European Union Prize for Literature announces the 2025 nominees
The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) recognises emerging fiction writers from the European Union and beyond. Engaging the 40 countries participating in the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, the Prize celebrates 40 outstanding new literary talents across a cycle of three years.
Spotlighting the creativity and the immense and diverse wealth of Europe’s contemporary literature in the field of fiction, EUPL aims to promote the circulation of literature within Europe and encourages greater interest in non-national literary works.
The EUPL Consortium proudly announced the list of 13 shortlisted authors for the EUPL 2025 edition, one for each participating country. The authors and their novels were selected by national entities knowledgeable about the literary scene in their countries and used to promoting their own literature abroad.
The Greek nominee is Makis Malafekas, with his book Deepfake. The Greek nomination is supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Book and Culture (HFBC).
The shortlisted authors for this year are:
Austria: Ljuba Arnautović, Erste Töchter (First Daughters)
Belgium: Philippe Marczewski, Quand Cécile (When Cécile)
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Mihaela Šumić, Čovjek vuk (The Wolf Man)
Georgia: Tea Topuria, იაკობის ჭასთან (By Jacob’s Well)
Greece: Makis Malafekas, Deepfake (Deepfake)
Ireland: Sheila Armstrong, Falling Animals (Falling Animals)
Italy: Nicoletta Verna, I Giorni di Vetro (The Days of Glass)
Lithuania: Kotryna Zylė, Mylimi Kaulai (Beloved Bones)
Norway: Maria Kjos Fonn, Margaret, er du i sorg (Margaret, Are You Grieving)
Romania: Bogdan Crețu, Mai puţin decât dragostea (Less Than Love)
Slovakia: Lukáš Cabala, Spomenieš si na Trenčín? (Will you remember Trenčín?)
Spain: David Uclés, La peninsula de las casas vacías (The Peninsula of Empty Houses)
Ukraine: Halyna Matveeva, Ключ соль (The Key of G)
The seven members of the European jury will read excerpts from all the shortlisted books and make their choice in the upcoming month to award one EUPL Prize lauerate for this edition, together with recognising two special mentions.
The 2025 EUPL Prize laureate and the two special mentions will be revealed on 16 May 2025 at 18:00, during the announcement ceremony at Book World Prague fair in the Bohemian Pavilion.
All shortlisted authors will be continuously promoted on the European stage, aiming to reach a wider and international audience, as well as connect with readers beyond their national and linguistic borders.
The EUPL is organised by a Consortium of associations comprising the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), with the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
This year EUPL launced the new podcast Stories from Europe: The European Union Prize for Literature Podcast.
Each episode features a shortlisted author from this year, who leads us through his/her works, inspirations, and cultural influences.
Listen to the podcast of Makis Malafekas: 1. Makis Malafekas – Stories from Europe | Podcast on Spotify
