Books from Azerbaijan and Ukraine shortlisted for EBRD Literature Prize 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) today announced the shortlist for the 2026 EBRD Literature Prize, featuring 10 books in English translation from nine of the countries in which the Bank operates. The list includes a trilogy from Azerbaijan and a novel from Ukraine.

The Trilogy People and Trees by Akram Aylisli (Azerbaijan) was originally written in Azerbaijani and translated from Russian into English by Katherine E. Young and published by Plamen Press.

The novel Rock, Paper, Grenade by Artem Chekh (Ukraine) is translated from the Ukrainian by Olena Jennings and Oksana Rosenblum and published by Seven Stories Press UK.

Three finalists will be announced at the end of April. The winning author and translator will be revealed on 2 July at a public awards ceremony and reception at the EBRD’s headquarters in London, attended by the judges and the finalist authors, translators and publishers. 

Prize money of €20,000 will be divided equally between the winning author and translator. The authors and translators of the other two finalist works will each receive €2,000.

The EBRD Literature Prize has been running since 2018 and is an annual award for a work of literary fiction originally written in a language of an economy where the Bank invests, translated into English and published in the past year, by a publisher based in Europe, North America or in a territory where the Bank operates.

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Press release