(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, 20 MAG - Tunisian writer Amine Al Ghozzi, author of "Zindali: The Night of 14 January 2011", has been chosen as one of the 13 laureates to win the EU Prize for Literature (EUPL) for 2021.
    Al Ghozzi's book is the first Arab and Tunisian book to take part in this prestigious contest, which recognises emerging fiction writers in the EU and beyond.
    The 2021 winner for each country was chosen by a national jury of experts in the sectors of literature, publishing and book selling. The Tunisian jury commended the author for his novel, which it said describes "with much humanity and poetry various scenes that took place on the streets of Sousse on the eve of 14 January 2011".
    Eighteen people feature in the novel, which Tunisian jury president Raja Ben Slama called "a novel without heroes, which is like a revolution without leaders".
    Slama, a professor at the University of Manouba, a psychoanalyst and director of the Tunisian National Library, said the book "documents the salient moments of the Tunisian Revolution and the weeks of protests culminating with the fall of the dictatorship under Ben Ali".
    Amidst fiction and real life, the author thinks back to that night, which saw the constitution of neighbourhood committees in a Tunisia that was confused and in a situation of general precariousness.
    His style moves between humor and audacity, through a unique literary grammar that opts for a fusion between literary Arabic and Tunisian dialect.
    The novel deepens the twists of the human soul and goes inside the existential crisis of an entire population.
    Al Ghozzi is a professor of history and geography who lives in rance, and it was he who wrote the lyrics of the famous song "Kelmti Horra", performed by Emel Mathlouthi in the days of the revolution.
    In addition to Ben Slama, other members of the jury included Kamel Gaha, professor emeritus of French literature and member of the Beit-al-Hikma Academy; Jalel El-Gharbi, literature professor at Manouba University; and Adam Fethi, writer and president of Pen Tunisia.
    With the participation of 41 countries and financed by the EU Creative Europe Programme, the EUPL celebrates 41 new literary talents in a three-year cycle.
    Shining a light on the creativity and the immense diversified wealth of contemporary European literature in the field of fiction, the prize aims to increase the circulation of contemporary literature among EU countries to promote the mobility of ideas and encourage intercultural dialogue.
    The 13 novels and their respective winning authors were unveiled during an online video announcement. (ANSAmed).