Jurica Pavičić awarded with Prix Mystère de la critique for the best translated crime novel in 2022 – a fourth French literary prize for his novel 'Red Water'

07/02/2022

Jurica Pavičić has just been awarded a fourth French literary prize for the French translation of his novel "Red Water" (L’Eau rouge) – Prix Mystère de la critique for the best translated crime novel in 2022!

Established in 1972, it’s one of the oldest awards for crime fiction in France, awarded annually in two categories: for the best crime novel written in French, and best crime novel translated into French. Pavičić joined authors such as Robert Ludlum, Thomas Harris, Andrea Camilleri, Henning Mankell and Boris Akounine, for winning the prize in translation.

“Red Water” was translated into French by Olivier Lannuzel and published by Agullo, reaching now more than 15.000 printed copies. Last year it received three prestigious awards: Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for the best translated crime novel in 2021, Le Point du Polar européen for best European crime novel by a European author, and the Transfuge prize for best crime novel in translation awarded by the French monthly culture magazine.

First published in Croatian in 2017, it received amazing reviews, winning Ksaver Šandor Đalski and Fric award, and being shortlisted for the coveted tportal and Meša Selimović prizes for best novel in 2017. It was also translated into German as “Blut und Wasser” (2020).