Jordi Prenafeta wins the Giovanni Pontiero Award for his translation of 'Contos do Gin-Tonic'

The book Contos do Gin-Tonic was first published 50 years ago, in the final years of the dictatorship of Caetano in Portugal, and is a sample of surrealism and its influence on Portuguese literature. The book is considered to be the most representative work of Leiria (1923-1980), a counter-culture, experimental and transgressive artist who suffered persecution during the dictatorship and eventual exile due to his political views.

According to the Fonoll publishing house, which published the Catalan version, Contes del gintònic, this is the first translation of this book into another language. Prenafeta, in addition to translator, is teacher at the Official Language School of Lleida, author of several prized literary novels, founder of the Àgora Literària de Ponent and the República dels Llibres publishing house, former president of the Association of Young Writers in Catalan and collaborator in several radio stations and newspapers. He is also the creator of a polyfacetic artistic production that includes drawings, visual poems and shows.

The Giovanni Pontiero Translation Award is organised by the Centro de Língua Portuguesa/Camões I.P. of Barcelona and by the UAB Faculty of Translation and Interpreting in recognition of novels originally written in Portuguese. The award includes a cash prize of 5,000 euros and is awarded to translations into Catalan on odd numbered years, and to translations into Spanish on even-numbered years. The award is also a tribute to the figure of Giovanni Pontiero (1932-1996), translator born in Glasgow of authors such as Clarice Lispector and José Saramago, who also became a prolific researcher, particularly in the field of Portuguese and Brasilian literary studies.