Drahomán Prize

Submissions for 2024 will be accepted from October 17 to December 5

The Prize is awarded to translators who translate from Ukrainian into other languages. The Prize was founded in 2020 by the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Book Institute.

The Objective of the Prize

The Prize aims to support and acknowledge the enlightening work of translators from Ukrainian into other languages, who bring Ukrainian literature to the world and thus draw the world’s attention to Ukraine through the works of Ukrainian authors.

This Prize is awarded for

– excellence in translation, and

– contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad.

Eligibility

  1. All translators, who have at least one translated and published literary or documentary work from Ukrainian language, can be nominated for the Prize. Literary and documentary works include prose, poetry, drama, and non-fiction (essays, reportage, interviews, biographies, memoirs).
  2. The nominated book of the translator must be published by a foreign publisher within two years prior to the award year and should be compatible with values and principles of the founding organizations. Nomination of a tandem of translators who worked together on translating the same text is possible.
  3. Laureates of the Prize cannot be nominated for the second time.
  4. Translators can be nominated for the Prize by foreign cultural and academic institutions, diplomatic missions, publishing houses, creative associations, and members of the Chapter.
  5. The submission.

The Chapter of the Prize

The Chapter consists of nine experts—reputable writers, translators, linguists, literary scholars, and cultural managers. Every year the Chapter will include the Director General of the Ukrainian Institute, the President of PEN Ukraine, and the Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute. Other Chapter members will be approved annually by the founding organizations.

Appointed Chapter members may not serve for more than three consecutive years at a time.

Chapter members have the right to consult with experts (such as translators, linguists, literary scholars, and diplomats) in the process of their deliberations.

Open call for 2024

Translators can be nominated for the Prize by foreign cultural and academic institutions, diplomatic missions, publishing houses, creative associations, and members of the Chapter. The nominated book of the translator must be published by a foreign publisher within two years prior to the award year and should be compatible with values and principles of the founding organizations. Nomination of a tandem of translators who worked together on translating the same text is possible. Laureates of the Prize cannot be nominated for the second time.

The submission includes a filled-out application form as well as electronic and hard copies of the nominated book in Ukrainian and in the language of translation. Applications for 2024 will be accepted from October 17 to December 5.

The Chapter of the 2024 Drahomán Prize

The 2024 jury members include Volodymyr Sheiko, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Oleksandra Koval, Iaroslava Strikha, Alla Tatarenko, Katarzyna Kotyńska, Rory Finnin, Iryna Zabiiaka, and Sofiia Onufriv. 

2023 Drahomán Prize Award Ceremony

Polish translator Katarzyna Kotynska was named the 2023 laureate of the Drahomán Prize, which honors translators from Ukrainian into world languages. 

The announcement was made on April 23, 2024, World Book and Copyright Day, during a solemn ceremony held at the ‘Sens’ bookstore in Kyiv.

“Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way. Although a translator might appear to work alone in his or her office, managing everything independently, it’s the people who provide texts, offer suggestions, engage in discussions, and add countless notes that truly make a difference. I am grateful to everyone who debated with me, to all my students, and to my Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian friends who have always been supportive. I hope we have many more such adventures ahead, because immersing myself in both new and old Ukrainian literary texts is the most thrilling journey I can imagine for myself for many years to come,” said Katarzyna Kotynska, the award-winning Polish translator.

The winner of the Drahomán Prize, Katarzyna Kotynska, received a statuette made by Ukrainian sculptor Anna Zvyagintseva and a cash prize of €3,000 (taxes included).

Raul Chilachava, a translator from Ukrainian into Georgian, received a special distinction from the award for ‘building Ukrainian-Georgian cultural bridges.’ In 2023, three Ukrainian books translated by  Raul Chilachava  were published in Georgia: ‘Oformlyandia, or a Walk in the Zone’ by Markiyan Kamysh; an anthology titled ‘Dictionary of War,’ which features Ukrainian authors writing about war; and ‘My Thoughts…’ by Taras Shevchenko.

Find out more about the Ceremony here.

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The short list of the 2023 Drahomán Prize​

On March 14, the Chapter of the Prize announced the short list of the 2023 Drahomán Prize for translators from Ukrainian into the world languages.

