoes, which invade the kitchen and the narrator's imagination, provides the ironic and, at times, even hilarious vision with which she evaluates her childhood and faces the pains and dramas of adulthood. The joy and touching tenderness in the assessment of life and death, associated with a fluid and elegant writing, give this novel an undeniable literary scope, which should be valued and divulged.



Finally, in the Vasco Graça Moura - Cultural Citizenship Award, the Jury decided to distinguish the editor Zeferino Coelho, praising the "action developed, for more than fifty years, as an editor and active promoter of the Portuguese language literature and culture in the world".

The Jury's minutes state that Zeferino Coelho "began his work as an editor in 1969 at Editorial Inova, where he remained until 1971, having joined Editorial Caminho in 1977. He was José Saramago's editor from the novel Levantado do Chão and all the other books published by the Portuguese Literature Nobel Prize winner until his death. He was also the editor of eight winners of the Camões Award, the most important in our language - in chronological order: José Craveirinha, Saramago himself, Sophia de Mello Breyner, Luandino Vieira, Arménio Vieira, Mia Couto, Germano Almeida and Paulina Chiziane. This group of authors published by Zeferino Coelho, among many others, shows the importance of the award winner's cultural intervention, especially regarding the national and international diffusion of Portuguese language literature".