The Aristeion Prize was a European literary annual prize. It was given to authors for significant contributions to contemporary European literature, and to translators for exceptional translations of contemporary European literary works.
The prize was established by the European Council in May 1989, as a way to promote of books and reading. Each year a jury composed of members selected by European Union countries decided on the winners. Works eligible for prizes had to be published in the three years preceding the date for the submission of entries.
It was awarded in a different Capital of Culture each year. It was first awarded in Glasgow in 1990 and was awarded every year until 1999 in Weimar. It was then discontinued and replaced by the EU's Culture 2000 programme, itself succeeded by the European Union Prize for Literature.
| Year ! City | Literary Winner ! Work | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Jean Echenoz (France) | Lac | ||
| 1991 | Mario Luzi (Italy) | Frasi e incisi di un canto salutare | ||
| 1992 | Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (Spain) | Galíndez | ||
| 1993 | Cees Nooteboom (Netherlands) | Het volgende verhaal | ||
| 1994 | Juan Marsé (Spain) | El embrujo de Shanghai | ||
| 1995 | Herta Müller (Germany) | Herztier | ||
| 1996 | Salman Rushdie (United Kingdom) Christoph Ransmayr (Austria) | The Moor's Last Sigh Morbus Kitahara | ||
| 1997 | Antonio Tabucchi (Italy) | Sostiene Pereira | ||
| 1998 | Hugo Claus (Belgium) | De Geruchten | ||
| 1999 | José Hierro (Spain) | Cuaderno de Nueva York |
| Year ! City | Translation Winner ! Work | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Michael Hamburger (United Kingdom) | Paul Celan Poems of Paul Celan | ||
| 1991 | Frans van Woerden (Netherlands) | Louis-Ferdinand Céline | ||
| 1992 | Sokrates Kapsaskis (Greece) | James Joyce Ulysses | ||
| 1993 | Françoise Wuilmart (Belgium) | Ernst Bloch Das Prinzip Hoffnung | ||
| 1994 | Giovanni Raboni (Italy) | Marcel Proust À la recherche du temps perdu | ||
| 1995 | Dieter Hornig (Austria) | Henri Michaux Un barbare en Asie | ||
| 1996 | Thorkild Bjørnvig (Denmark) | Rainer Maria Rilke Udsat på hjertets bjerge (Selected Poems) | ||
| 1997 | Hans-Christian Oeser (Germany / Ireland*) | Patrick McCabe | ||
| 1998 | Miguel Sáenz (Spain) | Günter Grass Ein weites feld | ||
| 1999 | Claus Bech (Denmark) | Flann O'Brien |