Czech writer Kateřina Tučková has won the Angelus 2026 Central European Literature Award for her novel «Bílá Voda» («White Water»). She also received the Natalia Gorbanevskaya Readers’ Award, which includes a month-long residency in Wrocław. However, she decided to pass it on to Ukrainian writer Yuliia Illiukha, who was a finalist for the prize. This was reported by Chytomo, citing the Polish publication Rynek Książki.
The winners were announced on 17 October 2026 during a ceremony in Wrocław as part of the Bruno Schulz Literary Festival.
Kateřina Tučková received 150,000 zloty for «Bílá Voda», a novel devoted to the fates of nuns persecuted by the communist authorities of Czechoslovakia. The book was published in Polish by Afera in a translation by Julia Różewicz. The translator also received an award of 40,000 zloty.
In addition to the main prize, Tučková won the readers’ online vote and received the Natalia Gorbanevskaya Award. It includes a month-long literary residency in Wrocław.
During the ceremony, the writer said that she is raising two young children and therefore will not be able to spend a whole month in Wrocław. Instead, she decided to pass the residency on to Ukrainian writer Yuliia Illiukha, who made the Angelus 2026 shortlist with her book «My Women».
Yuliia Illiukha was nominated for the Polish edition of the collection «My Women» (Moje kobiety), published by KEW in a translation by Katarzyna Fischer. It is a collection of short prose about women’s experiences during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. In Ukraine, the book was published in 2024 by the publishing house «Bilka».
In total, seven books by writers from six countries made it to the final, including two authors from Ukraine. Serhii Zhadan also reached the final with Arabeski («Arabesques»), translated by Michał Petryk and published by Wydawnictwo Czarne.