
The FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages (''Premio FIL de Literatura en Lenguas Romances'', previously the Juan Rulfo Prize for Latin American and Caribbean Literature) is awarded to writers of any genre of literature (poetry, novels, plays, short stories and literary essays) working in one of the
Romance languages
The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
: Spanish, Catalan, Galician, French, Occitan, Italian, Romanian or Portuguese. Endowed with US$150,000, it is given to a writer in recognition to all their work, making it one of the
richest literary prizes in the world.
It was created in
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
to acknowledge, in the beginning, writers of literature from
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
or the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
.
It is organized by
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
's
National Council for Culture and Arts
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, the
University of Guadalajara
The University of Guadalajara () is a public university, public research university located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was originally established in 1586 and officially founded on 12 February 1791 as the Royal and Pontifical University of Gu ...
, the government of the state of
Jalisco
Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
, and the
Fondo de Cultura Económica
Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE or simply "Fondo") is a Spanish language, non-profit publishing group, partly funded by the Mexican government. It is based in Mexico but it has subsidiaries throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
It was founded ...
and was originally named in honor of writer
Juan Rulfo
Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo (; 16 May 1917 – 7 January 1986), was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel ''Pedro Páramo'', and the ...
, a native of
Sayula, Jalisco
Sayula is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco, approximately 100 kilometers south of Guadalajara. It is surrounded by smaller towns, such as Usmajac, San Andres, El Reparo, and Amacueca.
Sayula is the birthplace of influential ...
. It is awarded during the
Guadalajara International Book Fair
The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL (from its Spanish name: ) is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt's. It is also considered the most i ...
(FIL).
In 2005, the Rulfo family requested that the name be removed from association with the prize, given that it had become "the spoils of small groups that sought only to benefit their own interests". As a result, beginning in 2006, the award was renamed the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages.
Prize winners
References
External links
FIL Literary Prize bestowed by the Civil Association Prize for Literature in Romance LanguagesPremio FIL de Literatura en Lenguas Romances
{{Authority control
Latin American literary awards
Mexican literary awards
Awards established in 1991
1991 establishments in Mexico
Literary awards honoring lifetime achievement