Ukrainian writer Artem Chapeye’s book The Ukraine has been shortlisted for the Pierre François Caillé Prize, which recognises the best translated book published in France, according to a Facebook post by writer Andriy Kurkov, who shared a video featuring jury member Lucile Hubler.
The Ukraine is a collection of short stories that, taken together, portray Ukraine at the beginning of the 21st century. The stories blend reality with artistic imagination. The incorrect use of the article ‘The’ in the title is deliberate and intended to emphasise the idea that ‘this is Ukraine’. The author spent around eight years writing the stories included in the collection.
Nicole Dzyub translated the book into French. In France, it was published by Les Éditions Bleu et Jaune in 2025 and is priced at €22.90. In Ukraine, The Ukraine was published by Vydavnytstvo 21 in 2018. The book was shortlisted for the ‘BBC Book of the Year 2018’ award in the Essays category.
The winner of the award will be announced in November 2026.
The Pierre François Caillé Prize was established in 1981 and is awarded to the translator of the best translated book published in France. It honours translators who have no more than three translated and published works to their name.
Artem Chapeye is a Ukrainian writer, translator and reporter. In 2022, he voluntarily enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is the author of more than ten books, including The Red Zone (2014), Dad on Parental Leave (2016), Strange People (2019) and Not Born for War (2025).
Nicole Dzyub is a French translator originally from Kyiv. She studied in Geneva and completed her higher education at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She later moved to France, where she obtained a second master’s degree and completed her doctoral thesis. In addition to The Ukraine, she has translated Almost Never the Opposite by Maria Matios, Poems from the Loopholes by Maxim ‘Dali’ Kryvtsov and We Were Here by Artur Dron for Les Éditions Bleu et Jaune.