The Mozambican writer, Mia Couto, was awarded the José Craveirinha Literary Prize, this Monday, in the Main Hall of the Maputo City Council, as part of the celebrations of the centennial of Mozambique's greatest poet.

"[This distinction is overdue]," said the president of the jury, Mozambican writer and essayist Luís Cizerillo, having justified the choice with greatness and humanism of Mia Couto's work.

Mia Couto, in turn, praised the work of poet José Craveirinha when he received the award in the Salão Nobre do Conselho Municipal de Maputo.

The literature award was created by the Mozambican Writers Association in partnership with Hidroelétrica de Cahora Bassa, with a monetary value of 25,000 dollars.

Mia Couto was born in Beira, Mozambique, in 1955, was a journalist and teacher - currently he is a biologist and writer.

Awarded the Camões Prize in 2013, Mia Couto is the author, among others, of "Jesusalém", "O Último Vooo do Flamingo", "Vozes Anoitecidas", "Estórias Abensonhadas", "Terra Sonâmbula", "A Varanda do Frangipani", and "A Confissão da Leoa".

Translated into more than 30 languages, the writer was also awarded the Vergílio Ferreira Prize, in 1999, the União Latina de Literaturas Românicas Prize, in 2007, and the Eduardo Lourenço Prize, in 2011, for his body of work, among other distinctions.

"Terra Sonâmbula" was voted one of the 12 best African books of the 20th century, and "Jesusalém" was among the 20 best fiction books most published in France, as chosen by Radio France Culture and Télérama magazine.