Key points
- The Ministry of Culture and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, with the support of PrivatBank, have established the ‘Volya’ award.
- The prize in each of the three nominations is 400,000 UAH.
- Applications from publishing houses are accepted until August 19, 2026.
- Books published in 2025-2026, except for authors from aggressor countries, are allowed to participate.
- The jury is headed by Rostyslav Semkiv, and includes Oleksandr Mykhed, Uiam Bleker, Iryna Slavinśka, and Bohdana Romantsova.
- Long lists will be announced on October 5, short lists on November 13, and the winners will be announced in early December.
The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, with the support of PrivatBank, have established a new annual literary award ‘Volya’. The partner of the award is the Department of Literary Studies named after V. Morents of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
The award operates in three categories:
- best prose book;
- best documentary book;
- best documentary book by a foreign author about Ukraine, translated into Ukrainian.
The winner in each category will receive 400,000 UAH.
Only Ukrainian publishing houses can nominate books – up to three titles in each category. Participation is open to publications by Ukrainian and foreign authors, except for citizens of aggressor countries, published in Ukrainian in Ukraine from May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026. Applications are accepted until August 19, 2026, through the official website of the award.
We are launching ‘Volya’ to support books that interpret modern Ukraine and tell the world about it.
– Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy of Ukraine – Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetyana Berezhen
The jury of the award is headed by literary critic and publisher, director of the ‘Smoloskyp’ publishing house Rostyslav Semkiv. The jury also includes writer and military serviceman Oleksandr Mykhed, Scottish literary critic Uiam Bleker, writer Iryna Slavinśka, and critic Bohdana Romantsova.
Long lists – up to 10 books in each category – will be announced on October 5, 2026, short lists of three books – on November 13, and the winners will be announced in early December.
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