The Camões Prize (, ), named after Luís de Camões, is the most prestigious prize for literature in the Portuguese language. The prize was established in 1989 and is supported by the governments of Brazil and Portugal. It is awarded annually to the author of an outstanding body of work written in Portuguese. Winners are selected by a jury and have included writers from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Portugal. The monetary award is , making it among the richest literary prizes in the world. Past winners include Miguel Torga, Vergílio Ferreira, Jorge Amado, José Saramago, Eugénio de Andrade, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and Chico Buarque.
History
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 7 September 1966, which creates the Camões Prize, signed in Brasilia on 22 June 1988, and approved in Portugal by Decree No. 43/88 of 30 November 1988.
This Protocol was replaced by a new one between the Portuguese Republic and the Federative Republic of Brazil, signed in Lisbon on 17 April 1999, approved by Portugal through Decree 47/99 in the official gazette of 5 November 1999.
The first award was made in 1989, with the winner being Miguel Torga. In 2006, José Luandino Vieira became the first person to refuse the award. It is awarded for a body of work that contributes to the dissemination and recognition of Portuguese language. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Biblioteca (National Book, Archives and Libraries Department) and the Brazilian Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (National Library Foundation). The award consists of a cash prize contributed by Brazil and Portugal. The value of the prize is set annually by agreement between the two countries, and currently stands at .
Writers in Portuguese from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries are considered for the prize. The winner is chosen by a specially designated jury, with representatives from Brazil, Portugal, and African countries with Portuguese as an official language.
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| 1994
| 75px|centro
| Jorge Amado (1912 – 2001)
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| novel, short story, poetry, children's literature, biography, journalism
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| 1995
| 75px|centro
| José Saramago (1922 – 2010)
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| novel, short story, drama, poetry, memoirs, journalism, children's literature
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| 1996
| 75px|centro
| Eduardo Lourenço (1923 – 2020)
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| philosophy, literary criticism, essay
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| 1997
| 75px|centro
| "Pepetela"-Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos (born 1941)
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| novel, drama
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| 1998
| 75px|centro
| António Cândido de Mello e Souza (1918 – 2017)
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| literary criticism, literary theory, essay, poetry
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| 1999
| 75px|centro
| Sophia de Mello Breyner (1919 – 2004)
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| poetry, short story, drama, children's literature, translation, essay
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| 2000
| 75px|centro
| Autran Dourado (1926 – 2012)
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| novel, short story, essay, memoirs
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| 2001
| 75px|centro
| Eugénio de Andrade (1923 – 2005)
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| poetry, children's literature, translation, short story
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| 2002
| 75px|centro
| Maria Velho da Costa (1938 – 2020)
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| novel, short story, drama, essay, screenplay
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| 2003
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| Rubem Fonseca (1925 – 2020)
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| novel, short story, screenplay
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| 2004
| 75px|centro
| Agustina Bessa-Luís (1922 – 2019)
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| novel, short story, drama, essay, children's literature, biography, memoirs
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| 2005
| 75px|centro
| Lygia Fagundes Telles (1918 – 2022)
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| novel, short story
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| 2006
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| José Luandino Vieira (born 1935) – refused
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| novel, short story, journalism, children's literature, translation
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| 2007
| 75px|centro
| António Lobo Antunes (1942 – 2026)
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| novel, short story
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| 2008
| 75px|centro
| João Ubaldo Ribeiro (1941 – 2014)
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| novel, short story, journalism, children's literature, essay
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| 2009
| 75px|centro
| Arménio Vieira (born 1941)
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| poetry, journalism
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| 2010
| 75px|centro
| Ferreira Gullar (1930 – 2016)
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| poetry, short story, essay, art criticism, biography
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| 2011
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| Manuel António Pina (1943 – 2012)
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| poetry, children's literature, drama, short story, journalism
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| 2012
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| Dalton Trevisan (1925 – 2024)
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| short story
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| 2013
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| Mia Couto (born 1955)
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| novel, short story, poetry
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| 2014
| 75px|centro
| Alberto da Costa e Silva (1931 – 2023)
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| history, poetry, memoirs, essay, biography
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| 2015
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| Hélia Correia (born 1949)
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| novel, children's literature, drama, poetry
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| 2016
| 75px|centro
| Raduan Nassar (born 1935)
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| short story, novel
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| 2017
| 75px|centro
| Manuel Alegre (born 1936)
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| poetry, novel
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| 2018
| 75px|centro
| Germano Almeida (born 1945)
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| novel
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|2019
|75px|centro
|Chico Buarque (born 1944)
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|songwriting, novel, drama
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|2020
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|Vítor Manuel de Aguiar e Silva (born 1939)
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|essay
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|2021
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|Paulina Chiziane (born 1955)
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|novel
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|2022
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|Silviano Santiago (born 1936)
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|novel, essay, literary criticism
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|2023
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|João Barrento (born 1940)
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|translation, essay
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|2024
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|Adélia Prado (born 1935)
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|poetry
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|2025
|75px
|Ana Paula Tavares (born 1952)
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|poetry
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Winners per country
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- – 2