The Hungarian PEN Club is creating a major international prize, The Janus Pannonius Grand Prize for Poetry. We do this to counter the noticeable decline in the appreciation of poetry worldwide, a hugely dangerous trend.

The Hungarian PEN Club is creating a major international prize, The Janus Pannonius Grand Prize for Poetry. We do this to counter the noticeable decline in the appreciation of poetry worldwide, a hugely dangerous trend.

Given the numerous conflicts of interest between the countries on the planet, dialogue among its inhabitants becomes much more valuable. This dialogue appears both as an imperative and as a powerful tool to build confidence between cultures.

We do not look upon poetry primarily as a tool, even though we consider it an important instrument in bringing the soul, spirit and our morals into maturity. Rather, we look upon it as a demonstration of the expressive power of human consciousness as it strives to become more noble.

Our prize seeks to honour and reward those poets who can be considered heirs to human spirituality and culture, the grand chain of values, accumulated over millennia. We wish to honour those contemporary artists who have done the most to advance the representation and enrichment of forms of consciousness in harmony with the reflection and interpretation of the world today.


The custom-designed hand-made goat leather diploma is made in two copies, one of which goes to the winner of the award, while the other is placed in the archives of the Janus Pannonius Foundation for safekeeping.

The Trophy accompanies the goat-leather diploma and displays the name of the winner of the award. With its 43cm height, the statue embodies the spirit of the award and was made by potter Viktor Erdei using the high eosin Zsolnay technique.

The Janus Pannonius Grand Prize for Poetry also comes with a 50,000 euro award.