Cypriot Novel to Compete for EU Literature Prize

The novel "And Many Were the Helens of Karpasia" by Cypriot author Eurydice Pericleous-Papadopoulou has been selected as the leading prose work to represent Cyprus in this year's European Union Literature Prize (EUPL) competition. The book, published by Nefeli in 2024, deals with the tragedy of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and its impact on people's lives. Through the story of teacher Eleni Foka and the symbolic scene at the Ledra Palace checkpoint, the work highlights the pain of displacement, the struggle of the enclaved, the loss of homeland, and the bitterness of uprooting. At the same time, the novel emphasizes resilience, faith, and hope for justice and freedom, highlighting memory as an act of resistance and dignity. The selection of the work was made by a majority vote of the OLC, EPOK, ELK, and PEN Cyprus associations. The candidacy of Eurydice Pericleous-Papadopoulou will be supported before the committee by Dimitra Dimitriou, a PhD in General and Comparative Literature from the University of the Sorbonne. Dimitra Dimitriou is a scholar of Eurydice Pericleous-Papadopoulou's prose work. The selection of the novel is a significant distinction for Cypriot literature and highlights the power of literature to record and process traumatic historical experiences.