Longlist for the Ales Adamovich Award Announced
Belarusian PEN announced the longlist for the Ales Adamovich Award. The award recognizes works and projects that help comprehend modernity, preserve memory of key events of our time, and raise important social issues. The award also honors the legacy of writer, public figure, and one of the founders of Belarusian PEN, Ales Adamovich.
This year, 23 works of various genres and formats participated in the award competition — fiction and non-fiction prose, poetry, journalism, multimedia projects, and oral history initiatives. Based on the jury's voting results, a longlist comprising 13 nominees was formed.
- Collection «Belarusian Voices from Poznań» — Pavel Zaleski (Skaryna Press publishing house, 2025);
- Book «Guide to Political Imprisonment» — anonymous team (project 361.1, 2025);
- Collection «Voice of the Generation of Freedom» — Siarhei Sashuk (Polack Labyrinths publishing house, 2025);
- Book of short stories «Oak Apples» — Volha Kastsiuk (Skaryna Press publishing house, 2025);
- Collection «I Come to You, People» — compiled and edited by Alena Kazlova (Pflaumbaum publishing house, 2025);
- Video «How Belarusians Live After Prison: The Illusion of Freedom» — Aliaksandr Ivulin (YouTube channel «ChestnOK», 2025);
- Collection «Unconquered Generation. Voices of Belarusian Youth of 2020» — compiled by Alena Karastsialiova, Viktar Shadurski (Skaryna Press publishing house, 2025);
- Reportage «Podlachian Triptych of Uprising» — Volha Siamashka (Belarusian Radio Racyja, 2025);
- Reportage «Memory in Svislach» — Yurka Liashchynski, Yakub Sushchynski (Belarusian Radio Racyja, 2025);
- Novel «Pentakvantar» — Artsiom Shukanau (Gutenberg Publisher, 2025);
- Novel «Elephant» — Sasha Filipenka (Gutenberg Publisher, 2025);
- YouTube interview channel «TOK | TALK» — Nasta Roŭda (@TOK_talk, 2025);
- Novel «Euphoria» — Maryia Parkhimchyk (Pflaumbaum publishing house, 2025).
According to the rules of the statute and regulations, not only books but also journalistic articles, podcasts, radio reports, media projects, and video series were nominated for the award.
Last Season's Laureates:
- For the humanitarian understanding of the Belarusian prison experience from the perspective of children of repressed parents, Volha Vialichka and her book «From Two to Fifteen: My Mom in Prison» (Gutenberg Publisher) received the Ales Adamovich Award.
- For courage and empathy in conditions of discrimination and violence, a part of the book «The Body Is Also an Archive» by Nasta Mantsevich (Pflaumbaum publishing house) was honored.
- In addition to the two awards, the Belarusian PEN Board honored the website www.spring96.org of the Human Rights Center «Viasna» with a special distinction for its 25 years of consistent comprehensive coverage of the human rights situation in Belarus.