It is named in honour of the Roman poet Ovid, who died in exile in Tomis (contemporary Constanța), on the Black Sea, in Romania.

Past recipients include George Szirtes, Tomaž Šalamun, and Ismail Kadare.

The awards ceremony takes place during the Days and Nights of Literature Festival (Romanian: Zile și nopți de literatură) held jointly in Neptun and Mangalia in June.

Past recipients include Orhan Pamuk,[1] Andrei Codrescu,[2] Amos Oz,[3] Jorge Semprún[4] and António Lobo Antunes.

In a letter addressed to the chairman of the jury, Kundera, who could not attend the ceremony, accepted the award.