{"id":3456,"date":"2026-01-29T00:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darprize.com\/?page_id=3456"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:05:10","slug":"short-list-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/darprize.com\/en\/short-list-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortlist of the second season of the \u201cDar\u201d Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The winner of the award is the author whose book will receive the most votes in the open voting of the Jury. The main award is a grant to translate the book into foreign languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the Sample Translations from the books of all finalists.
The English translations of the excerpts were made possible thanks to the support of the WE EXIST! FOUNDATION.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\"\u041a\u041e\u041b\u042b\u0411\u0415\u041b\u042c\u041d\u0410\u042f<\/a>

\u041a\u041e\u041b\u042b\u0411\u0415\u041b\u042c\u041d\u0410\u042f \u041f\u041e \u041c\u0410\u0420\u0418\u0423\u041f\u041e\u041b\u042e<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440\u0430 \u041a\u0440\u0430\u0448\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

Spring 2022 in Mariupol. This book immerses the reader in the events of that time. Amidst rocket fire, the voice of a young woman can be heard, sometimes calm and hopeful, sometimes breaking into a desperate cry. We are presented with a kaleidoscope of images of unbearable reality. After what she has been through, the author manages to do the almost impossible \u2014 to keep hope alive.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"(\u041d\u0415)<\/a>

(\u041d\u0415) \u041e \u0412\u041e\u0419\u041d\u0415<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0416\u0435\u043d\u044f \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0436\u043d\u0430\u044f<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

On February 24, 2022, Ukrainian Zhenya Berezhnaya woke up to a call from her relatives in Kharkiv: war had begun. Her familiar life in beloved Kyiv, where Zhenya wrote fairy tales for adults, taught, and hosted a podcast about literature, was over. Sirens and nights spent in basements, evacuation, fleeing, the loss of a loved one, attempts to rebuild her life in a new country \u2014 all this is described in Berezhnaya's autobiographical novel (Not) About War. This book is not really about war \u2014 it is about the experience of overcoming trauma, about how, thanks to creativity and the support of caring people, there is a place for freedom, love, and hope in a terrible reality.\r\n<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u041d\u0410<\/a>

\u041d\u0410 \u0412\u041e\u0419\u041d\u0415 \u0412\u042b\u0416\u0418\u0412\u0410\u042e\u0422 \u0422\u041e\u041b\u042c\u041a\u041e \u041a\u0410\u041a\u0422\u0423\u0421\u042b<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440 \u041c\u043e\u0446\u0430\u0440<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

\"...The first rupture of war. You still don't understand, don't realize what war is. You still think it's a local event that will freeze in history, in your own memory, as a vivid episode that you can later recall as a tragicomic curiosity. You don't yet know that at this very moment your world has shattered into thousands of shapeless, ugly fragments. A person's world ceases to be a coherent story and falls apart into episodes \u2014 sometimes disjointed, random \u2014 in which old friends and acquaintances are often lost, but new shadows of a new reality appear.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u041f\u041e\u041a\u0410\u042f\u041d\u041d\u042b\u0415<\/a>

\u041f\u041e\u041a\u0410\u042f\u041d\u041d\u042b\u0415 \u0414\u041d\u0418<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u041e\u043b\u0435\u0433 \u0420\u0430\u0434\u0437\u0438\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

The war began on television. But it didn't stay there.\nA Moscow saga during Putin's war in Ukraine.\nThe Naydenov family lived their lives, while outside their apartment windows, a different life was being lived, controlled by different people. The Naydenovs thought that's how it would always be\u2014two parallel, unintersecting lives in one country. Or two countries\u2014their own private one and the rest of Russia. Then the war started, and everything changed. Now they had to decide whether to run or fight. Or try to put back together what the war had broken.\nThe war started on TV. Then the tanks rolled off the blue screen and into our apartments. Along with the war.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u0423\u0422\u0420\u041e<\/a>

\u0423\u0422\u0420\u041e \u0411\u042b\u041b\u041e \u0413\u041b\u0410\u0417\u041e\u041c<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0418\u0433\u043e\u0440\u044c \u0411\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0435\u0434<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

