Drahomán Prize 2023: The best translators of Ukrainian literature announced

The laureate of the Drahomán Prize is translator Katarzyna Kotyńska. The award ceremony took place on April 23, 2024 in Kyiv at Ukraine’s largest bookstore “Sens.” Katarzyna Kotyńska and all shortlisted nominees were present at the in-person ceremony. The special award “for building Ukrainian-Georgian cultural bridges” was awarded to Raoul Chilachava, a translator from Ukrainian to Georgian.

Katarzyna Kotyńska is a translator from Ukrainian to Polish. She was nominated by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland for her translation of Oksana Zabuzhko’s book “The Longest Journey” (Komora, 2023) – Oksana Zabużko. Najdłuższa podróż (Agora, 2023). Since 2023, she has been heading the Ukrainian Studies Department at the Institute of East Slavic Philology at Jagiellonian University.

She is also the laureate of the ANGELUS Prize – an award for translators of the Central European Angelus Literary Award for her translation of Oksana Zabuzhko’s novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” (2013). She serves as a mentor for the “Gaude Polonia” program (2023).

“Diving into Ukrainian texts is the best adventure I can imagine for many years ahead,” said Katarzyna Kotyńska during the award ceremony.
In 2023, three Ukrainian books translated by Chilachava were released in Georgia.

Raul Chilachava has received the Special Award “for the building of Ukrainian-Georgian cultural bridges.” Chilachava is a translator from Ukrainian into Georgian, he holds a doctorate in philology, and is an Honored Artist of Ukraine.

Three Ukrainian books translated by Raul Chilachava were published in Georgia in 2023: “A Stroll to the Zone” by Markiyan Kamys,” “The Vocabulary of War,” Anthological collection: “Ukrainian authors writing about war” including the poem “My Thoughts” by Taras Shevchenko.

As reported earlier, this year’s shortlist included three translators from Finland, Sweden, and Poland. Notably, the long list of candidates for the Drahomán Prize is comprised of 16 translators who translate from Ukrainian into Swedish. Overall, in 2023, the organizers received submissions from 13 countries.

The Drahomán Prize was launched in 2020 by the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Book Institute to support and acknowledge translators from Ukrainian into world languages. It is awarded for its excellence in translation and contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad.

Copy Editing: Terra Friedman King