The Austrian Ministry of Culture has announced that Portuguese novelist Lídia Jorge will receive the 2026 Austrian State Prize for European Literature. The award, established in 1965, honors the complete body of work of a European author whose writing has achieved international recognition and is available in German translation.
Jorge, born in 1946 in Boliqueime in the Algarve, is one of Portugal's most prominent literary voices. Over nearly five decades, she has produced thirteen novels, as well as children's books, short stories, plays, poems, and essays. Her works have been translated into Spanish, French, English, and German.
Colonialism and Social Critique at the Core
The jury—comprising Cristina Beretta, Thomas Keul, Thomas Macho, Marlene Streeruwitz, and Andrea Zederbauer—highlighted that Jorge's writing places "critique of European colonialism" as a central theme, alongside "social inequality and poverty, discrimination against women, racism and the 1974 Carnation Revolution." Her novels often explore the lingering effects of Portugal's colonial past, particularly in Africa, where she lived during the Colonial War in Angola and Mozambique.
Among her works available in German are O Dia dos Prodígios (1979), A Costa dos Murmúrios (1988), and Misericórdia (2022). The latter, a meditation on aging and care, has drawn particular acclaim.
Austria's Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Arts and Culture, Andreas Babler, praised Jorge as "one of the most distinguished writers in contemporary European literature," noting that her work is "as multi-faceted and diverse as her themes are meaningful and omnipresent." He added that she has "used her highly poetic writing to defend human equality and the value of life."
The €25,000 prize will be awarded on 27 July during the Salzburg Festival, a fitting venue for an author whose work bridges the personal and the political across European borders.
Jorge's career includes numerous other honors, such as the Grande Prémio de Romance e Novela from the Portuguese Writers' Association in 2003 for O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas, the 2020 FIL Prize for Literature in Romance Languages, and the 2025 Pessoa Prize. Her recognition by Austria underscores the continent's ongoing engagement with the legacies of empire and inequality—themes that resonate beyond Portugal's borders.
This award comes at a time when European literature continues to grapple with questions of identity and migration, as seen in debates around EU migration policy and the challenges of integration across member states.