In the collection of short stories \u201cThe Morning Was an Eye\u201d by Igor Beloded, a semi-finalist for the Big Book Award, there are, on the contrary, plenty of oddities. Igor Beloded, as can be seen from his novel The Great Mother, published by RIPOL Classic, and the collection of short stories Don't Talk About Him (Alpina.Proza, 2023), is more of a \u201cwriter for writers\u201d than a writer for readers. However, in the short story format, the complexity beloved by the author takes on a concentrated form. Beloded's stories are like a mixture that can and should be taken in one gulp. Two stories a day, seven days a week, for a successful course of treatment for a lack of beautiful literary language and (straight) linearity of time.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u041c\u0415\u0427\u0422\u0410\u0422\u0415\u041b\u0418<\/a>

\u041c\u0415\u0427\u0422\u0410\u0422\u0415\u041b\u0418 \u041f\u0420\u041e\u0422\u0418\u0412 \u041a\u041e\u0421\u041c\u041e\u041d\u0410\u0412\u0422\u041e\u0412<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0415\u0432\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0424\u0435\u043b\u044c\u0434\u043c\u0430\u043d<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

You have seen Yevgeny Feldman's photographs, even if you don't know who took them. The panorama of the rally on Bolotnaya Square, Alexei Navalny with his \u201cdosirak\u201d and on his way to the Central Election Commission, clashes with Berkut on Maidan, the \u201cparade of prisoners\u201d in Donetsk, the human chain in Minsk \u2014 Feldman's photographs capture an entire era, and no one else has seen so many of its key events from such close quarters.\n\nIn just a few years, the teenager who used to go to punk concerts with his camera became Russia's most famous documentary filmmaker \u2014 and the country descended into brutal repression and full-scale war. To honestly show the main stages of this journey, Feldman risked his life many times and broke the rules. Therefore, the book in which he talks about his work reads both as a tragedy and an adventure novel.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u0428\u0410\u0422\u0426\"<\/a>

\u0428\u0410\u0422\u0426<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u042e\u0440\u0438\u0439 \u0422\u0440\u043e\u0438\u0446\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

The protagonist of Yuri Troitsky's debut novel is a modern trickster. We don't know his first or last name, only the cute German word \u201cSchatz\u201d \u2014 \u201ctreasure\u201d \u2014 which he and his wife use to refer to each other. Schatz is an entrepreneur who made his career in the 1990s and 2000s and regularly finds himself in various predicaments, some absurd, some dramatic, and some hopeless. Nevertheless, he manages to get out alive every time. We watch the hero grow up and come of age in the Moscow suburbs and Moscow, then we see him in Riga, London, and seaside resorts. Despite the circumstances, Schatz remains a human being everywhere, even if, like his famous predecessor, he tries to practice relatively honest ways of taking money from the population. We will see the hero for the last time on February 24, 2022, in Odessa \u2014 but, of course, this is not the end of his life...<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u0420\u041e\u0414\u0418\u0422\u0415\u041b\u042c\u0421\u041a\u0418\u0419<\/a>

\u0420\u041e\u0414\u0418\u0422\u0415\u041b\u042c\u0421\u041a\u0418\u0419 \u0414\u0415\u041d\u042c<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0414\u043c\u0438\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0439 \u041f\u0435\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0432<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

The story \u201cParents' Day\u201d is a vivid, poignant portrait of life during wartime, where events are intertwined with memories and reflections. Against the backdrop of a war-torn but vibrant city, the main character tries to understand and maintain a connection with his son in the midst of tragic events. Through their dialogues, internal monologues, and encounters with people, he reveals the generational conflict of worldviews, the theme of duty, personal responsibility, and love. Death for one's beliefs is a reality of our time.\n\nThis book is not only a family story, but also a direct look at war, its everyday nature and cruelty. The synthesis of documentary accuracy, lyricism, and philosophical reflection transforms Parent's Day into a text that touches the deepest strings of the soul and encourages us to live when it seems that we no longer have the strength to do so.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u0414\u0410\u041c\u041e\u041a\u041b\u041e\u0412\u041e<\/a>

\u0414\u0410\u041c\u041e\u041a\u041b\u041e\u0412\u041e \u0422\u0415\u0425\u041d\u041e<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0418\u043b\u044c\u044f \u0414\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0448\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

