Mia Couto Nominated for $50,000 Neustadt Prize, 2014

Mia Couto Shortlisted for 23rd Biennial Neustadt International Prize for Literature

Nine writers each select a nominee for the $50,000 award

World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning international literature and culture magazine, today announced Mia Couto was among the shortlist of nominees for the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. This announcement comes just 6 weeks after Mia Couto was awarded the 100,000-euro Camões Prize for Literature in recognition of his lifetime achievement.

 The Neustadt Prize, the most prestigious international literary award given in the United States, is often cited as “the American Nobel,” and is chosen solely on the basis of literary merit. Also on this year’s shortlist are César Aira, Duong Thu Huong, Edward P. Jones, Ilya Kaminsky, Chang-rae Lee, Edouard Maunick, Haruki Murakami, and Ghassan Zaqtan. Mia Couto is the first Mozambican author to receive a nomination in the 44-year history of the prize.

In the next stage of the award process, jury members will convene at OU in October for deliberations. The jury will then vote on the shortlist of nominees to select the winner of the prize, who will be announced on Nov. 1 during the Neustadt Festival of International Literature and Culture. The laureate will receive $50,000, a replica of an eagle feather cast in silver, and a certificate of recognition at a ceremony at OU in fall 2014. For more information on the Neustadt Prize and the fall 2013 festival, visit www.neustadtprize.org.