The Camões Prize named after Luís de Camões

Luís de Camões

Luís Vaz de Camões is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas...

 is the most important literary prize for the Portuguese language

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (National Library Foundation) and the Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian Departamento Nacional do Livro (National Book Department) to the author of an outstanding work written in Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

.

It is often regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Literature

Nobel Prize in Literature

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...

 for works in Portuguese. The monetary award is of 100,000 euros.

The Laureates

Year	Author	Country
1989	Miguel Torga Miguel Torga Miguel Torga, pseudonym of Adolfo Correia da Rocha is considered one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century...  (1907-1995)
1990	João Cabral de Melo Neto João Cabral de Melo Neto João Cabral de Melo Neto was born in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and is considered one of the greatest Brazilian poets of all time.He is often quoted saying "I try not to perfume the flower"...  (1920 - 1999)
1991	José Craveirinha José Craveirinha José Craveirinha , was born in Maputo, Mozambique and is today considered the greatest poet of that country....  (1922 - 2003)
1992	Vergílio Ferreira Vergílio Ferreira Vergílio Ferreira, JOSE was a Portuguese writer.As a teenager, he studied in a seminar. Later he studied at the University of Coimbra. His experiences are related in his most famous work "Manhã Submersa", Vergílio Ferreira, JOSE (Melo, Gouveia, 28 January 1916 – Lisbon, 1 March 1996) was a...  (1916 - 1996)
1993	Rachel de Queiroz Rachel de Queiroz Rachel de Queiroz was a Brazilian author and journalist....  (1910 - 2003)
1994	Jorge Amado Jorge Amado Jorge Leal Amado de Faria was a Brazilian writer of the Modernist school. He was the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, notably Dona Flor and her Two Husbands in 1978...  (1912 - 2001)
1995	José Saramago José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE was a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, poet, playwright and journalist. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor. Harold Bloom has described Saramago as "a...  (1922 - 2010)
1996	Eduardo Lourenço Eduardo Lourenço Eduardo Lourenço is a Portuguese essayist, professor, critic, philosopher, and writer. He once attended the Colégio Militar and studied at the University of Coimbra, where he also was professor. He won the Camões Prize in 1996.-References:...  (1923 - )
1997	"Pepetela"-Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos Pepetela Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos is a major Angolan writer of fiction. He writes under the name Pepetela....  (1941 - )
1998	António Cândido de Mello e Sousa Antônio Candido Antonio Candido de Mello e Souza was born in Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on July 24, 1918. He is a writer, professor, and literary critic. He was the co-winner of the Prêmio Jabuti for essays in 1965.-Partial bibliography:...  (1918 - )
1999	Sophia de Mello Breyner (1919 - 2004)
2000	Autran Dourado Autran Dourado Waldomiro Freitas Autran Dourado is a contemporary Brazilian novelist. He was born in the state of Minas Gerais. Going against current trends in Brazilian literature, Dourado's works display much concern with literary form, with many obscure words and expressions...  (1926 - )
2001	Eugénio de Andrade Eugénio de Andrade Eugénio de Andrade was the pseudonym of José Fontinhas, GOSE, GCM , a Portuguese poet.José Fontinhas was born at Póvoa de Atalaia, Fundão. He is revered as one of the leading names in contemporary Portuguese poetry...  (1923 - 2005)
2002	Maria Velho da Costa Maria Velho da Costa Maria de Fátima de Bívar Velho da Costa is a Portuguese writer who was awarded the Camões Prize in 2002. She took part of the Portuguese Feminist Movement with Maria Isabel Barreno and Maria Teresa Horta ....  (1938 - )
2003	Rubem Fonseca Rubem Fonseca Rubem Fonseca is a Brazilian writer.He was born in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, but he has lived most of his life in Rio de Janeiro. In 1952, he started his career as a low-level cop and, later became a police commissioner, one of the highest ranks in the civil police of Brazil...  (1925 - )
2004	Agustina Bessa-Luís Agustina Bessa-Luís Agustina Bessa-Luís, GOSE is a Portuguese writer.From 1986 and 1987, she was Director of the daily O Primeiro de Janeiro . From 1990 to 1993, she was director of the Teatro Nacional D...  (1922 - )
2005	Lygia Fagundes Telles Lygia Fagundes Telles Lygia Fagundes Telles is a Brazilian novelist and short-story writer. She was born in São Paulo and is one of Brazil's most important living writers....  (1923 - )
2006	José Luandino Vieira José Luandino Vieira José Luandino Vieira is an Angolan writer of short fiction and novels.Vieira was born in Lagoa de Furadouro, Ourém, Portugal and was Portuguese by birth and ethnicity, but his parents immigrated to Angola in 1938 and he grew up immersed in the African quarters of Luanda...  (1935 - ) - refused	/
2007	António Lobo Antunes António Lobo Antunes António Lobo Antunes, GCSE, MD ; born 1 September 1942) is a Portuguese novelist and medical doctor.-Life and career:António Lobo Antunes was born in Lisbon as the eldest of six sons of João Alfredo de Figueiredo Lobo Antunes , prominent Neurologist and Professor, close collaborator of Egas Moniz,...  (1942 - )
2008	João Ubaldo Ribeiro João Ubaldo Ribeiro João Ubaldo Ribeiro is a Brazilian author born in Itaparica, Bahia on January 23, 1941. In the English speaking world his An Invincible Memory has been highly praised...  (1941 - )
2009	Arménio Vieira Arménio Vieira Arménio Adroaldo Vieira e Silva is a Cape Verdean and a Portuguese journalist. He elemented an activity during the 1960s, collaborated in SELÓ, Boletim de Cabo Verde, Vértice review, Raízes, Ponto & Vírgula, Fragmentos, and others....  (1941 - )
2010	Ferreira Gullar Ferreira Gullar Ferreira Gullar is the pen name for José Ribamar Ferreira , Brazilian poet, playwright, essayist, art critic, and television writer...  (1930 - )
2011	Manuel António Pina (1943 - )