Aside from its primary goal of destroying a neighbouring country, Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is also directed against the humanistic values of world culture—values that bind us together. Russian-language culture is integral to the world’s patrimony. The Russian language has itself been taken hostage by the aggressor, and now, writers, publishers, literary critics, translators and Slavists must act as a matter of urgency to support independent Russian-language literature. The creation of an independent prize is one such initiative.
The Dar «Дар» ) is neither a “Russian prize” nor a “prize for Russian literature”. It is, rather, a platform for rethinking the entire experience of writing in Russian, and a platform, too, for opening up new approaches to literature and literary life outside of outdated state structures. The prize is open to anyone who writes and reads Russian, regardless of the passport they hold or their country of residence. The Russian language belongs not to dictators but to world culture..
The aim of the prize is to support authors writing in Russian and champion the winning works.
The award is presented annually.
The main prize consists of a grant for translation.
The prize has been established by the Swiss Association of Slavists.
Its co-founders include well-known writers, critics, filmmakers, and cultural figures, along with public and cultural organizations. The European Commission has also offered its backing.
The Prize is funded by public foundations and private sponsors.
To be eligible, entries must be works of prose (novels, novellas, short story collections, essays, non-fiction) published either as standalone books or in magazines, journals, etc. The inaugural edition of the prize is open to works published in 2022 and 2023.
Nominations for the award can be made by publishers, magazine editors, as well as by the authors themselves or third parties (with the author’s consent and written confirmation).
Nominations may be submitted by publishers, magazine editors, the authors themselves, or third parties (with the author’s consent and written confirmation). Submissions must be made electronically.
Nomination period: October 1, 2024 – November 15, 2024.
The winner is determined by the members of the Jury through direct voting (each jury member has the right to select 1-3 authors). The author with the highest number of votes becomes the winner.
The chair of the Jury is Mikhail Shishkin.
In addition to the Jury, the Prize includes an Expert Council. The Expert Council reviews the works submitted for the competition and determines the shortlist (10-12 works).
The Jury selects the winner from the list of finalists.
The shortlist will be announced in January 2025.
The winner will be announced in April 2025.
In addition to the competitive voting (Jury Prize), there is also a Readers' Prize (crowdfunding). On the Prize's website, readers have the opportunity to vote for any author from the final list—one vote corresponds to a minimum contribution of 10 euros with no upper limit. The winner of the Readers' Prize is determined by the number of votes received. All monetary amounts are transferred to the authors for whom readers voted.
All information regarding the establishment of the Prize, its goals, procedures, Founders, Expert Council and Jury, submitted works, works selected by the Experts, voting results, current events, etc., is available on the Prize's website.
Prize website: https://darprize.com/
Founders of the award:
Swiss Association of Slavists "Literary Award Dar" (Literaturpreis "Dar", Prix littéraire "Dar"): Tomas Glanc, Jean-Philippe Jacquard, Katrin Kahl, Georges Nivat, Ilma Rakusa, Gervais Tassis, Anastasia de la Fortelle, Jens Herlt, Mikhail Shishkin, Ulrich Schmid.
Co-founders of the award:
Boris Akunin, Svetlana Alexievich, Dmitry Bykov, Tomas Venclova, Ivan Vyrypaev, Alexander Genis, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Anton Dolin, Armen Zakaryan, Andrey Zubov, Sergey Kuznetsov, Roma Liberov, Vitaly Mansky, Artemy Troitsky, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Sasha Filipenko, Mikhail Epstein, Vladimir Yurowsky, Forum SlovoNovo (Montenegro), Kulturus (Czech Republic), "Nasha Gazeta" (Switzerland), "Nastoyashchaya Rossiya" (United Kingdom).
Members of the Jury (Co-founders of the prize may participate in the Jury if they wish):
Varvara Babitskaya, Polina Barskova, Andrey Bilzho, Georgiy Borisov, Ilya Vinitskiy, Sergey Gandlevskiy, Mikhail Gigolashvili, Leonid Gozman, Yuliy Gugolev, Alexander Delfinov, Alexander Dolinin, Andrey Zorin, Kirill Kobrin, Vitaliy Komar, Dmitriy Krymov, Dmytro Kudryavtsev, Ilya Kukulin, Oleg Lekmanov, Mark Lipovetskiy, Andrey Makarevich, Vladimir Mirzoyev, Polina Ossetinskaya, Vera Pavlova, Oleg Radzinskiy, Rosemary Titz, Elena Fanailova, Chulpan Khamatova, Irina Shcherbakova, Tamara Eidelman.
What Are the Objectives of the Award?
The primary goal of the Award is to support authors and promote Russian-language literature worldwide. We welcome all who write and read in Russian, regardless of citizenship or place of residence. We aim to foster a Russian-language culture free from political and imperial influences.
How Is the Award Process Conducted?
The Prize is awarded annually. The Jury holds a vote in which each member selects between one and three works. The author whose work receives the highest number of votes becomes the winner.
What Awards Are Provided?
The Prize winner receives a grant for the translation of their work into English, French, and German.
When Does the Submission Period for the Competition Start and End?
Submissions for the third season of the prize will open on July 15, 2026, and close on October 15, 2026.
When will the list of finalists and winners be announced?
On January 20, 2027, the Council of Experts will announce the shortlist. The Independent Jury will announce the winner on May 25, 2027.
What are the conditions for the nomination of a book for the award
Works published in 2025 are eligible for the third season of the competition. Eligible works (novels, novellas, short story and essay collections, documentary prose) may have been published either as standalone editions or in literary magazines. Nominations may be submitted by publishing houses and magazine editorial boards, as well as by the authors themselves or third parties (with the author's consent and written confirmation). Texts must be submitted for consideration in electronic format. The DAR Prize is open to all authors. Given the prize's main goals — promoting contemporary Russian-language literature outside of Russia — and the nature of the award itself (a translation grant), priority will be given to authors whose works have not previously been translated into English, French, or German.
