Visegrad Literary Award – Shortlist Announced!
Twelve outstanding books, four countries, and one shared idea – to promote the literature from Central Europe. We are pleased to announce the shortlist for the Visegrad Literary Award recognizing the best books written in the V4 countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.
A joint initiative of the International Visegrad Fund (@Linda Helbichova) and the Villa Decius Association, the Visegrad Literary Award opens a new chapter in the long-standing literary cooperation among the Visegrad Group countries. The Award aims to honour four exceptional books – one from each country – written as part of the Visegrad Literary Residency Program, which since 2012 has supported writers and translators from across the V4 region.
The Award is organized by the Villa Decius Association in cooperation with the Czech Cultural Institute (Prague), the Slovak Literary Centre (Bratislava), and the Petőfi Literary Museum (Budapest). It is granted by the International Visegrad Fund to mark the 25th anniversary of its establishment.
The Jury of the Visegrad Literary Award consists of experts, literary critics, and representatives of the organizing institutions from all four Visegrad countries:
Blanka Činátlová, Viktor Debnár, Jan M. Heller, Anna Štičková (Czech Republic);
Ewa Bolińska-Gostkowska, Paweł Łyżwiński, Monika Ochędowska, Marcin Wilk (Poland); Peter Darovec, Lucia Galdíková, Andrea Makýšová-Volárová, Barbara Sigmundová (Slovakia); Margit Garajszki, Árpád Kollár, Kristof Mezei, and Péter Radics (Hungary).
Out of 81 submitted works, the Jury nominated twelve books.
Visegrad Literary Award – List of Nominated Books:
Czech Republic:
Marie Iljašenko, Sv. Outdoor (Host, 2019)
Alena Machoninová, Hella (Maraton, 2023)
Alexey Sevruk, Evropanka (Argo, 2023)
Hungary:
Milbacher Róbert, Keserű Víz (Magvető Kiadó, 2023)
Rusvai Mónika, Kígyók országa (GABO Könyvkiadó, 2023)
Totth Benedek, Az utolsó utáni háború (Magvető Kiadó, 2017)
Poland:
Maciej Hen, Segretario (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2024)
Joanna Ostrowska, Ślady (Wydawnictwo Krytyki Politycznej, 2025)
Paweł Pieniążek, Wojna w moim domu (Znak Literanova, 2025)
Slovakia:
Ivana Gibová, Babička (Vlna, 2023)
Katarína Kucbelová, Čepiec (Slovart, 2019)
Ivan Štrpka, Fragment (rytierskeho) lesa (Modrý Peter, 2017)
The 4 winners of the Visegrad Literary Award will be announced on November 30, 2025.
Each laureate will receive a monetary prize of €3,000 and an additional €3,000 (gross) in financial support for the translation of the awarded work into English or German. The funds will be transferred to the publisher or copyright holder.
The first edition of the Award not only highlights outstanding literary achievements but also aims to strengthen the literary dialogue between the countries of the region and to promote Central European literature worldwide.
