The BBC News Ukraine Book of the Year contest was launched today at an event at the Knizhkovy Arsenal bookfair in Kyiv, with a masterclass by Serhiy Leshchenko (Saigon), whose novel “Yupak” won last year’s award.
As she announced the start of this year’s literary accolade awarded in partnership with the Cultural Programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), BBC News Ukraine editor, Marta Shokalo, said: “For the first time in the awards’ 17-year history we are launching it at Ukraine’s biggest bookfair, Knizhkovy Arsenal. We hope that this year’s entries will once again showcase the richness and talent of the Ukrainian literature.”
Moderated by the awards judge, TV presenter Vadym Karpyak, the masterclass by Serhiy Leshchenko (Saigon) was entitled “From a post on Facebook to the BBC Book of the Year”. It focused on how to transform one’s own life experience into an engaging text, turn an idea into a novel and how to breathe life into the characters and the dialogues.
The event also featured an awards-themed mystical thriller produced by BBC News Ukraine, starring Vadym Karpyak, Serhiy Leshchenko and blogger Vitaliy Chepinoga.
The event was streamed on the Book Arsenal website and will be published on the BBC News Ukraine website bbc.ua.
The BBC Book of the Year awards include BBC Book of the Year (Книга року BBC); BBC Children’s Book of the Year (Дитяча Книга року BBC), and BBC Book of the Year – Essays (Книга року ВВС – Есеїстика). They also consider translations of books by Ukrainian authors writing in all languages of Ukraine.
The awards are judged by:
• Vira Ageyeva, professor, Ukraine National University “Kiev-Mohyla Academy”
• Vitaliy Chepinoha, blogger
• Vadim Karpyak, TV presenter
• Svitlana Pyrkalo, EBRD cultural advisor
• Marta Shokalo, BBC News Ukraine editor.
The winning author in each category will be awarded a Ukrainian hryvnya equivalent of £1,000. The publishers of the BBC Book of the Year, BBC Children’s Book of the Year and BBC Book of the Year – Essays will have the right to use the logos of the BBC News Ukraine book awards on subsequent editions.
Publishers can submit up to three books in each category, and up to two new books by previous winners. Submitted books must be in the Ukrainian language (original works or translations), published within the last 12 months. For detailed Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice, go to bbc.ua. The deadline for nominations is 10 September 2021. The readers can send their reviews between 15 October and 15 November 2021.
The longlists in each category, as well as the Reader of the Year prize, which awards the best book review submitted by the BBC News Ukraine audience members, are selected by the BBC News Ukrainian team in consultation with the jury. The panel selects shortlists and winners. The winners will be announced in December 2021.