On January 21 the Kyiv bookstore Ye held the awarding ceremony of the annual literature prize “LitAktsent of the Year,” founded by the Internet publication LitAktsent.
The host and editor of the website LitAktsent Iryna Troskot told shortly about the system of defining the winners. On the first stage the winners were named by the contributors of the publication, later they were joined by the jury. There were five categories: Poetry, Prose, Prose and Poetry for Children, Literary Studies and Essays, and the anti-prize “Golden Bubble.”
At first, the winner in the category Poetry was presented. The following authors were competing for the award in this category: Kateryna Kalytko with her book Kativnia. Vynohradnyk. Dim (Torture Chamber. Vineyard. Home; Old Lion Publishing House), Mariana Kiianovska with 373 (the same publishing house), and Iryna Shuvalova with two books at once – Os (Smoloskyp) and Az (Elektroknyha). The victory went to Kateryna Kalytko, a poet and translator from Vinnytsia.
In the Prose category the competitors included Sofia Andrukhovych with her Felix Austria (Old Lion Publishing House), Serhii Zhadan with Mesopotamia (Klub Simeinoho Dozvillia Publishers) and Bohdana Matiiash with Bratyk Bil, Sestrychka Radist (Brother Pain, Sister Joy; Old Lion Publishing House). There were two winners: Bohdana Matiiash and Sofia Andrukhovych.
In the category “Prose and poetry for children” the shortlist of the finalists included Mariana and Taras Prokhasko, De znyklo more (Where the Sea Disappeared; Old Lion Publishing House), Halyna Tkachuk Vechirni kramnytsi vulytsi Voloskoi (Evening shops of Voloska Street; Tempora) and Serhii Oksenyk – Lisom, nebom, vodoiu. Inzhener (By forest, sky, water. Engineer; Smoloskyp). The victory went to Halyna Tkachuk.
Literary Studies and Essays. Here the finalists included Liudmyla Kyseliova’s Justification of the word. Articles about Ukrainian literature: from Shevchenko to our days (Publishing House “Kyiv Mohyla Academy”), Leonid Ushkalov’s My Shevchenko Encyclopedia: An Experience in Self-Knowledge (Maidan Publishing House of Canada’s Institute of Ukrainian Studies), Rostyslav Chopyk’s Mentalities. The victory in the category went to Leonid Ushkalov.
The last point was the anti-prize “Golden Bubble.” But the host Iryna Troskot disappointed the fans of this award: “Since this year there have been many trivial scandals and arguments, and after all Ukrainian culture lacks the tradition of anti-prizes, the tradition of disapproving criticism, which is why we decided not to announce the laureates of the Golden Bubble.”
The season of literary awards is underway. Soon the winners of the Shevchenko Prize will be announced.
