EBRD Cultural Programme and BBC announced the Ukrainian Book of the Year awards winners

BBC Book of the Year 2013 awards presented in partnership with the Cultural Programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Kiev, Ukraine, 16-12-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — “The Remote Space” by Yaroslav Melnyk, and “Who Will Make the Snow” by Maryana and Taras Prokhasko, have been awarded BBC Book of the Year 2013 awards, presented in partnership with the Cultural Programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Yaroslav Melnyk’s “The Remote Space” (“Далекий простір”) is named the BBC Book of the Year 2013.  “Who Will Make the Snow” (“Хто зробить сніг”) by Maryana and Taras Prokhasko wins the accolade of BBC Children’s Book of the Year 2013.

BBC World Service Europe Hub Editor, Artyom Liss, said:  “The winning novel by Yaroslav Melnyk is a dystopia which explores the issue of freedom. The novelist writes about the freedom to see; to escape the world of the blind; but also to escape the world of those who can see – and who rule the blind. These are themes found in literature around the world, and through its protagonist’s journey, this novel very effectively explores what freedom means and what is its price.”

“Snow is part of everyday life in winter for Ukrainians yet the brilliant book by Maryana and Taras Prokhasko deserves a spotlight of its own. From it, Ukraine’s tiniest citizens will learn about friendship, sticking together and fighting fear. The EBRD’s Cultural Programme has partnered with BBC Ukrainian to support Ukrainian books because we believe that literature is a key part of a democratic society, and that  starts with children’s books,” said Jonathan Charles, EBRD Director of Communications.

The winning authors were awarded a Ukrainian hryvnya equivalent of £1,000 for each book.  The publishers of the two winning books will have the right to use the logos of the BBC Ukrainian book awards on subsequent editions.

This year’s panel of judges included Vira Ageyeva, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy professor of literature; Taras Fedyuk, poet; Olha Herasymyuk, journalist; Nina Kuryata, BBC Ukrainian editor; and Svitlana Pyrkalo, EBRD adviser.

The BBC Ukrainian Book of the Year award was established in 2005. Since 2012, when the nomination of Children’s book of the Year was added to the accolade, the awards have been presented in partnership with the EBRD Cultural Programme.

For more information about the awards and for the reviews, please go to www.bbc.ua.

For more information please contact:

BBC World Service: Lala Najafova, lala.najafova@bbc.co.uk

The EBRD Cultural Programme: Svitlana Pyrkalo, pyrkalos@ebrd.com

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EBRD Cultural Programme and BBC announced the Ukrainian Book of the Year awards winners