EBRD Literature Prize 2021: selected longlist announced
- The Prize recognises the best works of literary fiction from the EBRD’s regions translated into English
- Longlist features work translated from eight languages
- Winner of €20,000 prize to be announced in May
The EBRD Literature Prize 2021, launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to promote translated literary fiction from its regions of operations, announces its selected longlist today.
This is now the fourth year of the EBRD Literature Prize which celebrates the very best in translated literature from the nearly 40 countries where the Bank invests: from central and eastern Europe to Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the southern and eastern Mediterranean.
The €20,000 Prize is awarded to the best work of literary fiction originally written in a language from one of these countries, which has been translated into English and published by a UK or a Europe-based publisher.
The international prize was created in 2017 by the EBRD with funding provided by the members of the EBRD, in cooperation with the British Council. It is one of the few international literature prizes which recognises both author and translator in equal measure.
The independent panel of judges for the EBRD Literature Prize 2021 has selected 10 novels that they consider outstanding works of storytelling. In total, eight languages feature on the selected longlist, which represents a fascinating mix of cultures from across the EBRD regions of operations.
Toby Lichtig, Chair of the Judges, said: “Given the diversity of territories covered by the EBRD, it is perhaps unsurprising how varied and culturally rich this longlist is, both thematically and stylistically. The ten books move us from 1930s Warsaw to 1950s Czechoslovakia to contemporary Ukrainian no man’s land; from a Kafakaesque tale of judicial injustice to an absurdist tragicomedy of human smuggling; from the dying days of the Ottoman Empire to an alternative Balkans hauling itself into the present day. Taken together, they give a picture of an Eurasian region riven with the scars of war and displacement, cruelty and carelessness, and teeming with human resilience and ingenuity. And love. Each book is unique, each translation brilliantly realised.”
The longlist titles, in alphabetical order by author, are:
Love in the Days of Rebellion by Ahmet Altan, translated by Brendan Freely and Yelda Türedi (Europa Editions). Language: Turkish. Country: Turkey.
The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili, translated by Elizabeth Heighway (Peirene Press. Language: Georgian. Country: Georgia.
Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk (MacLehose Press, an imprint of Quercus). Language: Russian. Country: Ukraine
Carbide by Andriy Lyubka, translated by Reilly Costigan-Humes and Isaac Stockhouse Wheeler (Jantar Publishing Ltd). Language: Ukrainian. Country: Ukraine
Hana by Alena Mornstajnova, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood (Parthian Books). Language: Czech. Country: Czech Republic.
No-Signal Area by Robert Perisic, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac (Seven Stories Press). Language: Croatian. Country: Croatia.
The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse by Ayfer Tunc, translated by Feyza Howell (Istros Books). Language: Turkish. Country: Turkey.
The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch, translated by Sean Gasper Bye (Amazon Crossing). Language: Polish. Country: Poland.
Mr K Released by Matei Visniec, translated by Jozefina Komporaly (Seagull Books). Language: Romanian. Country: Romania.
Your Ad Could Go Here by Oksana Zabuzhko, translated by Nina Murray, Marta Horban, Marco Carynnyk, Halyna Hryn, and Askold Melnyczuk
(Amazon Crossing). Language: Ukrainian. Country: Ukraine.
The EBRD Literature Prize is a project of the Bank’s Community Initiative, a programme which provides a framework for the engagement of staff and the institution in philanthropic, social and cultural activities in the regions where the Bank works.
The Chair of the Community Initiative, Kazuhiko Koguchi, said today: The Literature Prize reminds us of the wealth of creativity and cultures across our regions of operations, and highlights the role of storytelling in connecting us all and building bridges across borders.
The finalists (three authors and their translators) of the EBRD Literature Prize 2021 will be announced on 3 May 2021. All will be invited to attend the award ceremony later that month (date to be determined), where the winner of the EBRD Literature Prize 2021 will be announced.
