Eero Balk Wins the Drahomán Prize 2024

The 2024 Drahomán Prize, honoring excellence in translation and the promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad, has been awarded to Finnish translator Eero Balk, as reported by a Chytomo correspondent at the award ceremony. 

Balk, who translates from Ukrainian into Finnish, was recognized for his exceptional work in bridging cultures and bringing Ukrainian literary voices to a wider international audience.

The prize winner receives a statuette created by artist Anna Zvyahintseva, a monetary award of €3,000 (approximately 135,000 UAH), and additional opportunities for work and promotion of their work. 

“It’s good that I’m here in Finland and not as nervous as I would be there among such esteemed names as my fellow translators and the authors whose works they were recognized for. I will say that this award will bring a bit more public attention to Ukrainian literature and culture in Finland. I think I’ll donate the prize money toward drones,” said Eero Balk during the award ceremony.

Eero Balk was honored for his Finnish translation of Eugenia Kuznetsova’s novel “The Ladder”. A graduate of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (1981), he was originally sent there to study Russian, but chose Ukrainian instead. Since then, he has spent over 40 years translating Ukrainian literature into Finnish, remaining for a long time one of the few specialists in this field. He also did external studies at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. 

In 2023, he received the prestigious WSOY Literary Foundation award in Finland. To date, he has translated more than 30 books, ranging from Taras Shevchenko and Marko Vovchok to Yurii Andrukhovych, Serhii Rudenko, and Yevheniia Kuznetsova. 

In 2024, he was a finalist for the Drahomán Prize 2023 for his translation of Serhii Rudenko’s book “The Battle for Kyiv.” 

A special distinction of the Drahomán Prize for exceptional skill and humanity in fostering Ukrainian-Lithuanian literary dialogue was awarded to translator Vitas Deksnys, who translates from Ukrainian into Lithuanian.

The 2024 Prize Jury included:

• Volodymyr Yermolenko, writer, journalist, philosopher, and President of PEN Ukraine;
• Yaroslava Strikha, translator and literary scholar;
• Katarzyna Kotyńska, translator and laureate of the 2023 Drahomán Prize;
• Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute;
• Oleksandra Koval, Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute;
• Alla Tatarenko, translator and professor at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv;
• Rory Finnin, American Ukrainian studies scholar and Head of the Ukrainian Studies Program at the University of Cambridge;
• Iryna Zabiaka, translator and literary scholar;
• Sofiia Onufriv, translator and cultural project manager.

As reported earlier, the 2021 Drahomán Prize laureate was the Polish translator Bohdan Zadura. In 2022, the prize was awarded to Iryna Dmytryshyn. In 2023, it went to Katarzyna Kotyńska.

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

RELATED: Drahomán Prize 2023: The best translators of Ukrainian literature announced

Images: PEN Ukraine

Main image: Ivan Zemlemir, Irena Datsko/Reporters

Copy editing: Mark Klenk