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The prose writer Lukáš Cabala represents an unconventional phenomenon in the context of �������� literature, particularly in how he has uniquely incorporated his hometown of Trenčín into an atlas of fictional worlds. His prose Spomenieš si na Trenčín? (Artforum 2023), which made it into the top ten of the Anasoft Litera Award 2024 and was also nominated for the René Prize, is one of the highest-quality �������� literary works of recent years. It serves as a loose continuation and final piece of a trilogy inspired by magical realism.

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Cabala portrays his hometown in several time-spatial planes, and by shifting the plot from the present to the past, he deliberately prepares our attention for a different perception of reality. Both time-spatial lines gradually merge, and the streets fill with famous Jewish natives – the printer and bookseller Leopold Gansel, and the architect Dominik Filipp. ��������ia's past reminds us of aryanization and concentration camps, while modern-day nostalgia recalls the former regime and conspiracy theories. Cabala has created a tribute to the city where, at the beginning of the 20th century, a strong Jewish community lived, and its memory today is more nebulous than the Roman inscription on Trenčianska Skala.

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A total of thirteen authors from thirteen countries are nominated for the 2025 European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL). In addition to ��������ia, the countries nominating authors this year include Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Austria, Romania, Spain, and Ukraine.

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The nominating organization for ��������ia is the �������� Literary Centre. ��������ia last nominated an author for the EUPL in 2022, when Richard Pupala was nominated for his book Ženy aj muži, zvieratá (Women and Men, Animals, Lindeni 2020). Previous �������� laureates of the EUPL include Ivana Dobrakovová (2019), Jana Beňová (2012), Pavol Rankov (2009), and Svetlana Žuchová (2015).

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The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) represents an award for emerging fiction writers from the European Union and beyond. The award, which involves 40 countries from the EU's Creative Europe program, shines a spotlight on 40 new exceptional literary talents during a three-year cycle. The EUPL is organized by a consortium of associations including the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and the European and International Federation of Booksellers (EIBF) with the support of the EU’s Creative Europe program.

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A seven-member jury will decide on this year's laureate, as well as two honorable mentions. The winner will be announced on May 16 at 6:00 PM at the Book World 2025 book fair in Prague.

More information about the EUPL:��