Albania to host 2010 Balkan literary prize

TIRANA, Nov. 17 – This year’s Balkan literary prize (the Balkanika) bringing together Balkan authors and publishers will for the first time be held in Albania. The competition’s organizers, the Toena publishing house, said the prize award ceremony for the best Balkan novel published in 2009 and 2010 will be held in the southern city of Vlora.
The winner will be announced on November 28 in Vlora, where Albania declared its independence exactly 98 years ago.
The Albanian novel participating in the competition will be selected by a jury composed of Jorgo Bulo, Pirro Misha and Diana Culi, the latter also representing Albania in the international jury.
The Balkanika prize was founded by seven publishers from Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Romania and Turkey with the aim of bringing Balkan writers and publishers together. Every year, the winning book is translated into the languages of all the participating countries.