TIRANA, Oct. 9(Xinhuanet)-- Bulgarian writer Dimitar Choumnaliev won on Sunday the most important literary prize for the year in the Balkan region for his book titled"Des contes amnoureux", or"Love Stories".

The awarding ceremony for the region's most important annual literature event"Balkanika 2005" was held in Durres, a coastal city in western Albania.

The second prize went to Serbian writer Svetislav Basara for his"Le Coeur de la terre", or"The Heart of the Land".

A total of seven writers from Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia-Montenegro and Turkey competed for the prize.

During the three-day event sponsored by the Albanian Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, celebrities of the region's literary community discussed the current situation of literary development and the book market in the region.

The annual literature prize was awarded for the first time in 1994 by a foundation established by the publishers of Balkans. Enditem