The US Embassy in Tirana yesterday announced that Albanian writer Ismail Kadare is the winner of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
Via an announcement on their Facebook page, they said that he will be given the award through an online ceremony by the University of Oklahoma. They invited people to register to watch the event and to proudly watch “Albania’s best-known poet and novelist be recognized for his accomplishments.”
Kadare who is 84 is one of the few Albanian authors who is widely recognized outside of the country.
🇦🇱 | Kemi kënaqësinë të njoftojmë se shkrimtari i shquar shqiptar Ismail Kadare do të nderohet me Çmimin Ndërkombëtar…
Gepostet von U.S. Embassy-Tirana am Montag, 5. Oktober 2020
Kadare has been awarded a number of international prizes for his works, including the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca, the Herder Prize, the Man Booker International Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts, the Jerusalem Prize and the Park Kyong-ni Prize.
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is considered as one of the most prestigious international literary awards and is often compared with the Nobel Prize in Literature. It was founded in 1970 and many of those who won it then went on to win a Nobel Prize.
Previous winners include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Patricia Grace, Mia Couto, and Adam Zagajewski.
