The long list nominees for the 2021 Drahomán Prize have been announced

On November 30 we closed submissions for the Drahomán Prize, an award for translators from Ukrainian into other languages founded in 2020 by the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Book Institute.

Having verified that submissions meet the technical criteria of the Drahomán Prize, the long list has comprised 20 translators. The majority of nominees translate from Ukrainian into Polish and Italian. Besides, the long list includes translators into German, Belarusian, Romanian, Dutch, Portuguese, French, Hungarian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Latvian, Macedonian and Hebrew.

The submissions were from 15 countries, namely Italy, Belarus, Romania, Austria, the Netherlands, Brazil, Poland, France, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Israel, Latvia, Northern Macedonia and the Czech Republic. The largest number of submissions was sent by Ukraine's diplomatic missions across the globe and foreign publishing houses.

The long list nominees for the 2021 Drahomán Prize are:

1. Alessandro Achilli. Translation into Italian: Markiyan Kamysh. Stalking the Atomic City [Markijan KamyÅ¡. Una passeggiata nella zona]. Keller editore, 2019. Nominator: Embassy of Ukraine in Italy.
2. Natalka Babina [Наталка Бабіна]. Translation into Belarusian: Serhiy Zhadan. The Orphanage [Сяргій Жадан. Інтэрнат]. Minsk: А.Ðœ. Yanushkevich, 2019. Nominator: Embassy of Ukraine in Belarus.
3. Aliona Bivolaru. Translation into Romanian: Maksym Dupeshko. A Story Worthy of a Whole Apple Orchard [Maxim DupeÈ™ko. Povestea care valorează cât o întreagă livadă de meri]. Editura Darclée, 2021. Nominator: publishing house Editura Darclée.
4. Maria Weissenböck. Translation into German: Natalka Sniadanko. Grand Duke Wilhelm’s Neat Writing [Natalka Sniadanko. Der Erzherzog, der den Schwarzmarkt regierte, Matrosen liebte und mein Großvater wurde]. Haymon Verlag, 2021. Nominator: publishing house Haymon Verlag Ges.m.b.H.
5. Tobias Wals. Translation into Dutch: Mike Johansen. The Journey of the Learned Doctor Leonardo and his Future Lover, the Beauteous Alceste, to the Switzerland of Slobozhanshchyna [Mike Johansen. De reis van dokter Leonardo]. Amsterdam: Pegasus, 2020. Nominator: publishing house Pegasus.
6. Emilio Gaudeda. Translation into Portuguese: Mykola Borovka. Theurgy [Mykola Borovko. Teurgia]. Curitiba/Parana, 2020. Nominator: Representação Central Ucraniano-Brasileira.
7. Marcin Gaczkowski. Translation into Polish: Petro Yatsenko. Magnetism [Petro Jacenko. Magnetyzm]. WrocÅ‚aw: Warstwy, 2020. Nominator: Stowarzyszenie Animacji Kultury Pogranicza Folkowisko.
8. Iryna Dmytrychyn. Translation into French: Yuri Andrukhovych. Lexicon of Intimate Cities [Yuri Andrukhovych. Lexique de mes villes intimes]. Noir sur Blanc, 2021. Nominator: publishing house Les Éditions Noir sur Blanc.
9. Vira Dunas. Translation into Italian: Lesia Ukrainka. Free Sparks of My Voice (Anthology) [Lesja Ucrajinka. Libere scintille della mia voce]. Milano: Mimesis Edizioni, 2021. Nominator: cultural association Comitato Studi Mara Soldi Maretti.
10. Ildikó Eperjesi. Translation into Hungarian: Oleksandr Kachura, Ildikó Eperjesi. Shreds of War. Fates from the Frontline [Ildikó Eperjesi, Olekszandr Kacsura. Sorskönyv a frontról. Háborús foszlányok]. Kossuth Kiadó, 2019. Nominator: publishing house Kossuth Kiadó.
11. Bohdan Zadura. Nominated thrice with the following translations into Polish: Kateryna Babkina. My Grandfather Danced the Best [Kateryna Babkina. Nikt tak nie taÅ„czyÅ‚, jak mój dziadek]. Lublin: Warsztaty Kultury, 2020; Vasyl Makhno. The Eternal Calendar [Wasyl Machno. Kalendarz wiecznoÅ›ci]. PaÅ„stwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 2021; Yuri Vynnychuk. Lutencia [Jurij Wynnyczuk. Lutecja]. WrocÅ‚aw: Wydawnictwo Warstwy, 2021. Nominators: Warsztaty Kultury w Lublinie, PaÅ„stwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, WrocÅ‚awski Dom Literatury.
12. Milena Ivanović. Translation into Serbian: Kateryna Babkina. My Grandfather Danced the Best [Katerina Babkina. Moj deda je plesao bolje od svih]. Beograd: Blum izdavaÅ¡tvo, 2020. Nominator: Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Serbia.
13. Rayna Khrystova Kamberova [Райна Христова Камберова]. Translation into Bulgarian: Serhiy Zhadan. Antenna [Сергий Жадан. Антена]. Sofia: Paradox, 2021. Nominator: Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Bulgaria.
14. Anna Korzeniowska-Bihun. Translation into Polish: Volodymyr Lys. Jacob’s Century [WoÅ‚odymyr Łys. Stulecie Jakowa]. PoznaÅ„, 2021. Nominator: PoznaÅ„skie Towarzystwo im. Iwana Franki.
15. Anton Paperny [אנטון פפרני]. Translation into Hebrew: Yuri Andrukhovych. The Moscoviad [יוּרי אַנדרוּחוֹביץ'. מוסקוביאדה]. Nominator: publishing house 9 Lives Press.
16. Penka Petrova Kuneva [Пенка Петърова Кънева]. Translation into Bulgarian: Haska Shyyan. Behind Their Backs [Гаска Шиян. Зад гърба]. Colibri Ltd., 2021. Nominator: publishing house Colibri Ltd.
17. Māra Poļakova. Translation into Latvian: Tamara Horikha Zernia. Daughter [Tamāra Horiha Zerņa. Meitiņa]. Riga: Dienas Grāmata, 2020. Nominator: BiedrÄ«ba KultÅ«ras centrs "Latvija – Ukraina".
18. Lorenzo Pompeo. Translation into Italian: In Her Eyes. Anthology of Contemporary Ukrainian Women Writer [Negli occhi di lei. Antologia di scrittrici ucraine contemporanee]. Nardò: Besa Muci, 2021. Nominator: Embassy of Ukraine in Italy.
19. Igor Stanojoski [Игор Станојоски]. Translation into Macedonian: Tamara Horikha Zernia. Daughter [Тамара Гориха Зерња. Ќеркичка]. Muza, Skopje, 2021. Nominator: publishing house "Muza", Скопје.
20. Miroslav Tomek. Translation into Czech: Valerian Pidmohylnyi. The City [Valerjan Pidmohylnyj. MÄ›sto]. VÄ›trné mlýny, 2019. Nominator: ÄŒeská asociace ukrajinistů.

