# Camões Prize

The Camões Prize (Portuguese: Prémio Camões, Portuguese pronunciation:), named after Luís de Camões, is the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Biblioteca (National Book, Archive an Libraries Department) and the Brazilian Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (National Library Foundation) to the author of an outstanding oeuvre of work written in Portuguese. The monetary award is of €100,000, making it among the richest literary prizes in the world.

## History

This award is considered the premier literary prize in the Portuguese-speaking world and is granted on the basis of the entirety of one's work.
The Camões Prize is awarded annually, alternating between the two countries, and based on decision of a specially designated jury. The award consists of a cash amount resulting from the contributions from Brazil and Portugal, and is set annually by mutual agreement.
The Camões Prize was first introduced by the Additional Protocol to the Cultural Agreement between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Federal Republic of Brazil, dated 7 September 1966, which creates the Camões Prize, signed in Brasilia on 22 June 1988, and approved in Portugal by Decree No. 43/88 of 30 November 1988.
This Protocol was replaced by a new one between the Portuguese Republic and the Federative Republic of Brazil, signed in Lisbon on 17 April 1999, approved by Portugal through Decree 47/99 in the official gazette of 5 November 1999.

## The Laureates

| Year | Author | Country | Genre(s) |
| 1989 | Miguel Torga (1907–1995) | Portugal | poetry, short story, novel, drama, memoirs, essay |
| 1990 | João Cabral de Melo Neto (1920–1999) | Brazil | poetry |
| 1991 | José Craveirinha (1922–2003) | Mozambique | poetry, journalism |
| 1992 | Vergílio Ferreira (1916–1996) | Portugal | novel, short story, memoirs, essay |
| 1993 | Rachel de Queiroz (1910–2003) | Brazil | novel, short story, translation, journalism, drama, memoirs, children's literature |
| 1994 | Jorge Amado (1912–2001) | Brazil | novel, short story, poetry, children's literature, biography, journalism |
| 1995 | José Saramago (1922–2010) | Portugal | novel, short story, drama, poetry, memoirs, journalism, children's literature |
| 1996 | Eduardo Lourenço (1923–2020) | Portugal | philosophy, literary criticism, essay |
| 1997 | "Pepetela"-Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos (1941 – ) | Angola | novel, drama |
| 1998 | António Cândido de Mello e Sousa (1918–2017) | Brazil | literary criticism, literary theory, essay, poetry |
| 1999 | Sophia de Mello Breyner (1919–2004) | Portugal | poetry, short story, drama, children's literature, translation, essay |
| 2000 | Autran Dourado (1926–2012) | Brazil | novel, short story, essay, memoirs |
| 2001 | Eugénio de Andrade (1923–2005) | Portugal | poetry, children's literature, translation, short story |
| 2002 | Maria Velho da Costa (1938–2020) | Portugal | novel, short story, drama, essay, screenplay |
| 2003 | Rubem Fonseca (1925–2020) | Brazil | novel, short story, screenplay |
| 2004 | Agustina Bessa-Luís (1922–2019) | Portugal | novel, short story, drama, essay, children's literature, biography, memoirs |
| 2005 | Lygia Fagundes Telles (1918 – 2022) | Brazil | novel, short story |
| 2006 | José Luandino Vieira (1935 – ) – refused | Portugal / Angola | novel, short story, journalism, children's literature, translation |
| 2007 | António Lobo Antunes (1942 – ) | Portugal | novel, short story |
| 2008 | João Ubaldo Ribeiro (1941–2014) | Brazil | novel, short story, journalism, children's literature, essay |
| 2009 | Arménio Vieira (1941 – ) | Cape Verde | poetry, journalism |
| 2010 | Ferreira Gullar (1930–2016) | Brazil | poetry, short story, essay, art criticism, biography |
| 2011 | Manuel António Pina (1943–2012) | Portugal | poetry, children's literature, drama, short story, journalism |
| 2012 | Dalton Trevisan (1925–2024) | Brazil | short story, novel |
| 2013 | Mia Couto (1955 – ) | Mozambique | novel, short story, poetry |
| 2014 | Alberto da Costa e Silva (1931–2023) | Brazil | history, poetry, memoirs, essay, biography |
| 2015 | Hélia Correia (1949 – ) | Portugal | novel, children's literature, drama, poetry |
| 2016 | Raduan Nassar (1935 – ) | Brazil | short story, novel |
| 2017 | Manuel Alegre (1936 – ) | Portugal | poetry, novel |
| 2018 | Germano Almeida (1945 – ) | Cape Verde | novel |
| 2019 | Chico Buarque (1944 – ) | Brazil | songwriting, novel, drama |
| 2020 | Vítor Manuel de Aguiar e Silva (1939 –) | Portugal | essay |
| 2021 | Paulina Chiziane (1955 –) | Mozambique | novel |
| 2022 | Silviano Santiago (1936 –) | Brazil | novel, essay, literary criticism |
| 2023 | João Barrento (1940 –) | Portugal | translation, essay |
| 2024 | Adélia Prado (1935 –) | Brazil | poetry |

## Winners per country

* Brazil – 15
* Portugal – 14
* Mozambique – 3
* Angola – 2
* Cape Verde – 2