José Luiz Passos, UCLA professor of Brazilian literature and culture, has been awarded two of the Portuguese-speaking world's most prestigious awards for his novel, "O sonâmbulo amador (The Amateur Sleepwalker)."
Passos was awarded the Portugal Telecom Literary Award (Prêmio Portugal Telecom de Literatura) in São Paulo on Dec. 4 for best novel in the Portuguese-speaking world, as well as the PT Grand Prize. The awards are sponsored by the Brazilian Ministry of Culture and the telecommunications company Portugal Telecom. The Grand Prize is awarded to the best literary work among the winners of the PT awards for best novel, best book of poetry and best book of short stories. Passos was awarded approximately $42,000.
Passos is also vice chair for undergraduate studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in the UCLA College of Letters and Science and earned his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1998.
