“Crvena Voda” by Jurica Pavičić voted best international crime novel in France in 2021

ZAGREB, 20 Sept (Hina) – The French translation of the novel “Crvena Voda” (Red Water) by writer and journalist Jurica Pavičić won the prestigious Grand Prix de Littérature Policière award for best international crime novel in France in 2021.

The Grand Prix de Littérature Policière is one the most prestigious literary awards which has been given since 1948 in two categories: for the best French and the best international crime novel. Some of the past winners of the award for the best international crime novel are Patricia Highsmith, Stanisław Lem, Mary Higgins Clark, Elmore Leonard, P. D. James, Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Cammila Läckberg.

“Crvena Voda” was published in Croatia by Profil, and it was translated into French by Olivier Lannuzel under the title “L’Eau Rouge”. The translation was published by the Agullo publishing house, which congratulated Pavičić on an excellent novel and Lannuzel on an excellent translation.

At the festival Quais du Polar in Lyon in July, the novel received the prestigious Le Point du Polar Européen award for the best crime novel by an European author, written in French or translated into French. The novel has recently also won the award for best international crime novel by the French culture monthly magazine Transfuge.

In Croatia, Pavičić’s novel received the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski and Fric literary awards.

“Crvena Voda” is the story of a family tragedy and the search for answers, which becomes a story about Croatia and the traumas of its society over three decades through the fates of the main characters. The novel was originally published in 2017, and before being translated into French, it also had a German edition.