The winner of the Drahomán Prize-2023 for translators from Ukrainian into world languages was the Polish scientist Katarzyna Kotinska. She was awarded for translating Oksana Zabuzhko’s book “The Longest Journey.”
This was reported by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
The award ceremony took place on April 23 at the Kiev bookstore “Sens”. The laureate received a figurine made by Ukrainian sculptor Anna Zvyagintseva and 3 thousand euros in cash reward.
“I thank everyone who helped me along this path, because a translator can sit in his office and seem to do everything on his own and alone, but without people who will help, provide texts, suggest, tell, add thousands of notes“, Kotynskaya said.
The translator shared that “immersing myself in new and old literary Ukrainian texts is the best adventure that I can imagine for myself for many, many years to come.”
The award was presented to the winner by the General Director of the Ukrainian Institute, Vladimir Sheiko. He noted that the work of translators from Ukrainian into other languages makes Ukrainian culture more visible in the world and builds bridges between countries.
Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko, for her part, emphasized that “the opportunity to meet friends today is valuable, who, faced with misunderstanding, risking their niche position in their cultures, all this time worked hard and consistently on what they believed in: the need for Ukrainian culture , literature and experience for their cultures and their experiences.”
At the same time, Deputy Director of the Ukrainian Institute of Books Elena Odinokaya thanked the translators for their skill and “dedicated work that shows Ukraine to the world.”
Katarzyna Kotinska is a translator from Ukrainian into Polish. Since 2023, she has headed the Department of Ukrainian Studies at the Institute of East Slavic Philology at the Jagiellonian University. The scientist is also the winner of the translator award of the Central European Literary Award Angelus for her translation of Oksana Zabuzhko’s novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” (2013).
About the award
The Drahomán Prize is a distinction for translators from Ukrainian into world languages, which was founded in 2020 by the Ukrainian Institute, Ukrainian PEN and the Ukrainian Book Institute. It is awarded for high translation skills and contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian literature abroad.
The first laureate of the prize was the German translator Claudia Dathe. In 2021, the award was received by Polish translator Bogdan Zadura, and in 2022 – by translator from Ukrainian to French Irina Dmitryshyn.
Tags: Polish scientist received prize translating Oksana Zabuzhkos book
