The Encounter Prize is an annual award that recognizes the shared experience between Ukrainians and Jews and is presented alternately for the most influential work of fiction and non-fiction literature. This year, winners will be selected in the fiction category, which includes prose, poetry, and drama.

The experts who will determine the winners have many years of experience in literature, translation, and cultural projects. The international jury includes:

🔹 Ostap Slyvynsky (Ukraine) – Ukrainian poet, translator, essayist, and head of the prize jury;

🔹 Maria Henkin (USA) – founder of the literary project "Razom Literature", which promotes Ukrainian literature in the English-speaking world;

🔹 Volodymyr Yeshkilev (Ukraine) – Ukrainian prose writer, screenwriter, playwright, and publicist.

📜 The longlist for the Encounter Prize will be published in July, and the shortlist will be announced in September. The name of the laureate and finalists will be revealed during the Lviv International BookForum Festival in October 2025.

"Encounter: The Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Prize" has, since 2020, promoted Ukrainian-Jewish understanding and highlighted the shared historical experiences of both peoples over the centuries, contributing to strengthening Ukraine’s identity as a multiethnic society.

The prize is sponsored by the Canadian non-governmental organization Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, with the support of the NGO Publishers’ Forum. The information partner is the Ukrainian Book Institute.