From 27 to 30 May, the selection process for the 2026 EU Prize for Literature (EUPL) took place as part of the Warsaw Book Fair. The prize, awarded by the European Union, recognises an emerging fiction author. Under the motto “Stories that Cross Borders”, 14 works by authors from 14 countries (Armenia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Sweden) were presented as finalists for the award.
Ivan Shopov presented his novel Zentrifuga (Begemot, 2024) at the Warsaw Book Fair in a discussion alongside Dora Kaprálová from Czechia, author of the award-winning book Maribor Hypnosis, and Frans Wachtmeister from Sweden, author of Lost Ground. The main award ceremony took place at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, where all shortlisted authors had the opportunity to read an excerpt from their work in their native language.
In September, the EUPL will publish an English-language anthology featuring excerpts from all shortlisted books. The anthology will be presented at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.
All events and workshops organised by the EUPL were aimed at connecting authors and publishers, building bridges and fostering collaborations to help the selected books cross national borders and reach European readers more easily. In this way, the initiative seeks to increase the visibility of writers and facilitate the circulation of contemporary literature across Europe.
