MINSK, 11 September (BelTA) – Laureates of the Union State of Belarus and Russia contest of young writers Bridge of Friendship have been awarded. The award ceremony took place in the National Art Museum of Belarus in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
During the award ceremony Belarusian Information Minister Aleksandr Karlyukevich said: “This project has become an art phenomenon of many years in the literary and cultural life of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. New names and authors have been revealed thanks to the project. The Standing Committee of the Union State has chosen the genre of stories for this contest. It may be the hardest genre in fiction literature. I believe that future generations will see our time through the prism of these stories.”
In his words, works by the authors participating in the contest are full of philosophy of life. “Young authors feel time well and know the things they write about. And perhaps this is why many of them have won the contest more than once,” the information minister noted.
Deputy State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Dmitry Solovyev stressed that works by young authors may encourage children to read. “I am a father of four. I believe that kids very rarely read books these days. Young people should write books so that kids would read more often. This is why we are going to support the movement. We believe it is necessary to invite talented authors to cover some significant events in the life of the two countries,” he added.
The project is meant to find, reveal, and support young talented authors. It is also supposed to draw attention of young authors to the history, culture, and literary traditions of Russia and Belarus, to the development of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. The contest is also meant to bolster Russian-Belarusian cultural ties, encourage creative efforts of young authors of the two countries, give them an opportunity to publish and promote their works. The contest is also intended to reveal new names in literature.
The first contest took place in 2012. Since then it has become a good tradition to name winners of the contest every two years. Over 70 works from 40 various regions of Belarus and Russia ranging from Brest to the Far East have been submitted for the contest this year. Young Belarusian and Russian authors aged 18-30 were invited to participate in it. To enter, they had to submit stories, feature articles, or essays that had not been published before and had not been submitted for other contests.
The best ten works by Belarusian and Russian authors were chosen as a result. The Belarusian winners are Andrei Kulesh, Yelena Popko, Yulia Shurbina, Karina Pashkevich-Lomteva, and Anastasia Bakunovich while the top Russian authors are Dmitry Lagutin, Viktor Chigir, Yekaterina Kopytkova, Alina Osokina, and Yana Pavlova.
The contest's founder is the Standing Committee of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Organizational support is provided by the Conoscere Eurasia Association, the A.M.Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the National Press Center of Belarus.
