Press releases

MOSCOW, 9 March (BelTA) – Five Belarusian authors entered the longlist of the Russkaya Premiya literary award, BelTA has learned from the award’s press center.

The award’s committee and the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center announced the longlist of the nominees for the 2016 award. Belarus is represented by several authors.

Olga Zlotnikova’s poetry book Pastva (Flock) is nominated in the Poetry category, Andrei Zhvalevsky and Evgeniya Pasternak’s short novel Otrkytyi final (Open final) is in the Flash Fiction category. Mikhail Luchitsky’s novel Mesto na Reye (On the Yard) and Viktor Martinovich’s novel Ozero Radosti (Lake Joy) are in the Novels category.

The award’s longlist features works by 38 writers and poets from 14 countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Germany, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Portugal, the USA, Ukraine and Montenegro. For the most part the nominees come from Ukraine, Belarus, the USA and Kazakhstan.

Russkaya Premya is the only Russian literary award for Russian-language writers from abroad. Established in 2005, it aims to preserve and develop the Russian language and support Russian-language writers. The award is among five major prestigious Russian literary awards. Its panel of judges includes popular writers, poets and literary men.

The Russkaya Premiya short list will be released on 31 March. The award ceremony will take place in Moscow on 25 April.