Szécsi was picked for the prize for her book Communist Monte Cristo, "an artistic interpretation of the history of a communist idea in Hungary based on elaborate research."
"This prize spotlights the excellence of literary talents in Europe and all they have to offer. It shows that Europe is brimming over with creativity," said Commissioner Figel. "The prize is aimed at getting the works of new authors off the book shelves and into the hands and hearts of people across Europe.''
The prize will be presented during an award ceremony in Brussels on September 28.
Szécsi Noémi, born in1976, is a writer and translator. She graduated in Finnish and English in Budapest, and studied cultural anthropology in Helsinki. She published her first novel, Finno-Ugrian Vampire in 2002, reprinted in 2003 due to its success. The script based on the novel was shortlisted by the workshop of Sundance Institute.
Szécsi's most recent novel, The Last Centaur, about anarchist bicycle messengers, was published in Hungary in June.
Among some of the other winners of the first European Union Prize for Literature were Paulus Hochgatterer, from Austria, for The Sweetness of Life; the Polish author Jacek Dukaj for ICE; and Pavol Rankov, from Slovakia, for It Happened on September the First (Or Whenever).
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
