The Faroese Literature Prize, also known as the Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens (M. A. Jacobsen's Cultural Award), is a prize for

Faroese literature Faroese literature, in the traditional sense of the word, has only really developed in the past two hundred years. This is mainly because of the islands' isolation, and also because the Faroese language was not written down in a standardised fo ...

that was begun by the Tórshavnar kommuna (Tórshavn City Council) in 1958. Its winners include

Heðin Brú Heðin Brú (pronounced ; August 17, 1901 – May 18, 1987) was the pen-name of Hans Jacob Jacobsen, a Faroese novelist and translator. Heðin Brú is considered to be the most important Faroese writer of his generation and is known for his ...

Jákup Pauli Gregoriussen Jákup Pauli Gregoriussen (24 April 1932 – 19 April 2021) was the leading architect of the Faroe Islands. He was also a graphic artist and author of publications about the Faroese church. Life and career Jákup Pauli was born in 1932 to the ...

Jóanes Nielsen Jóanes Nielsen (born 5 April 1953 in Tórshavn) is a Faroese author and poet of the 1980s generation. Nielsen has written short stories, plays and novels. He has published seven collections of poetry, and was nominated for the Nordic Council's Li ...

and

Kristian Blak Kristian Blak (born 1947) is a Danish composer, musician, and record executive based in the Faroe Islands. Early life Kristian Blak was born in Jutland, Denmark, in 1947. He moved to the Faroe Islands in 1974, where he has written most of his ...

. The prize is always awarded at a ceremony in Tórshavn on 17 September or a day close to 17 September, which is the birthday of Mads Andreas Jacobsen. M. A. Jacobsen was a Faroese politician and librarian who headed the

National Library of the Faroe Islands The National Library of the Faroe Islands () is the national library for the Faroe Islands, a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark. It is both a public and a research library. The library houses the largest collection of works w ...

, then called ''Færø Amts Bibliotek'' in Danish but later renamed ''Landsbókasavnið'', in Faroese. M. A. Jacobsen was the mayor of Tórshavn and a member of the

Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; ) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''lǫgþing ...

(the Faroese parliament). The M. A. Jacobsen Prize was at first only for writers, but was later expanded to three categories: one award for Faroese fiction, one for Faroese nonfiction and one for other cultural achievements. In 2012 the prize was worth 35,000

Danish krone The krone (; plural: ''kroner''; sign: kr.; code: DKK) is the official currency of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use; the former precedes ...

r. Another Faroese cultural prize, called ''Mentanarvirðisløn Landsins'' (Faroese Cultural Prize), is currently worth 150,000 DKK. In addition the ''Heiðursgáva landsins'' (The Faroese Cultural Department's Award of Honour) is worth 75,000 DKK.Vencil.wordpress.com, Virðislønir landsins
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List of Faroese Literature Prize winners

M.A. Jacobsens's Awards Before 1969

References

Faroese literature Faroese literary awards Awards established in 1958 Autumn events in the Faroe Islands {{lit-award-stub