Kaprálová was recognized for a work whose narrator moves through the Slovenian city of Maribor, exploring its cultural memory through keen observation and linguistic experimentation.
“Drawing on acute observation and linguistic creativity, the narrator explores Maribor and its cultural memory through the eyes of an ordinary fly, simultaneously a subject of curiosity and a vantage point for understanding the surrounding world. The love story between the Maribor hypnotist Sengali and his girlfriend, the flighty Alice, brings elements of magical realism to the novella. As the narrator wanders through the city and encounters its inhabitants, it seems as though nothing is happening and yet everything is happening at the same time,” the book synopsis reads.
Special mentions were awarded to French writer Hélène Frédérick for “Lézardes” (Gallimard) and Montenegrin writer Vladimir Vujović for “Slobodni udarci” (Partizanska knjiga).
Supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe program, the European Union Prize for Literature is awarded annually to emerging fiction writers from across Europe. Since its launch in 2009, the prize has honored 216 authors. The initiative aims to promote winning works to wider international audiences and expand their reach beyond national and linguistic borders.
In 2022, the novel “Ask Miechka” by Eugenia Kuznetsova received a special mention in the European Union Prize for Literature. In 2019, Haska Shyyan won the EUPL for her novel “Behind Your Back.” This was the first year that Ukraine was invited to participate in the European Union Prize for Literature award process.
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