Latvian author Janis Jonevs is among the 13 winners of the 2014 European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), Latvian culture website satori.lv reported Wednesday.

This year's winners of the literary prize, which is awarded to Europe's best young authors, have been announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair. They include Ben Blushi (Albania), Milen Ruskov (Bulgaria), Jan Nemec (Czech Republic), Makis Tsitas (Greece), Oddny Eir (Iceland), Armin Ohri (Liechtenstein), Pierre J. Mejlak (Malta), Ognjen Spahic (Montenegro), Marente de Moor (The Netherlands), Ugljesa Sajtinac (Serbia), Birgul Oguz (Turkey) and Evie Wyld (United Kingdom) and Jonevs of Latvia.

Jonevs, 34, has been awarded the EUPL for "Jelgava 94," a novel set in the 1990s in the Latvian town of Jelgava and dealing with the craze during this period for the alternative culture of heavy metal music.

The EUPL is open to countries participating in Creative Europe, the EU funding program which aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors, and to promote cultural diversity. The program's participants include all 28 EU member states, as well as Norway, Iceland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

The EUPL is organized by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Booksellers' Federation, the European Writers' Council and the Federation of European Publishers. Endit

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