Vila-Matas, who was described by the judging panel in their unanimous decision as, “an author who has made some of the greatest contributions to renewing European and Latin American literature,” accepted the award on November 28 at the FIL Guadalajara.
“The pride of writers in today’s world lies in facing the continually growing number of literary nihilists and fighting against them to the death to save humanity from meaninglessness. For writers, the unequivocal definition of a writer; because, despite what they say, writing can save humanity. Even from what appears to be impossible.” Enrique Vila-Matas said this fourteen years ago in his acceptance speech for his first literary award. He will now add the judging panel’s unanimous decision to grant him the 2015 FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages, which he will receive on November 28 at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, to his list of distinctions.
In the minutes from the judging panel’s deliberations they highlight that Enrique Vila-Matas is an author who has made some of the greatest contributions to renewing European and Latin American literature by creating works in which he intertwines different literary genres and blurs the line between essay and fiction. “Enrique Vila-Matas’ work relentlessly questions the fragile condition of literature and reflects on its limits and challenges in a modern world. His view of writing as a game played with readers, with the writer as director of the work, places him in the great tradition of Cervantes, Sterne and Cortázar. The main themes in his work are the writer who prefers not to write, texts which reflect on themselves and writing as a venture into the abyss that represents a risk for writers and readers alike. His work is captivating for its critical intelligence, humor and irony.”
Born in Barcelona in 1948, Vila-Matas is the author of an extensive body of works which have been translated into thirty languages. Some of his books include Bartleby & Co. (2001), Montano's Malady (2003), Doctor Pasavento (2006), Dublinesque (2010) and Exploradores del abismo (2007). Knight of the French Legion of Honor, he has received over twenty literary distinctions and prizes including the Rómulo Gallegos, Médicis, Herralde and Gregor von Rezzori awards.
Forty-two authors from fourteen countries were nominated for the award this year. The judging panel was made up of João Cezar de Castro Rocha, representing Portuguese; Ottmar Ette, representative of Spanish; Joaquín Garrigós, representative of Romanian; Alberto Manguel, representing the Spanish language; Patricia Martínez, representing French, as well as Pierre Assouline, also representing French, who joined the judging panel by telephone. The FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages is a distinction given to a creative work in any literary genre and includes a purse of US$150,000.