The finalists of the Prize are:

  • Eero Balk (Finland) is a translator from Ukrainian into Finnish. Nominated by the Ukrainian Association in Finland with a translation of the novel written by Serhii Rudenko Battle for Kyiv (Sankareiden Kiova, Tammi, 2023). He is an alumna of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (1981) and has more than 30 books in his translation heritage. In 2023, he received an honorary award from the WSOY Literary Foundation.
  • Katarzyna Kotyńska (Poland) is a translator from Ukrainian into Polish. Nominated by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland with a translation of the book written by Oksana Zabuzhko The Longest Journey (Najdłuższa podróż, Agora, 2023). Since 2023 she has been the head of the Department of Ukrainian Studies at the Institute of East Slavic Philology of the Jagiellonian University. She is the winner of the Angelus Central European Literature Award for the translation of Oksana Zabuzhko’s novel «The Museum of Abandoned Secrets» (2013). Also, she is a mentor of the «Gaude Polonia» program.
  • Mikael Nydahl (Sweden) is a translator from Ukrainian into Swedish. Nominated by ellerströms förlag publishing with a translation of poetry collection written by Artur Dron We Were Here (Vi var här, Ariel & ellerströms förlag, 2023). He is a co-founder of the Swedish residency and translation program for Ukrainian playwrights (2022). Since 2023 he has been a co-editor and co-translator of a modern Ukrainian poetry series.
Оголошено короткий список номінантів на здобуття премії Drahomán Prize 2023 року

The long list of nominees for the 2023 Drahomán Prize

The open call for the 2023 Drahomán Prize closed on December 10, 2023. After analyzing the received applications for compliance with the technical criteria, 16 nominees. 

Find the long list of nominees here.

This year the majority of nominees translated from Ukrainian into Swedish language. Besides, the long list includes translators into English, Italian, Polish, Georgian, Finnish, Japanese, Romanian, Turkish, French, Arabic, and Bulgarian languages.

The Chapter of the 2023 Drahomán Prize

Volodymyr Yermolenko, writer, journalist, philosopher, President of the Ukrainian PEN; Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian institute; Oleksandra Koval, Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute; Ola Hnatiuk, professor of NaUKMA and the University of Warsaw, Advisor to the President of PEN Ukraine; Ostap Slyvinsky, poet, translator, Vice-president of the Ukrainian PEN; Valentina Stoukalova, manager of the book and intellectual projects of the Institut Français in Ukraine; Yurii Prokhasko, translator; Marko Robert Stech, Ukrainian and Canadian literary critic and writer; Iryna Starovoyt, literary critic, poet, translator. 

About the 2022 Drahomán Prize in more detail

2022 Drahomán Prize Award Ceremony

On 26 September 2023, the 2022 Drahomán Prize Laureate for translators from Ukrainian into world languages was announced. Iryna Dmytrychyn has won the Drahomán Prize 2022 The award ceremony took place in Gdańsk (Poland) in cooperation with the Wolne Słowo Gdańsk Miasto Literatury project, Kolegium Europa WschodniejStowarzyszenie autors ZAiKSPolsko-Amerykańska Fundacja WolnościLiderzy Przemian Fundacja, and the Study Tours to Poland Programme.

Read more.

Лауреатки премії Women in Arts 2023

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Photos: Zakhar Davydenko

Special Award of the Chapter

Along with the list of the finalists, the Chapter of the Prize also announced the name of the holder of the Special Award. The award “for the special contribution to the translation and promotion of Ukrainian literature, as well as to the development of Ukrainian studies in Italy” received Giovanna Brogi (Italy), a translator from Ukrainian into Italian, a researcher of the literature of Central and Eastern Europe. 

Nominated by the publishing house Voland with a translation of the novel written by Serhiy Zhadan The Orphanage (Voland, 2022), literary editor – Mariana Prokopovych. Giovanna Brogi was a professor of Slavic studies at the University of Urbino (1972-1994) and at the University of Milan (1994-2014). Her research interests are focused on the Renaissance and Baroque literature of Central and Eastern Europe, plurilingualism, Ukrainian literature of the pre-modern era and of the 19th century. She is currently President of AISU, the Italian Association of Ukrainian Studies. 

The short list of the 2022 Drahomán Prize

On April 24, the Chapter of the Prize announced the short list of the 2022 Drahomán Prize for translators from Ukrainian into the world languages. 

The finalists of the Prize are: 

  • Mark Andryczyk (USA) is a translator from Ukrainian into English. Nominated by Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University with a translation of the novel written by Volodymyr Rafeyenko Mondegreen: Songs about Death and Love (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2022). He has administered the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University and has taught Ukrainian literature at its Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures since 2007. Since 2008 he has organized the Contemporary Ukrainian Literature Series, which has brought leading Ukrainian literary figures to audiences in North America. 
  • Iryna Dmytrychyn (France) is a translator from Ukrainian into French. Nominated by the publishing house Les Édition Noir sur Blanc with a translation of the novel written by Serhiy Zhadan The Orphanage (Les Édition Noir sur Blanc, 2022). 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. 
  • Rayna Kamberova (Bulgaria) is a translator from Ukrainian into Bulgarian. Nominated by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Bulgaria with a translation of the novel written by Lyubko Deresh Cult (Ergo, 2021). Since 2001, she has been teaching Ukrainian at Sofia University. Her scientific interests are concentrated in the field of lexicography and lexicology, pragmatics, theory and practice of translation, semantics, history of Ukrainian-Bulgarian relations. She translates Ukrainian fiction and publicism. 

