Eleni Kefala to Judge Neustadt International Prize for Literature

Eleni Kefala has been appointed to the jury of the 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. This $50,000 biennial prize, which is sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today, can be awarded to a living writer working in any language or genre. It recognizes great accomplishments in literature and is frequently referenced as “the American Nobel” for its reputation as a forerunner to the Nobel. The prize counts among its past laureates, nominees and jurors 32 writers who have been awarded Nobel Prizes following their involvement with the Neustadt Prize, with only one exception: José Saramago, who received the Nobel Prize before being considered for the Neustadt. A new international jury of outstanding writers is selected to decide the winner of each Neustadt Prize. Each juror nominates one author for the prize. The jury’s list of finalists will be announced on June 15, and final deliberations and voting will take place at the University of Oklahoma during the Neustadt Lit Fest in October 2021.

Eleni Kefala is the author of the poetry books Μνήμη και παραλλαγές (Memory and variations, 2007) and Χρονορραφία (Time stitches, 2013). She has been a finalist for the Diavazo First-Time Author Award in Greece and winner of the State Prize for Poetry in Cyprus. Her poetry has appeared in magazines and anthologies in Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Turkey and the United States, while Time Stitches is forthcoming in English, translated by Peter Constantine, from Deep Vellum.