Five books about Ukraine named finalists for 2026 Peterson Literary Prize

The Canada-based Peterson Literary Fund announced its 2026 shortlist on Sept. 28, selecting five nonfiction works that explore Ukraine through subjects ranging from wartime loss and literary history to Russia’s full-scale invasion and Stalinist repression.

The finalists are Myroslav Laiuk’s “Списки” (“Lists”); Oleksandr Mykhed and Pavlo Mykhed’s “Живі. Зрозуміти українську літературу” (“The Living. Understanding Ukrainian Literature”); Serhii Plokhy’s “David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War”; “Russia against Ukraine: Russian Political Mythology and the War on Ukrainian Identity,” edited by Anton Shekhovtsov; and Filip Slaveski and Yuri Shapoval’s “Stalin’s Liquidation Game: The Unlikely Case of Oleksandr Shums’kyi, His Survival in Soviet Prison, and His Subsequent Arcane Assassination.”

“Lists,” published by Ukraїner in 2025, is a collection of reports and essays by Ukrainian writer and war documentarian Myroslav Laiuk. Developed over three years of travel, interviews, observation, writing, and photography, the book documents what Ukrainians describe as their greatest losses during the war. Its stories address the flooding of Kherson, the destruction of Pokrovsk, the Russian attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, and damage to the Derzhprom building in Kharkiv, as well as personal losses, including homes, loved ones, health, childhood, and memory.

“Живі. Зрозуміти українську літературу” (“The Living. Understanding Ukrainian Literature”), by writer Oleksandr Mykhed and literary scholar Pavlo Mykhed, was published by the Old Lion Publishing House in 2024. The book takes readers through two centuries of Ukrainian literature, exploring the lives and works of writers including Mykola Gogol, Vasyl Stefanyk, Olena Teliha, Ivan Bahrianyi, Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, and Mykola Khvylovy.

Serhii Plokhy’s “David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War,” published by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, brings together essays, commentaries, and interviews written or given by the historian on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion and during the first two years of the war. The volume examines the historical background to the invasion, the legacy of the Soviet collapse, Russia’s use of history in its propaganda, and the factors behind Ukraine’s resistance.

“Russia against Ukraine: Russian Political Mythology and the War on Ukrainian Identity,” published by Ibidem Press and edited by Anton Shekhovtsov, examines the historical, political, and cultural foundations of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The volume includes contributions from scholars and researchers including Andreas Umland, Alexander Etkind, Martin Kragh, and Andrew Wilson.

The fifth finalist, “Stalin’s Liquidation Game,” by Filip Slaveski and Ukrainian historian Yuri Shapoval, examines the persecution of Ukrainian Marxist revolutionary Oleksandr Shumskyi, who resisted efforts to force him to confess during Stalinist repression. The book traces his decade-long protest against his imprisonment and Stalinist policies toward Ukraine and places his case within the broader history of Soviet repression.

The biennial Peterson Literary Prize recognizes nonfiction books written in English or Ukrainian that promote a better understanding of Ukraine-related subjects for an international audience. The prize is valued at 30,000 Canadian dollars (about 21,500 U.S. dollars), with 25,000 Canadian dollars (about 17,900 U.S. dollars) awarded to the winning author and an additional 5,000 Canadian dollars (about 3,600 U.S. dollars) to the book’s publisher. Each of the five finalists also receives 5,000 Canadian dollars (about 3,600 U.S. dollars).

The winner will be announced at the Peterson Literary Fund’s annual awards ceremony and dinner in Toronto on Nov. 22, 2026. This year’s jury consists of Canadian political scientist and Peterson Literary Fund manager Lisa Shymko, who serves as chair; Ukrainian literature scholar Nadia Gereliouk; University of Waterloo professor emeritus of political science Ivan (John) Jaworsky; writer and political scientist Alexander J. Motyl; and writer and literary scholar Marko Robert Stech.

The Peterson Literary Fund was established by Canadian philanthropist Stanley Peterson and operates under the auspices of the Toronto-based BCU Foundation. The fund also provides grants for writers, translators, and publishers.

In 2024, Yaroslav Trofimov won the Peterson Literary Prize for “Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence.”

As reported earlier, the Peterson Literary Fund also recognizes translated books related to Ukraine. In 2023, the grand prize went to the Turkish translation of Paul Robert Magocsi’s “Ukraine: An Illustrated History,” translated by Maryna Kravets, Victor Ostapchuk, and Murat Yaşar. Other books recognized that year included Marianna Kiyanovska’s “The Voices of Babyn Yar,” translated by Oksana Maksymchuk and Max Rosochinsky; Stanislav Aseyev’s “The Torture Camp on Paradise Street,” translated by Zenia Tompkins and Nina Murray; Volodymyr Rafeyenko’s “Mondegreen: Songs about Death and Love,” translated by Mark Andryczyk; and “The Extraordinary Lives of Ukrainian Canadian Women,” edited by Iroida Wynnycky and translated by Marta Olynyk.

Images: Award website