On November 12, 2024, the jury formed by Nesrine Khoury (poet, winner of the last edition of the award), Miquel Àngel Llauger (poet, member of the PEN Catala’s board), Marta Nin (translator and head of the Committee of writers in prison at PEN Català), Marta Pera (writer and translator, PEN Català ambassador 2024) and Gemma Rodríguez, acting as secretary, met and unanimously decided to award the II Roissy-en-Brie poetry prize for refugee writers to the Palestinian poet Enas Sultan, based in Norway, for his collection of poems in Arabic “Collage for passing the Sunday”. The members of the jury also wanted to highlight as finalists: Mehdi Mousavi, Manjula Wedirwardena, Olha Povorozyk and Nedim Türfent.

In this second edition, the prize received a total of 21 submissions from writers who have taken refuge in Europe, hailing from countries such as Palestine, Sri Lanka, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iran, or Colombia, among others. Submissions were written in Arabic, Bengali, Persian, Ukrainian, Uyghur, Turkish, Tamil, Sinhala, and Spanish, each accompanied by translations into English or French.

The jury particularly appreciated the style of Gazan poet Enas Sultan, as well as the striking imagery in her poetry, which is both grounded in tradition and enriched with inventive, unconventional metaphors. In Sultan’s poetic universe, womanhood embodies knowledge and memory; she brings forth language and also creates through it. However, rather than depicting the immediate realities of war in Gaza, the poet delves into the inner anxieties and reflections of a young woman, exploring this intimate world from the vantage of her own room.

The announcement of the Roissy-en-Brie Award takes place within the framework of the International Day of the Imprisoned Writer, celebrated on November 15 to support all writers who are imprisoned or threatened because of their work. This day also serves to raise awareness about the violation of the right to freedom of expression, which continues to occur in many countries around the world.