The International Award MILOVAN VIDAKOVIC is es tablished at 2008 within the PROSEFEST, and it will be awarded for the Body of Prose Work (including all prose genres), as a permanent feature of the festival. The Award consists of a plaquette and a monetary prize. The Organisational Board of the PROSEFEST is also the Jury which decides upon the award winner. The value and international response of the prose opus, its presence among readers and the author’s at titude towards the problem of reception as such are basic criteria for awarding. Milovan Vidakovic [1780-1841] was the founder of the modern Serbian novel and one of the most important Serbian authors from the early 19th century. Vidakovic was the most read author in Serbian literature during the 19th century, as shown not only by the numbers of copies his works were published in and reprints of his novels [Ljubomir in Elysium, Velimir and Bosiljka, etc.], but also the long lists of subscribers he used to publish at the end of each book. He wrote in honour of his au diences, not for some ’imaginary eternity’, which he stated time and again in the forewords of his novels addressed directly to the reader. Therefore, we find that the eminent literary award within PROSEFEST should rightfully bear his name.
Awarded writers:
– 2008 – Alberto Manguel
– 2009 – George Konrad
– 2010 – Claudio Magris
– 2011 – David Grossman
– 2012 – Slobodan Tišma