The Drahomán Prize was founded in 2020 by the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Book Institute. The award aims to support and acknowledge distinguished translators from Ukrainian into other languages. The Prize is awarded for professional excellence and contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad.

The short list and the winner of the Prize are selected by the Prize jury that consists of 9 members, including reputable writers, translators, linguists, literary scholars, culture managers.

The 2021 Prize jury consists of: writer, President of PEN Ukraine Andriy Kurkov; the first General Director of the Ukrainian Institute Volodymyr Sheiko; Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute Oleksandra Koval; researcher and professor of the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the University of Warsaw, Vice President of PEN Ukraine Ola Hnatiuk; poet and translator Ostap Slyvynsky; manager of book and intellectual projects at Institut français d’Ukraine Valentine Stoukalova; translator Yurii Prokhasko; Ukrainian and Canadian literary scholar and writer Mark Robert Stech; literary scholar, poetess, translator Iryna Starovoyt.

The winner of the Prize will be announced during an official awards ceremony in April 2021 that will take place in Kyiv. The Drahomán Prize winner will receive a statuette designed by a prominent Ukrainian sculptor and a 2,000 EUR cash prize (taxes included). The Ukrainian Institute and the Ukrainian Book Institute will also provide professional opportunities and promote the laureate’s work.

The first winner of the Prize in 2020 was the German translator Claudia Dathe. She was nominated with German translations of Serhiy Zhadan’s poetry collection Antenna (Suhrkamp) and Oleksiy Chupa’s novel Tales of My Bomb Shelter (Haymon Verlag). The Jury’s Special Honor "for excellence in translation and promotion of Ukrainian classical literature" went to Imadeddine Raef, a translator from Ukrainian into Arabic nominated for the Drahomán Prize by Ukraine’s Embassy in the Lebanese Republic with the translation of Beirut Stories by Agathangel Krymsky.

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Ukrainian Institute is a public institution affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Our mission is to strengthen Ukraine's international standing through the means of cultural diplomacy. We facilitate international connections between people and institutions and create opportunities for Ukraine to interact and cooperate with the world.

PEN Ukraine is a cultural and human rights NGO uniting Ukrainian intellectuals – writers, journalists, scholars, publishers, translators, human rights defenders, culture managers. With 139 members, it is one of 146 national centers of PEN International. It is a co-founder of the Vasyl Stus Prize, the Yuri Shevelov Prize, and the George Gongadze Prize.

Ukrainian Book Institute is a government entity affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. Its mission is to develop state policy in the book sector, promote book reading in Ukraine, support book publishing, encourage translation activity, and popularize Ukrainian literature abroad.