The 38-year-old Ukrainian novelist Andrii Liubka has been awarded the joint prize of the Poland–Lithuania Cooperation and Dialogue Forum and the Jerzy Giedroyc Forum, the organizers announced on their official Facebook page.
Liubka could not attend the ceremony in person due to mobilization. Polish journalist Bohumila Berdychowska delivered a speech in his honor, while the laureate sent a letter to be read on his behalf, the Forum reported.
The prize, established in 2013, recognizes individuals who have made "an outstanding contribution to deepening political, cultural, academic, and social relations in the region," according to the Forum. It is awarded across five fields: history, culture, media, public service, and economics.
This year, Liubka shares the honor with Belarusian historian Aliaksandr Smalanchuk. Two other recipients were also recognized at the ceremony: Vidas Dolinskas, director of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius, received the Poland–Lithuania Forum award for his work in Lithuanian-Polish cooperation in history and collective memory; Szymon Drej, director of the Museum of the Battle of Grunwald in Stębark, received the Giedroyc Forum award for his contribution to Polish-Lithuanian dialogue.
Liubka is the author of novels including The Little Ukrainian Novel, Carbide, Saudade, Your Gaze, Cio-Cio-san, and An Evening in Istanbul. He is a member of the Shevchenko Prize committee and PEN Ukraine.
His nonfiction book War from the Rear — a diary of risky volunteer missions documenting the panorama of Ukrainian life during the full-scale war — has been translated and published in Germany and the United States. The book was awarded the Józef Conrad Prize, one of the most significant Polish-Ukrainian literary awards, according to the Forum's announcement.
Liubka is not the first Ukrainian to receive the Poland–Lithuania/Giedroyc prize. In 2022, the award went to writer Serhii Zhadan. Other Ukrainian laureates include then-Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, military chaplain Serhii Dmytriev, and historian Nataliia Yakovenko.
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