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T
he award ceremony for the State Prizes for
Literature for books published in 2011 took
place at the Kastelliotissa Hall in Nicosia, on 18
December 2012.
The State Prizes were awarded by the Minister of
Education and Culture, Dr George Demosthenous,
who presented the following introduction.
“The art of writing has been studied and measured
through the centuries as a reflection of reality, as
personal expression, as an intake, as a linguistic or
historical construction, as an act of reason of vola-
tile value. It has been interpreted philosophically,
politically and psychologically.
Tonight we are awarding the State Prizes for Lit-
erature for 2011 publications. Through an unin-
terrupted course of 45 years, the institution of the
State Prizes for Literature highlights through com-
petition the qualitative peak of each year’s pro-
ductions in our country. Furthermore, it has been
progressively recording the historical evolution of
literature in Cyprus since 1968. The institution ad-
justs to the respective standards of the times, seeks
continuous improvement through an upgrade of its
practices, while at the same time it consists a sub-
ject for public dialogue, which creates think tanks
and margins for readjustment.
The difficult task of assessing and selecting the
state’s literary output is taken on by the Judging
Committees of the State Prizes for Literature,
which are three and are responsible for judging
literature for children and teenagers, illustration of
children’s and youth literature, and literary types
that are directed at adults. There were around 260
entries this year, which were separated into 11 cat-
egories. Among them, 39 publications stood out
and were assessed in 10 of the 11 categories. The
Judging Committee for State Prizes for Illustration
decided not to award the State Prize for Illustration
for 2011 publications, as the illustrative level for
children’s and youth books was not deemed sat-
isfactory.”
State Prizes for Literature
Former Minister of Education and Culture, Dr George Demosthenous during his speech