The long list of nominees for the 2022 Drahomán Prize

The open call for the 2022 Drahomán Prize closed on December 10, 2022. After analyzing the received applications for compliance with the technical criteria, 15 nominees, who translate from Ukrainian into English, Finnish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Belarusian, French, Lithuanian, Armenian, Polish, Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Georgian were included into the long list of the 2022 Drahomán Prize. Applications came from 14 countries, including Bulgaria, Brazil, Great Britain, Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Canada, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, USA, Finland, France. Most applications were submitted by the diplomatic missions of Ukraine in various countries of the world and foreign publishing houses. 

To submit, please read the conditions of the Prize.

The submission includes a filled-out submission form as well as electronic and hard copies of the nominated book in Ukrainian and in the language of translation. Submissions for 2022 will be accepted from October 24 to December 10.

The long list of nominees for the 2022 Drahomán Prize will be announced no later than December 15. The name of the laureate will be announced in spring during the award ceremony in Ukraine. The laureate receives a statuette created by the Ukrainian artists Anna Zvyagintseva and a 3,000 EUR prize (taxes included), as well as additional opportunities for professional growth and promotion of works.

The Chapter of the 2022 Drahomán Prize

Volodymyr Yermolenko, writer, journalist, philosopher, President of the Ukrainian PEN; Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian institute; Oleksandra Koval, Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute; Ola Hnatiuk, professor of NaUKMA and the University of Warsaw, Advisor to the President of PEN Ukraine; Ostap Slyvinsky, poet, translator, Vice-president of the Ukrainian PEN; Valentina Stoukalova, manager of the book and intellectual projects of the Institut Français in Ukraine; Yurii Prokhasko, translator; Marko Robert Stech, Ukrainian and Canadian literary critic and writer; Iryna Starovoyt, literary critic, poet, translator. 

About the 2021 Drahomán Prize in more detail

2021 Drahomán Prize Award Ceremony

On October 17, 2022, the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Book Institute announced the name of the laureate of the Drahomán Prize. The award ceremony was held abroad for the first time. It will be hosted by Literaturhaus Berlin – the first house of literature in Germany, a cultural and educational institution that promotes world literatures, making them accessible to the general public through modern formats. The ceremony was broadcast online on the Facebook pages of the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainian Book Institute, as well as on the YouTube channels Literaturhaus Berlin and Ukrainian Institute.

Polish translator Bohdan Zadura received a statuette made by Ukrainian sculptor Anna Zvyagintseva, and a honorarium of 3 000 euros.

Read more about Award Ceremony 2021.

The laureate of the 2021 Drahomán Prize

Polish translator Bohdan Zadura became the laureate of the 2021 Drahomán Prize for translators from Ukrainian into world languages. 

"Receiving this award is a great joy for me, I am very grateful. First of all, I would like to thank all poets and novelists from Ukraine, without whose works I would not have received this award. I thank Polish publishers who are interested in Ukrainian literature. I am grateful to my son, who was the first reader of my translations, and now he himself translates Ukrainian literature,"

Special Award of the Chapter

As part of the ceremony, the Special Award of the Chapter “for the filigree translation of the classics of Ukrainian literary modernism and contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian literature in Europe” was also presented. It was awarded to Tobias Wals, a Ukrainian-to-Dutch translator who was nominated by Pegasus Publishers for his translation of the book by the Ukrainian writer Mike Johansen “Dr. Leonardo’s Journey to Sloboda Switzerland with his Future Lover, the Beautiful Alcesta”.

The short list of the 2021 Drahomán Prize

Applications for the 2021 Drahomán Prize closed on November 30, 2021. The long list of the Drahomán Prize included 20 translators. Most of the nominees are translators who translate from Ukrainian into Polish and Italian. 

Applications came from 15 countries, including Italy, Belarus, Romania, Austria, the Netherlands, Brazil, Poland, France, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Israel, Latvia, North Macedonia and the Czech Republic. 

