The winner of the Award, founded by the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Book Institute, was announced at the ceremony on 26 September, in Gdansk, Poland, in cooperation with the Wolne Słowo Gdańsk Miasto Literatury project, Kolegium Europa Wschodniej, Stowarzyszenie autors ZAiKS, Polsko-Amerykańska Fundacja Wolności, Liderzy Przemian Fundacja, and the Study Tours to Poland Programme.

Iryna Dmytrychyn is a translator from Ukrainian into French, an author of numerous publications on Ukrainian literature and history. She is responsible for Ukrainian studies at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris. Iryna manages the projects promoting Ukraine, its culture and history in Western Europe. Nominated with a translation of the novel by Serhiy Zhadan The Orphanage (Les Édition Noir sur Blanc, 2022).

The award was presented to the Laureate by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Poland Vasyl Zvarych.

The ceremony in Gdansk was hosted by Maria Górska while Ukrainian musician and composer Gordiy Starukh performed the music accompaniment.

“Gdańsk is a city that has long been an ally of free Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Gdańsk has accepted 100,000 Ukrainians. We are aware that the war is ongoing and until its end we will show solidarity, brotherhood and sisterhood with Ukraine”, said Andrzej Stelmasiewicz, chairman of the Culture and Promotion Committee of the Gdańsk City Council, who welcomed the guests in Gdańsk.

The Drahomán Prize laureate, Iryna Dmytryсhyn, received a statuette made by Ukrainian sculptor Anna Zvyagintseva and a €3,000 prize.

Giovanna Brogi (Italy), a translator from Ukrainian into Italian and aa researcher of Central and Eastern European literature, has become a holder of the Special Award “for the special contribution to the translation and promotion of Ukrainian literature, as well as to the development of Ukrainian studies in Italy”.

“I would like to express my deep gratitude to the jury for recognising my Ukrainian studies. Ukraine has a very complex history and culture, which is why I decided to devote the majority of my time over the past 30 years to it. I’m glad that my articles and books have made a small contribution to making the world more aware of the past and present,” – Brogi said in her speech read out by the evening’s host.

The shortlist for the 2022 Drahomán Prize also included Ukrainian-to-English translator Mark Andryczyk (nominated for his translation of Volodymyr Rafeyenko’s Mondegreen: Songs about Death and Love) and Rayna Kamberova, a translator from Ukrainian into Bulgarian, who was nominated for her translation of the novel Cult by Lyubko Deresh.

For the 2022 edition of the Drahomán Prize, 15 translators from 14 countries were nominated (Bulgaria, Brazil, the UK, Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Canada, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, the United States, Finland, France). Most of the nominations were submitted by Ukraine’s diplomatic missions around the world and foreign publishing houses.

The Drahomán Prize was established in 2020 by the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Book Institute. The award aims to support and recognise the committed work of translators from Ukrainian into world languages. The Drahomán Prize is awarded for excellence in translation and contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad.

The winners of the Prize in previous years were Bohdan Zadura (2021), a translator from Ukrainian into Polish, writer and literary scholar and Claudia Dathe (2020), a translator from Ukrainian into German.

The Chapter of the Prize for 2022 are: Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute; Volodymyr Yermolenko, writer, journalist, philosopher, President of PEN Ukraine; Oleksandra Koval, Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute; Ola Hnatiuk, researcher, professor of NaUKMA and the University of Warsaw; Ostap Slyvynsky, poet, translator, Vice President of PEN Ukraine; Valentyna Stukalova, Manager of Book and Intellectual Projects at the Institute of France in Ukraine; Yurii Prokhasko, translator; Marko-Robert Stech, Ukrainian and Canadian literary scholar and writer; and Iryna Starovoyt, literary scholar, poet, translator.

As part of the Drahomán Prize 2022, a discussion “The specific nature of the work and environment of translators” will be held on 28 September at 18.00, which can be viewed here. On 29 September, at 18:00, an online meeting with the finalists of the Prize “Decolonization vs globalization” will take place, you can join here.

Media partner – Suspilne.