The writer Itamar Vieira Júnior won the 2024 Jabuti Prize in the area of romance with save the fireaccording to the list of winners of the Brazilian Book Chamber of the 66th edition of the most important prize in Brazilian literature.
This is the second time that Itamar Vieira Júnior receives the Jabuti Prize, after having achieved it in 2021 with the novel crooked plowwinner of the LeYa Prize, in 2018, a work also distinguished with the Oceans Prize, in 2020, and, this year, with the prize from the French foundation Montluc Resistance et Liberté, which recognizes works on themes of resistance and freedom.
The awarding of the Jabuti novel prize “definitively consolidates Itamar Vieira Júnior as one of the most relevant authors of current Brazilian literature,” writes the author’s Portuguese editor, Dom Quijote, of the Leya group, in reaction to the award.
Itamar Vieira Junior. Save the fire to save “the most precious thing in us”
save the fire was published in April of last year, in Portugal, and tells the story of Moisés and his sister Luzia, who assumes the maternal role after the death of their mother, establishing between them “a touching and moving relationship”, which “has as its setting the countryside and deep Brazil, just like his previous novel”, refers to Don Quixote.
For the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, Vieira Júnior, in save the firemasterfully shows how the characters face “the greatest injustices,” between Moisés’ orphanhood and Luzia’s marginalization, “stigmatized by the population for her supposed supernatural powers.” Luzia ends up giving herself over to “a deep religious sense” that impacts the extreme rigidity of Moisés’ education.
Born in Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, Itamar Vieira Júnior is a geographer and doctor in Ethnic and African Studies.
In addition to crooked plowtranslated in 28 countries – and which has already sold a million copies in Portugal – the writer also published the book of short stories Doramar or the Odyssey – Stories (2022), which preceded save the firealready published in nine countries.
For next year, according to the Leya Group, the Portuguese edition of Chupimthe writer’s first children’s book.
The 66th edition of Jabuti also distinguished, in the field of short stories, the nestby Bethânia Pires Amaro; in the chronicle, Always Paris: chronicle of a city, its writers and artistsby Rosa Freire D’Aguiar; like stoneby Luckas Iohanathan, in Comics; tug of warby Ilan Brenman and Guilherme Karsten, in Children’s Literature; Apytama: Forest of Storiesby Kaká Werá, in Youth; and Chicken head on the cement floor.by Ricardo Domeneck, in Poetry. In entertainment fiction, the award went to The crime of the good Naziby Samir Machado of Machado.
For his first poetic work he was awarded Brief act of peeling orangesby Bianca Monteiro García and, by Romance, the castawaysby Patrícia Larini.
Josef Mengele: how an SS doctor lived in Brazil, between family lunches and boat trips
In the Non-Fiction areas, books were distinguished tropical bavariaby Betina Anton, in the Biography and Reportage category, an investigation into the career of Josef Mengele, “the most infamous Nazi doctor,” in Brazil; The truth will set you free.by Gabriela Biló, Fear and Delirium and Pedro Inoue, in Arts; The tree’s effort: we want shade and fresh waterby Cláudio de Moura Castro, in Creative Economy, and Green Consumptionby Ricardo Esturaro, in Negócios; The meaning of lifeby Contardo Calligaris, was awarded in Health and Wellbeing; and How to be an anti-racist educatorby Bárbara Carine, in Education.
In the editorial production area, Jabuti awarded Guilherme Karsten’s illustration in tug of warthe graphic design of Baraby Felipe Chodin, for the Act publishing house, and the translation by João Carlos B. Gonçalves to the 12th century Sanskrit text Song for Govinda.
The Jabuti also awarded the writer Marina Colasanti, 87, as Literary Personality of 2024, for “her contribution to literature, with books that address universal themes in a simple and poetic way, conquering readers of all ages.”
With more than 50 years of career, the Italian-Brazilian author has won nine Jabuti awards.
Source: Observadora
