modern europe
Thanassis Valtinos was one of the most reknown Greek writers of the late 20th/early 21st century, known for his modernist, "documentarian" literature, and his impact on the nation's literary evolution. Born in the Peloponnesus in 1932, Valtinos first achieved national recognition with the publication of his innovative novellas The Descent of the Nine (1963) and The Book of Andreas Kordopatis (1964). He was awarded the Cavafy Prize (2001), the Petros Haris Prize, conferred by the Academy of Athens for lifetime achievement (2002), and the Gold Cross of Honour of the President of the Greek Democracy (2003). Valtinos served as president of the Society of Greek writers from 1990–1994, and again from 2005–2009. In 2008 he was elected a member of the Greek Academy. - Words Without Borders