Mozambican writer Adelino Albano Luís was awarded last Thursday (12) as the big winner of the 2nd edition of the Mia Couto Literary Prize, in the prose category.

For the prize, he received a check for 400,000 meticais from Mia Couto and the Managing Director of Cornelder Mozambique, Jan de Vries, at a ceremony held at Casa do Artista, in the city of Beira.

The prize, launched in June 2023, is an initiative of Cornelder de Moçambique (CdM) in partnership with the Kulemba Literary Association.

Adelino Luís won this year's award with his book "Estórias trazidas pela ventania", published by Fundza. The work was distinguished, according to the jury, "for its thematic richness, linguistic versatility and consistent construction of the short stories".

Adelino Albano Luís' book beat off competition from the other three finalists in this 2nd edition of the Mia Couto Literary Prize, namely "Kwashala Blues", by Jessemusse Cacinda; "Da asa do vento, a poeira do fogo", by Rungo Novela; and "As ancas do camarada chefe", by Sérgio Raimundo.

The members of the jury for this 2nd edition of the Mia Couto Literary Prize were the Mozambicans Lourenço do Rosário (president), Teresa Manjate and Marcelo Panguana, as well as the Angolan Ondjakie and the Brazilian Tânia Macedo.

The award ceremony was attended by the Mozambican writer after whom the prize is named, Mia Couto, representatives of Cornelder de Moçambique and the Kulemba Literary Association, as well as the Secretary of State in Sofala, Cecília Chamutota, and the mayor of Beira, Albano Carige, in addition to Marcelo Panguana, who represented the jury.

For this 2nd edition of the Mia Couto Literary Prize, the jury decided "unanimously", as Marcelo Panguana explained at the time, not to award any of the works entered for the poetry category, "because it found some weaknesses in their poetic construction, a decision that is provided for in Article 23 of the Prize's Regulations".

In a Savannah newspaperMarcelo Panguana added on the occasion that "Beira is the homeland of culture makers", noting that the jury received a total of 13 competing works, nine of which were short stories and four poetry.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy Executive Director of Cornelder de Moçambique, António Libombo, once again praised the fact that the prize - an initiative of CdM in partnership with the Kulemba Literary Association - was named after Mia Couto, because his "literary career serves as an example" for all Mozambicans. He added that CdM will continue to support the development of culture in the country and congratulated the winner of this 2nd edition of the prize, hoping that next year there will be more contestants for the Mia Couto Literary Prize.

For his part, writer Mia Couto said he was pleased to be back in Sofala's capital, because "every time I come to Beira I am reborn, because this is where I was a child". He praised Cornelder de Moçambique and the Kulemba Association for the award, pointing out that literature is very important for the country.

The winning writer, Adelino Albano Luís, said that it was a "great honor to win this award and to have my name associated with Mia Couto, who is my greatest source of inspiration".

Adelino Albano Luís was born in 1998 in Chimoio, Manica province. He has a degree in Philosophy from UEM and is also the author of "Cronicontos da Cabeça do Velho" (2022).

(Photo DR)