Winners’ dances

The annual contest’s winners were announced in Kyiv on June 14. As usual, Olha Sumska and Oleksii Bohdanovych presided over the ceremony. Interestingly, this year’s event was more diverse aesthetically than ever before, finding room not only for the red carpet or other glamorous photo sets and for the recitation of Taras Shevchenko’s poetry, but also, for instance, for a performance by Komu Vnyz, a very alternative, original and iconic rock band. The Coronation’s visitors could take part in an instant lottery and photo shoots and see a special postage stamp dedicated to the contest being cancelled on-stage. As the ceremony ended, a dancing lesson was offered to everybody, with the winning authors actively participating.

However, the most important element of the event was the announcement of the winners’ names in different categories, eight in all.

Thus, the first place in the Best Novel category, often considered the most important of all, went to Lviv-based writer Bohdan Kolomiichuk’s mysteriously-named Bronzesmith. Orshulia Faryniak came first in the children’s prose contest with her Aikho, adding yet another title to the genre enjoying the greatest demand of all now. Oleksii Hanzenko from Vladyslavka, Kyiv region, wrote the contest’s best screenplay named Yulia Will Draw Better, while the Best Screenplay for Children category saw Lana Ra of Kyiv winning with her Gudzy-Mudzy, the Queen of the Lost Button Country.

Nadia Tubaltseva from Dnipropetrovsk was the first in the Best Play category, having submitted her Golden Threshold piece, while another Lviv-based author Volodymyr Chytai won the children’s plays contest with his Goat the King. Yevhen Tsymbaliuk from Mlyniv, Rivne region, won the Best Song Lyrics award for Three Tears – Three Embers, and Ternopil poet Alla Bintsarovska’s Mommy’s Smile won in the Best Children’s Song Lyrics category.

There were also over 20 special awards, including Andrii Kokotiukha’s personal award Gold Pistol for the best thriller, which went to Vladyslav Ivchenko from Sumy for his novel The Empire’s Best Detective, erotic poetry author Lesia Mudrak’s prize for the most shocking work, awarded to Uliana Dudok from Lviv, and singer Rosava’s award that was presented to Oleksii Mohylenko of Volodarsk-Volynsky, Zhytomyr region, for his Lullaby for My Daughter. The complete list of winners can be found on the Coronation of the Word’s website.

The latest Coronation has confirmed the image of the contest bringing glory and visibility for the first time to most of its winners. This, of course, prompts some observers to question how well the latest achievements of Ukrainian literature are represented at the contest. On the other hand, and probably more importantly, it helps the common reader and the publisher to discover new authors and new works. And only time will tell what their literary destinies will be.