Andrii Sodomora and Olena Stiazhkina win the 2026 Vasyl Stus Prize

10.09.2026, 17:27 rubryka.com

During the ceremony, Volodymyr Yermolenko, president of PEN Ukraine and chair of the prize committee, said the event's atmosphere combined light and shadow, with light now feeling especially rare.

Andrii Sodomora is a Ukrainian writer, translator, and scholar. PEN Ukraine described him as "the foremost contemporary Ukrainian translator of ancient literature." Sodomora has devoted more than half a century to this work. He translates works by Horace, Virgil, Seneca, and Ovid.

Sodomora also holds the Order of Merit, third class.

During the ceremony, he spoke about his view of Vasyl Stus, his own path into classical studies, and the translation of ancient authors.

He said chance had led him to classical studies at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Since then, his translation work has carried on two traditions: the Roman tradition associated with Mykola Zerov and the Greek tradition represented by Borys Ten.

"And so, in my translation work, I plowed two furrows: Mykola Zerov's Roman one and Borys Ten's Greek one. 'Hurry to me, but above all, to yourself,' the philosopher advised. I hurried to them, those scholars of antiquity. In that work, I focused above all on what unites us with the ancients: a love of freedom, humanity, humanitas, and the highest respect for the word. It was from them that I learned," Sodomora said.

Olena Stiazhkina is a Ukrainian writer, essayist, doctor of historical sciences, and professor of history. She founded the civic movement "De-occupation. Return. Education."

In 2026, Stiazhkina won the Women in Arts Award in the "Women in Literature" category for her contribution and resilience in a time of resistance. She also holds the Order for Intellectual Courage.

Stiazhkina has written more than 90 scholarly publications and works of fiction, including:

Speaking about the Vasyl Stus Prize, the writer emphasized how high Stus had set the bar and how today's Ukrainians face the need to meet that standard every day — on the front line, in captivity, and in occupied territories.

"Vasyl Stus's genius set the bar incredibly high, as high as the sky. Most of his contemporaries were never called upon to reach it. But that task has fallen to our contemporaries. It has fallen to them and continues to do so every day. On the front line, in captivity, in occupied territories," Stiazhkina stressed.

She also described the prize not as a reward but as an obligation.

The winners received statuettes created by designer Dmytro Pokrasion and sculptor Stanislav Kadochnykov, along with a cash prize.

The ceremony's hosts were Valentyna Sotnykova, a literary scholar, cultural manager, and host of Suspilne Kultura's "Decolonizers" podcast, and Zakhar Davydenko, a Radio Kultura presenter, violinist with the "DvaTry" ensemble, and founder of the "RUKH" festival.

Singer Mariia Chuprynenko closed the ceremony with a musical performance.

Background

The Vasyl Stus Prize honors living authors each year, regardless of where they live, for their outstanding contribution to Ukrainian culture and steadfast civic commitment.

The Ukrainian Association of Independent Creative Intelligentsia, led by Yevhen Sverstiuk, established the prize in 1989. PEN Ukraine, Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, and the Dukh i Litera publishing house have continued the initiative since 2016.

The annual prize recognizes writers, artists, directors, musicians, cultural managers, and public figures for their contributions to Ukrainian culture and steadfast civic commitment. Foreign authors are also eligible.

More than 70 figures have received the prize since its founding. They include Mykhailyna Kotsiubynska, Ivan Svitlychnyi, Volodymyr Viatrovych, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, Taras Kompanichenko, Serhii Zhadan, Vlad Troitskyi, and others. Last year's winner was Timothy Snyder, a historian of Central and Eastern Europe.

The 2026 award marked the prize's 37th consecutive presentation.

This year, a jury chaired by philosopher, journalist, writer, and PEN Ukraine President Volodymyr Yermolenko nominated the candidates.

Previously, the exhibition "Vasyl Stus. As Long as We Are Here, Everything Will Be All Right" opened at Mystetskyi Arsenal on November 13. Dedicated to the poet, member of the Sixtiers movement, and political prisoner, the exhibition will run until February 8, 2026, across six halls of the Old Arsenal building.

Also, on October 29, the Taras Shevchenko Museum in Kyiv hosted the presentation of a project to publish the Complete Works of Vasyl Stus. Stus.The Center is beginning work to prepare and publish the collection in partnership with the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literature at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the "MHP for the Community" Charitable Foundation, and the Smoloskyp publishing house.