Yaryna Grusha has received a special international award at the Viareggio-Rèpaci Prize, the Ukrainian Book Institute has announced.
The jury recognised Hrusha for her contribution to promoting Ukrainian culture in Italy and across Europe, as well as for writing that explores themes of memory, identity and civic responsibility.
The Blue Album is Grusha's debut novel. Beginning in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, it follows Yaryna's coming of age against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity. The story is based on the author's childhood memories of those events.
The novel was written in Italian and published by Bompiani.
The Viareggio-Rèpaci Prize is one of Italy's oldest and most prestigious literary awards. It was established in 1929 by Leonida Rèpaci in the city of Viareggio.
Yaryna Grusha is a Ukrainian translator, writer and lecturer in Ukrainian language and literature at the University of Milan. She was also nominated for the Drahoman Prize 2025 together with Alessandro Achilli for their joint Italian translation of Iryna Shuvalova's poetry collection Endsongs.