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Georgi Gospodinov Wins Jean Monnet Prize for European Literature

bta.bg · 10d · first reportShare

Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov won the 32nd Jean Monnet Prize for European Literature for his novel Death and the Gardener (French title: Le jardinier et la mort), translated into French by Marie Vrinat-Nikolov and published by Gallimard in August 2025, French media reported on Friday night. The award also recognizes the writer's body of work. Georgi Gospodinov (or Gueorgui Gospodinov, in French) was nominated alongside seven other European authors before being shortlisted for the prize together with Irish author Joseph O'Connor and Italy's Andrea Bajani. The chair of the jury, Gerard de Cortanze, described Death and the Gardener as "a book of light against the black hole of death". Gospodinov wrote on social media: "Jean Monnet was one of the fathers of modern Europe, which also makes me happy." Among previous winners of the prize, he named Antonio Tabucchi, Patrick Modiano, Angel Wagenstein, Jon Kalman Stefansson, Ian McEwan and Pascal Quignard. The Jean Monnet Prize for European