  • Alessandro Achilli (Italy) is a translator from Ukrainian into Italian. Senior assistant at the Department of Slavic Languages ​​and Literatures of the University of Cagliari (Italy), a researcher of modern Ukrainian literature with particular attention to poetry and cultural history. He is nominated for the Prize with a translation into Italian of Markiyan Kamysh’s novel “Oformland: A Stroll to the Zone” (publisher – Keller editor).
  • Iryna Dmytryshyn (France) is a translator from Ukrainian into Polish. 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. She is nominated for the Prize with a French translation of Yurii Andrukhovych’s novel “The Lexicon of Intimate Cities” (publisher – Noir sur Blanc).
  • Bohdan Zadura (Poland) is a translator from Polish into Ukrainian, a writer and a literary critic. The author of twenty-five books of poetry and over a dozen volumes of essays and prose. For many years editor of the quarterly “Akcent”, since 2004 editor-in-chief of “Twórczość” monthly. Nominated for the Prize with translations into Polish of Kateryna Babkina’s “My grandfather danced better than everyone else” (publisher – Warsztaty Kultury), Vasyl Makhno’s “Eternal Calendar” (publisher – Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy) and Yuriy Wynnychuk’s “Lyutetsia” (publisher – Warstwy).
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The Chapter of the 2021 Drahomán Prize

Andriy Kurkov, writer and President of PEN Ukraine; Volodymyr Sheiko, General Director of the Ukrainian Institute; Oleksandra Koval, Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute; Ola Hnatyuk, researcher, professor at National University of  the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the University of Warsaw, Vice-President of PEN Ukraine; Ostap Slyvynsky, poet and translator; Valentina Stukalova, Manager of book and intellectual projects at the French Institute in Ukraine; Yurii Prokhasko, translator; Marko Robert Stech, Ukrainian and Canadian literary scholar and writer; Iryna Starovoyt, literary critic, poet, translator.

About the Drahomán Prize for 2020 in more detail

The name of the winner was announced during the awards ceremony held on April 23, 2021, at the Theater on Podil in Kyiv.

The name of the winner was announced by First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Djaparova. Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko opened the ceremony. The ceremony was attended by executives of the founding organizations: General Director of the Ukrainian Institute Volodymyr Sheiko, President of PEN Ukraine Andriy Kurkov, and Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute Oleksandra Koval. Since the finalists could not come to Kyiv due to the quarantine, the awards were given to diplomatic representatives of their countries: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ukraine, Anka Feldhusen; Director of the Czech Center in Kyiv, Radka Rubilina; PR Manager at the Polish Institute in Kyiv, Julia Stakhivska.

The Prize laureate received a statuette by Ukrainian artist and sculptor Anna Zvyagintseva and a €2,000 cash prize.

The first laureate of the Drahomán Prize—an award for translators from the Ukrainian—is the German translator Claudia Dathe. The name of the winner was announced during the awards ceremony held on April 23 at the Theater on Podil in Kyiv.

Claudia Dathe (Germany) is a translator working from Ukrainian into German. She coordinates literary translation projects at the University of Tübingen. Thanks to her, Serhiy Zhadan, Oleksandr Irvanets, Tanja Maljartschuk, Viktor Neborak, Maria Matios, Andriy Kurkov, Natalia Vorozhbyt and many more Ukrainian authors have a German voice. For the Drahomán Prize, she is nominated with translations into German of Serhiy Zhadan’s poetry collection Antenna (Suhrkamp Publishing House) and Oleksiy Chupa’s novel Tales of My Bomb Shelter (Haymon Publishing House).

Within the Drahomán Prize awards ceremony, Imadeddine Raef, a translator from Ukrainian into Arabic, was honored with the Jury’s Special Award “for excellence in translation and promotion of Ukrainian classical literature.” He was nominated for the Drahomán Prize by Ukraine’s Embassy in the Lebanese Republic with translation of Beirut Stories authored by Agatangel Krimsky.

The 2020 Drahomán Prize shortlist included:

  • translator from Ukrainian into Czech Rita Kindlerová (nominated with the translation into Czech of Volodymyr Viatrovych’s publicistic work Ukraine: Classified History;
  • translator from Ukrainian into Polish Katarzyna Kotyńska (nominated with the translation into Polish of Victoria Amelina’s Dom’s Dream Kingdom);
  • Claudia Dathe (Germany), translator working from Ukrainian into German. For the Drahomán Prize, she is nominated with translations into German of Serhiy Zhadan’s poetry collection Antenna (Suhrkamp Publishing House) and Oleksiy Chupa’s novel Tales of My Bomb Shelter (Haymon Publishing House).

Overall, 27 translators were nominated for the 2020 Drahomán Prize from 14 countries, namely Germany, France, the UK, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia, the USA, Australia, Brazil and Lebanon. The largest number of submissions was sent by foreign publishing houses, Ukrainian diplomatic missions and research institutions globally.

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