© Rosa CunhaJosé Eduardo Agualusa //
We are happy to announce that our author José Eduardo Agualusa has been awarded the Manuel de Boaventura Literary Prize for his novel Master of Drums, published by Quetzal.
It was selected from 201 entries in competition, from different Portuguese-speaking countries.
The jury unanimously decided to award the prize to “Master of Drums”, noting that “it is a work of evident literary maturity, in which a very refined expressive and stylistic virtuosity stands out at the service of an original and sufficiently thought-provoking imaginary to problematise fundamental issues, especially the relationship between history and fiction against the backdrop of the Portuguese colonial process and beyond”. The jury also emphasised “the intertextual richness of the novel, revealing its unusual literary density”.
The prestigious award, which includes a monetary prize of €7,500, is a biennial initiative by the Municipality of Esposende in Portugal.
Established in 2017, the prize honors the legacy of Manuel de Boaventura, a renowned writer and cultural figure, and aims to promote literary creation in the Portuguese language.
Agualusa now joins the ranks of previous winners such as Ana Margarida de Carvalho, Filipa Martins, and Mia Couto, among others.
