Connie Palmen is the third woman to win Libris Literature Prize 2016

Connie Palmen won the 2016 Libris Literature Prize on Monday evening, 9 May, with her novel You say. In the long history of this literary award, which was first presented in 1994, Palmen is only the third woman to receive the €50,000 cash prize and a bronze medal. Previous winners were Frieda Vogels (1994) and D. Hooijer (2008).

Every year, criticism surrounds the presentation of both the Libris Literature Prize and the ECI Literature Prize (formerly the AKO Literature Prize), because the major awards are only sporadically presented to a woman. Among the 29 winners of the ECI Literature Prize were six female authors; at the Libris, Connie Palmen is the third winner since 1994. No Flemings were nominated this year. Last year, the prize was won by Adriaan van Dis with his novel I will be back.

The novel You say describes the ill-fated relationship of famous poet couple Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, which culminated in Plath's suicide. Where in reality Hughes was blamed for Plath's death, in her novel Palmen gives him the chance to explain the events from his perspective. According to the jury, it is a novel 'in which longing and loss, love and death have entered into a chilling alliance'.

The other nominees this year were Alex Boogers (Alone with the gods), Joke van Leeuwen (The inexperienced), Inge Schilperoord (Seal), P.F. Thomése (The underwater swimmer) and Thomas Verbogt (When winter is over). They each received a cash prize of €2,500.