The news prepared in the framework of the EU project "EU NEIGHBOURS east"
Related items
-
Georgia: EBRD to help improve solid waste management in Kobuleti and Batumi
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is committing new funds to address solid waste treatment issues in Batumi and the wider Adjara region in Georgia. A sovereign loan of up to €19 million for Adjara Waste Management Company will help tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges faced by the tourist region’s inhabitants and visitors.
The first committed tranche of up to €3 million will be used to purchase new solid waste management equipment. This will enable the borrower to start new landfill operations and, consequently, stop waste being disposed of at the current non-European Union (EU) compliant dumpsites. The second uncommitted tranche of up to €16 million will be used to build a new waste treatment plant, allowing the company to recover recyclables and divert waste sent to the new sanitary landfill.
The investment will address the priority needs of Batumi and the wider Adjara region. This includes stopping the disposal of waste at existing dumpsites in Kobuleti and Batumi, with the latter being the largest and most dangerous polluter in Georgia. “These dumpsites are active sources of land, water and air pollution, impacting the ecosystem of the region in particular, and the Black Sea in general,” says EBRD.
Find out more
-
Delighted to have launched IT Hubs in Azerbaijan and Georgia, where we are now supporting the training of 280 students for their future employment with international ICT companies.The programme will boost the regional development, supporting the youth, and in case of Georgia, internally displaced persons and refugees from Ukraine.For Azerbaijan, this is the first project to be funded through a bilateral donor agreement between the Bank and the Government of Azerbaijan.We are implementing this project in partnership with Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency and the Centre for Coordination and Analysis of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Azerbaijan.
-
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide Tbilisi Transport Company with a loan of up to €50.6 million for financing the upgrade of up to 12 metro stations.
The agreement was signed on 17 January in the Georgian capital during a visit by Mark Bowman, vice President for Policy and Partnerships at the EBRD.
The new loan is a continuation of a broader effort, some of which aims to encourage people to switch from private to public transport. Improved lighting and ventilation and more energy-efficient escalators will improve the daily journeys of Tbilisians, while an overhaul of drainage systems will make the network more resilient to climate change.
With a population of 1.2 million, Tbilisi was one of the first cities to join the EBRD’s flagship Green Cities programme, which supports members in addressing their environmental challenges through sustainable investments and policies. The city was also one of the first to develop a Green City Action Plan (GCAP).
Find out more
-
Agreements were signed today by and between Georgia and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) envisaging the modernization of metropolitan transport in Tbilisi.
Loan and Grant Agreements were signed by H.E. Lasha Khutsishvili, Minister of Finance of Georgia and Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships during his working visit to Georgia held within the scope of a Caucasus Tour.
Financial resources in the volume of around 55.6 million Euros will be used for the rehabilitation of underground metropolitan stations in Tbilisi and refurbishment of escalators.
Project will be implemented by the Mayor’s Office in the Municipality of Tbilisi through Tbilisi Transport Company (TTC).
Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships is visiting Georgia together with Matteo Patrone, EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus (EEC).
This visit was preceded by a series of meetings held by H.E. Odile Renaud-Basso, EBRD President in Tbilisi in September 2022.
The current visit aims to review the upcoming projects of EBRD to be implemented both in the private and public sectors of the country. -
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Vice President for Policy and Partnerships Mark Bowman and Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Matteo Patrone will tour the Caucasus from 16 to 19 January, first visiting Armenia, then Georgia, before concluding their trip in Azerbaijan.
The purpose of the trip is to discuss upcoming projects in both the private but also public sectors. Discussions on financial resilience, policy reform and the preparation for the Bank’s upcoming new country strategies are also on the agenda.
The visit follows EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso’s recent tour of the Caucasus in September.
In all three countries, the delegation will meet the political leadership, diplomats, international development partners, leaders of the business community and the Bank’s existing partners.
While in Tbilisi, Mark Bowman is also expected to sign a sovereign loan agreement with the Ministry of Finance of Georgia for the rehabilitation and upgrade of up to 12 metro stations in the capital.
Find out more
