São Paulo Prize for Literature

Winners

The following is a list of the winners since the prize's beginning:

Detailed Summary by Year

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2008 São Paulo Prize for Literature

The initial jury for the inaugural year of the São Paulo Prize for Literature reviewed 146 novels submitted by 55 publishers and 19 independent authors. The initial jury selected five finalists for each category, after which the final jury selected one winner from each category. The awards ceremony took place on 1 December 2008, and the presenter was the MTV VJ Cazé Peçanha. All entries were first published in Brazil in 2007.

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Author

Prize Administrators

2009 São Paulo Prize for Literature

The 2009 São Paulo Prize for Literature received 217 novels submissions by 75 publishers and 13 independent authors, (an increase of 48% over the previous year). From those submissions, the initial jury selected ten finalists for each category (an increase from five the previous year), which were announced on 30 May 2009, at the Second Festival da Mantiqueira. Included among the finalists was one book with two authors. All entries were first published in Brazil in 2008.

The winners selected by the final jury were announced on 3 August 2009 at a ceremony at the Museum of the Portuguese Language. The announcement was made by the Governor of São Paulo, José Serra, and the Secretary of Culture of the State of São Paulo, João Sayad. The ceremony was also attended by the Mayor of São Paulo city, Gilberto Kassab, São Paulo State Secretary of Education, Paulo Renato Souza, São Paulo State Secretary of Institutional Relations, José Henrique Reis Lobo, the Coordinator of the Unit for Promotion and Diffusion of Cultural Production of the SEC, André Sturm, and several prominent literary figures in addition to the 20 finalists.

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Author

Prize Administrators

2010 São Paulo Prize for Literature

The list of ten finalists for each category chosen by the initial jury for the 2010 São Paulo Prize for Literature was officially announced at the Festival da Mantiqueira in São Francisco Xavier, São Paulo on 29 May 2010 by Governor Alberto Goldman. The finalists included Bernardo Carvalho, who made his second appearance, having previously made the list in 2008, and Ivana Arruda Leite, who had served on the initial jury for the 2008 prize.

There were originally 217 entries under consideration by the initial jury. All entries were first published in Brazil in 2009. The winners selected by the final jury were granted their awards by the Secretary of Culture of the State of São Paulo, Andrea Matarazzo, on behalf of the Governor of São Paulo, on 2 August 2010 at a ceremony at the Museum of the Portuguese Language.

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Author

Prize Administrators

2011 São Paulo Prize for Literature

The initial jury for the 2011 São Paulo Prize for Literature reviewed 221 novels—104 for the primary prize and 117 for the debut author prize. The list of ten finalists for each category was officially announced at the 4th Festival da Mantiqueira in São Francisco Xavier on 28 May 2011. Included among the finalists were Evandro Affonso Ferreira, who had been on the initial jury for the 2008 prize, Menalton Braff, who had been a finalist for the 2008 prize and on the initial jury for the 2009 prize, and Carola Saavedra, who had been a finalist in 2009. The winners selected by the final jury were announced on 1 August 2011 at a ceremony at the Museum of the Portuguese Language. All entries were first published in Brazil in 2010.

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Author

Prize Administrators

2012 São Paulo Prize for Literature

The initial jury for the 2012 São Paulo Prize for Literature reviewed 209 novels, 90 of which came from established authors, and 119 of which came from debut authors. On 2 August 2012, the Secretary of Culture for the State of São Paulo announced the ten finalists for each category. Included among the finalists was the reappearance of Tatiana Salem Levy, who had won the 2008 São Paulo Prize for Literature for debut authors, Luiz Ruffato who had been a finalist for the 2010 main prize, and Hélio Pólvora who had been a finalist for the 2011 debut author prize. Bartolomeu Campos de Queirós died in January 2012, but was still made a finalist and allowed to compete posthumously. His novel ultimately won the prize. Bartolomeu Campos de Queirós was represented at the awards ceremony by his publisher, Isabel Coelho, who accepted the prize on his behalf and stated the prize money would go to his family. The winners selected by the final jury were announced by Governor Geraldo Alckmin on 24 September 2012 at the Museum of the Portuguese Language. All entries were first published in Brazil in 2011.

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Author

Prize Administrators

2013 São Paulo Prize for Literature

The window for submissions for the 2013 edition of the prize opened on 5 June 2013, along with a notification of a change to the prize structure. Under the new structure the 2013 prize for the best book of the year would remain at R$200,000, while the prize for the best book of the year by a debut author would be split, with R$100,000 being awarded for the best book by a debut author 40 and under and R$100,000 for the best book by a debut author over 40. An author who has previously published books in another genre is still considered a debut author if the book under consideration is his or her first novel.

Out of 187 entries, 168 were found eligible to be considered in the competition, of which 80 were by established authors, 38 were by debut authors aged 40 and under, and 50 were by debut authors over 40. The 20 finalists were then announced on Thursday, 10 October 2013, with four finalists in the Debut Authors 40 and Under category, six finalists in the Debut Authors Over 40 category, and ten finalists in the main category for the Best Book of the Year.

The winners were announced at the Museum of the Portuguese Language on 25 November 2013, however, Daniel Galera, the winner of the Best Book of the Year award and R$200,000 was unable to attend the ceremony because he was traveling for work. At the ceremony, Paula Fábrio, the winner of the Best Book of the Year by Debut Authors Over 40, commented on how this year's prize reflects a movement in the Brazilian market, with small publishing houses producing quality novels that are being missed by the larger publishers. Both novels by the winners of the debut author prizes were published by smaller publishers, with initial runs of only 500 copies each. Galera's novel by contrast was published by one of the largest publishers in the country, Companhia das Letras, which had previously published the winning novel in both the veteran author and debut author categories, and has always been represented by at least one of its novels on the shortlists for each year.

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Authors Over 40

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Authors Under 40

Prize Administrators

2014 São Paulo Prize for Literature

Submissions for the 7th edition of the São Paulo Prize for Literature were accepted between 24 March 2014 and 7 May 2014, and on 15 May 2014, the Board of Trustees and the Initial Jury for the 2014 prize were announced. The group included university professors, librarians, publishers, authors, and a biologist.

On 19 August 2014, the names of the 20 finalists were announced. The finalists were chosen from 169 books that had been entered for consideration, of which 153 were accepted for the competition.

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Authors Over 40

Shortlist for Best Book of the Year - Debut Authors Under 40

Prize Administrators