A novel in which the carefree macabre of the characters is paradoxically homologous to the complex reality, highlighting its most monstrous twists and turns, offers the reader a journey into the world under the stairs, a trip in your pocket: be brave, my friend, scratch the cat behind the ear,\u202f\u2014 there will be fairy tales capable of prolonging life (just don't stop telling them), tin girls torn apart by patrons, people with sharp edges, empty hopes, and something that, alas, even love cannot defeat this season.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u041d\u0418\u0427\u0422\u041e,<\/a>

\u041d\u0418\u0427\u0422\u041e, \u041a\u0420\u041e\u041c\u0415 \u0421\u0415\u0420\u0414\u0426\u0410<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0413\u0440\u0438\u0448\u0430 \u041f\u0440\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0432<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

A debut autofiction novel about asexuality, aromanticism, Christianity, and one summer in Tbilisi. The narrator moves from Russia to Georgia and falls in love through correspondence with someone living in Moscow, but soon begins to ask himself questions: What is love? What does it mean to fall in love? What does he really want from people? Documenting his first summer in exile: walks around the city, hanging out in bars with friends, trips to the mountains \u2014 Grisha Prorokov explores his own experience of asexuality and aromanticism, drawing on the history and culture of Christianity: the letters of the Apostle Paul, the tapestries \u201cLady with a Unicorn\u201d and the image of Mary Magdalene.\r\n<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u042d\u0412\u0420\u0418\u0414\u0418\u041a\u0410,<\/a>

\u042d\u0412\u0420\u0418\u0414\u0418\u041a\u0410, \u041f\u0420\u041e\u0412\u0415\u0420\u042c, \u0412\u042b\u041a\u041b\u042e\u0427\u0418\u041b\u0410 \u041b\u0418 \u0422\u042b \u0413\u0410\u0417<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u0422\u0430\u0442\u044c\u044f\u043d\u0430 \u0417\u0430\u043c\u0438\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

Tatyana Zamirovskaya's first non-fiction book is a collection of essays, memories, and reflections on memory and forgetting, music and love, emigration and ties to Belarus through the ghostly identity of a person who once believed that music is stronger than death and text is more important than life.\n\nThe book originated from a long essay about experiencing the war in Ukraine, \u201cSpending The War Without You.\u201d , in which I describe the year 2022, when I was working in news (Voice of America), experiencing intense emotional detachment, and going to all the concerts of my favorite musicians from my youth in order to feel alive again and relearn how to cry.<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"\u041c\u0410\u041b\u0415\u041d\u042c\u041a\u0418\u0419<\/a>

\u041c\u0410\u041b\u0415\u041d\u042c\u041a\u0418\u0419 \u0420\u0410\u0419<\/span><\/a><\/h3>

\u041a\u0441\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f \u0411\u0443\u043a\u0448\u0430<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

\u00ab\u041c\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0440\u0430\u0439\u00bb \u2014 \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0432\u0430\u044f \u0432 \u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u043e\u043b\u0436\u0430\u044e\u0449\u0435\u0439\u0441\u044f \u0432\u043e\u0439\u043d\u044b \u043f\u043e\u043f\u044b\u0442\u043a\u0430 \u0440\u0435\u0444\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0438\u0432\u043d\u043e \u0437\u0430\u0433\u043b\u044f\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c \u0432 \u0431\u0443\u0434\u0443\u0449\u0435\u0435: \u0430 \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0431\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0442 \u0447\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437 15 \u043b\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0435 \u0435\u0451 \u043e\u043a\u043e\u043d\u0447\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f?<\/p>

\u041a\u0443\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443<\/span><\/a>Sample Translation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Expert Council<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n
<\/svg> <\/span> <\/svg> <\/span> <\/div><\/div>
\n
\n \"\u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0438\u043b\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n Mikhail Edelstein \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/p>\n Literary scholar<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/a>\n\n

\n \"\u0415\u0432\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n Evgeniya Vezhlyan \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/p>\n Poet, literary critic, essayist, literary scholar and sociologist of literature<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/a>\n\n

\n \"\u0415\u043b\u0438\u0437\u0430\u0432\u0435\u0442\u0430\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n Elizaveta Birger-Ero\u011flu \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/p>\n Philologist, translator, literary critic, curator of cultural events, and manager of the bookstore \"Poltory Komnaty\" in Istanbul<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/a>\n\n

\n \"\u041d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0439\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n Nikolai Aleksandrov \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/p>\n Cultural and literary scholar, essayist, journalist<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>