Camões Prize

Camões Prize
A painting depicting Camões, made by François Gérard
Country	Brazil and Portugal
Presented by	Departamento Nacional do Livro and Fundação Biblioteca Nacional
Reward(s)	€100,000
First awarded	1989

The Camões Prize (Portuguese, Prémio Camões, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpɾɛmju kaˈmõĩ̯ʃ]), named after Luís de Camões is the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (National Library Foundation) and the Brazilian Departamento Nacional do Livro (National Book Department) to the author of an outstanding oeuvre of work written in Portuguese. The monetary award is of €100,000, making it among the richest literary prizes in the world.

This award is considered the premier literary prize for an author in the Portuguese language for the entirety of their work.

The Camões Prize is awarded annually, alternating between the two countries, and based on decision of a specially designated jury. The award consists of a cash amount resulting from the contributions from Brazil and Portugal, and is set annually by mutual agreement.

The Camões Prize was first introduced by the Additional Protocol to the Cultural Agreement between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Federal Republic of Brazil, dated September 7, 1966, which creates the Camões Prize, signed in Brasilia on June 22, 1988, and approved in Portugal by Decree No. 43/88 of November 30, 1988.

This Protocol was replaced by a new one between the Portuguese Republic and the Federative Republic of Brazil, signed in Lisbon on April 17, 1999, approved by Portugal through Decree 47/99 in the official gazette of November 5, 1999.