Author Cerniauskaite awarded EU prize for literature

BRUSSELS- Lithuanian writer Laura SintijaCerniauskaite of Vilnius has been awardedthe European Union Prize for Literature in Brussels for her book "Kvepavimas IMarmura" (2006) (Breathing into Marble).

 The prize is co-funded by the European Union's Culture Programme and aConsortium consisting of the European Booksellers Federation (EBF), theEuropean Writers Congress (EWC) and the Federation of European Book Publishers.

 This is the first novel of Cerniauskaite, also known for her work as aplaywright, and was published by Alma Littera in 2006. The novel was a hit withreaders and critics alike.  . The novel"Kvepavimas I Marmura" features a drama of a family living in anisolated homestead which adopts a problem boy. The efforts put to welcome thenew family member reveal a deep crisis of the relations of the family itself.In Flagey Theatre in Brussels,12 emerging European authors received the new European Union Prize forLiterature during a ceremony attended by 800 people from the European culturalscene.

 President Jose Manuel Barrosoand writer Henning Mankelllaunched the event with a dialogue about literature. They concluded that thereal value of this prize will be its success to get literature across bordersin Europe and beyond.

The prize is a total of 5,000 euros for each winner.

 The Culture Programme supports trans-national cultural cooperationprojects involving operators from a minimum of three different countriesparticipating in the programme. It also provides specific support for thetranslation of literary works and is open to all cultural sectors exceptaudiovisual, for which a separate programme exists.