The short list announced for the 2024 'Encounter' prize

In December 2019, the Canadian charitable non-profit organization Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, in cooperation with Ukraine's NGO "Publishers Forum" (Lviv, Ukraine), announced a new initiative entitled "Encounter: The Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Prize ™."

The prize aims to build on the common experiences of Ukrainians and Jews over the centuries, expressed in the written word. It is awarded annually to the most influential work that fosters Ukrainian-Jewish understanding, helping solidify Ukraine's place as a multi-ethnic society. The 'Encounter' prize is awarded in two categories in alternate years: fiction (prose, poetry, and drama) and nonfiction (historical works, biographies, memoirs, journalism, essays)*.

The first 'Encounter' prize was awarded in September 2020 in the fiction category to Vasyl Makhno for his novel Eternal Calendar (Lviv: The Old Lion Publishing House, 2019). The second year of the award in 2021 was dedicated to the nonfiction category, with the winner being Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern for the Ukrainian-language translation of his groundbreaking work, The Anti-Imperial Choice: The Making of the Ukrainian Jew (Kyiv: Krytyka, 2018). The third year of the award was held in 2023 in the fiction category with Sofia Andrukhovych named winner for her novel Amadoka (Lviv: The Old Lion Publishing House, 2020.)

The 2022 'Encounter' prize was not awarded in connection with Russia's genocidal war against Ukraine.

*Based on the decision of the UJE Board dated 2 June 2021, books financially supported by the organization cannot be submitted for the "Encounter: The Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Prize."

The Ukrainian Jewish Encounter and Ukraine’s NGO "Publishers Forum" are pleased to announce the short list for the 2024 'Encounter' prize, nominated in the nonfiction category, for books published in 2021–2023.

Roman Myhalchuk, Death and Survival During the Holocaust: The Terrain of Modern Rivne Region (Rivne: Vydavnytsvo Volynski Oberehy, 2022)
Roman Myhalchuk, Smert i vyzhyvanniya pid chas Holokostu: terena suchasnoyi Rivenshchyny (Rivne: Vydavnytsvo Volynski Oberehy, 2022)

Petro Rykhlo, The Plucked Strings of a Loud Lyre...": German-Jewish Poets of Bukovyna (Kyiv: Dukh i Litera, 2023)
Petro Rykhlo, Urvani struny prehuchnoyi liry…Nimetski-yevreiski poety Bukovyny (Kyiv: Dukh i Litera, 2023)

Evhenia Senik, Because It Hurts (Brustury: Discursus, 2023)
Evhenia Senik, Bo bolyt (Brustury: Discursus, 2023) 

Yuriy Skira, Solid. The Life-Saving Footwear Factory  (Lviv: Choven Publishing House, 2023)
Yuriy Skira, Solid. Vziuteva fabrika zhyttya (Lviv: Vydavnytsvo Choven, 2023)

Yulia Stakhivska, Sonya and the Game of Colors (Kyiv: Dukh i Litera, 2022)
Yulia Stakhivska, Sonya i hra kolioriv (Kyiv: Dukh i Litera, 2022)

The prize is valued at 7000 Euros. The winner receives 6000 Euros, with the author/s receiving 4000 Euros and the publisher 2000 Euros. Four (4) incentive awards will receive 250 Euros each.

The award ceremony for the 'Encounter' prize will take place at the 2024 Lviv Book Forum.

The international jury for the 2024 'Encounter' prize is comprised of:

Olexander Scherba (Ukraine/Jury Head)
Olexander Scherba is a Ukrainian diplomat and author who worked as Ambassador of Ukraine to Austria in 2014–2021. He currently serves as ambassador-at-large (in charge of strategic communications) at Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and maintains one of Ukraine's leading English-language X (formerly Twitter) accounts @olex_scherba.

Iuliia Bentia (Ukraine/Jury Member)
Iuliia Bentia holds a PhD in Art Studies; is a Senior Research Fellow at the Modern Art Research Institute, the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine; and Executive Editor at Krytyka journal.

Alexander J. Motyl (United States/Jury Member)
Alexander J. Motyl (Ph.D., Columbia University, 1984) is a professor of political science at Rutgers University-Newark, writer, and painter. He served as associate director of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in 1992–1998 and of the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University-Newark in 1999–2008.

Read more about the jury members here.