On 5 September, at the 41st Vilenica International Literary Festival (Slovenia), Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan received the eponymous award, the festival’s website reports.
The Vilenica Prize honours writers from Central and Eastern Europe for outstanding achievements in literature and essay writing.
During the award ceremony in the Vilenica Cave, Zhadan delivered a speech titled “Why Doesn’t Literature Make the World Better?”.
“The war currently raging in Europe, with no sign of abating, is, among other things, a war of cultures, however much we may deny it. And we need the courage not only to admire great literatures, but also to see their weakness, their helplessness, their ineffectiveness. I am not sure this world can become better. But I am convinced that we need literature, among other reasons, so that we can write honestly about good and evil. Otherwise, why start writing at all?” Zhadan concluded.
The festival ran from 1 to 5 September under the slogan “Brave New World” and the sub-theme “Fluidity of Identities”.
About Serhiy Zhadan:
- Ukrainian writer, poet, translator, rock musician, serviceman and volunteer;
- author of the novels “Depeche Mode”, “Voroshilovgrad”, “Mesopotamia”, “The Boarding School”, and the poetry collections “Templars”, “Antenna”, “A List of Ships”, among others;
- winner of a number of awards, including the Angelus Award, the Freedom Prize from the German Frank Schirrmacher Foundation, the EBRD Literature Prize, the German Peace Prize, the Jerzy Giedroyc Prize, and others;
- in March 2024, he was mobilised into the ranks of the “Khartiia” brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, where he founded “Radio Khartiia”;
- in May this year, he became an honorary doctor of the University of Wroclaw;
- shortlisted for the Angelus-2026 International Literary Award, whose winner will be announced on 17 October.
About the Vilenica International Literary Festival:
- an annual literary festival founded in 1986, aimed at bringing together poets, prose writers, playwrights and essayists;
- the event is organised by the Slovenian Writers’ Association;
- the festival’s main prize is the Vilenica Prize, presented in the karst Vilenica Cave in western Slovenia;
- in 2017, the Vilenica Prize was awarded to Ukrainian writer Yuri Andrukhovych — he became the first Ukrainian to receive this honour.