Pedro Carmona-Alvarez nominated for Kritikerprisen

Pedro Carmona-Alvarez’s novel Chiquitita has been nominated for the prestigious Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (Kritikerprisen)!

The prize is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics’ Association (Norsk Litteraturkritikerlag) and has been awarded every year since 1950. The prize is presented to a Norwegian author for a literary work as agreed to among the members of the Norwegian Literature Critics’ Association. Previous winners include Jon Fosse, Per Petterson, Karl Ove Knausgaard and many other literary greats.

From the jury’s presentation:
“With his novel Chiquitita, Pedro Carmona-Alvarez continues to develop an increasingly unique and multi-faceted body of work. The story of eight-year-old Marisol, who is forced to flee when her ‘country collapses’ is both beautiful and terrible in Carmona-Alvarez’s distinctive, lyrical depiction of the traumatic events that occur. The novel’s highly successful format in which the escape is depicted from three different time perspectives allows the author to blend a vivid and impulsive child’s gaze with a later, more reflective recollection. The novel also gives the reader an understanding of how vulnerable children on the run are, and how prolonged fear and uncertainty can leave an imprint on the people who live through them. Chiquitita is a novel that reconciles the pleasant with the unpleasant – while teaching us something at the same time.”

Chiquitita came out last year to rave reviews and has been sold to the Netherlands (Uitgeverij Oevers), Hungary (Polar Egyesület), and most recently, Brazil (Nós Editora). It was also chosen as one of NORLA’s Selected Titles and was awarded the Riksmaal Society’s Literature Prize.

The winner will be announced Thursday, March 7th – fingers crossed!