Nina Murray Wins the 2025 Drahomán Prize

may 30, 2026

1765

Nina Murray Wins the 2025 Drahomán Prize

Nina Murray, a Ukrainian-American translator and poet, has been named the winner of the 2025 Drahomán Prize, an award recognizing translators who bring Ukrainian literature to readers around the world. The winner was announced on May 29 during the gala ceremony held within the 14th International Book Arsenal Festival.

Nina Murray is an acclaimed Ukrainian-American translator and poet. Her award-winning translations include Oksana Zabuzhko’s The Museum of Abandoned Secrets (Amazon Crossing) and Oksana Lutsyshyna’s Ivan and Phoebe (Deep Vellum). She received the Drahomán Prize for her English translation of Lesya Ukrainka’s dramatic poem Cassandra, published by HURI Books in 2024.

The winner was announced by Mariana Betsa, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, while the award was presented by Bohdana Laiuk, Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine.

Daria Kuhai receives an award on behalf of Nina Murray

This year, the laureate received a unique artwork created by Ukrainian artist Anna Zvyahintseva, as well as a monetary reward of €3,000.

Leaders of the institutions that founded the Drahomán Prize also addressed the audience during the ceremony.

"Each year at the Drahomán Prize ceremony, we speak about how the role of the translator continues to expand and evolve in the contemporary literary process. Today, translators are volunteers, promoters, literary agents, and ultimately drivers of systematic changes in literature. Their work requires delicate engagement with contexts and lived experiences. It is significant that nearly all of this year’s finalists have firsthand experience of being in Ukraine and witnessing its realities. This prize also recognizes those dedicated advocates who, on their own initiative and despite numerous obstacles, promote Ukrainian literature abroad. Today, we are delighted to honor those who make Ukrainian literature accessible even in the most distant parts of the world," said Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute.

"Translation is one of the most sincere forms of intercultural dialogue. Even as it cannot convey every nuance, cultural context, or inner rhythm of a language, the very act of translation is already a step toward another person. That is why we must appreciate those who take this step toward Ukraine and help the world understand us. Yet translation is not only dialogue—it is also advocacy. Every time translators choose a text, this is an act of explanation why this particular book matters, why this particular author is important, and why this particular culture deserves to be heard by the readers. This is especially important for Ukraine today. Despite the war, despite the trauma, despite attempts to reduce us to headlines, Ukraine is far greater than its experience of suffering," stated Maksym Sytnikov, Executive Director of PEN Ukraine.

"I believe translators succeed because they genuinely love and respect Ukrainian literature. They also succeed because we see them and appreciate their work. I dream that books translated by our outstanding translators will receive hundreds of thousands of reviews, be published by the world’s finest publishing houses, and become highly sought after in international rights auctions. Ultimately, that is what brings all of us here and what we are working toward," said Oleksandra Koval, Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute.

Writer Kateryna Kalytko also presented an essay on the role and impact of translators within the literary process.

"We are accustomed to speaking of translators as bridge-builders or gardeners who help exotic plants take root in a native garden. Yet in today’s world, a translator is no longer merely a craftsperson working with books. They have become an almost apostolic figure. Like the Apostle Peter, such a passionate individual needs extraordinary courage and faith to step onto the turbulent waters of the Sea of Galilee and move forward. This becomes especially evident in times of war and catastrophe. When a Ukrainian text enters the world, it is not merely translated into another language; it must also cross far more daunting barriers—between the experience of someone living through a genocidal war and that of someone for whom war remains an abstract concept. In such circumstances, translators must transform not only words but also the density of reality, the pulse of resistance to destruction, the temperature of loss, the persistence of love, and the intonation of historical memory," Kalytko stressed.

The ceremony was hosted by journalist and executive producer of Radio Culture, Iryna Slavinska.

*Award for the winner of the Drahomán Prize*

The 2025 Drahomán Prize shortlist also included Alessandro Achilli and Yaryna Grusha for their Italian translation of Iryna Shuvalova’s poetry collection End Songs, and Nils Håkanson for his Swedish translation of Sofiia Andrukhovych’s novel Amadoka.

A special award for a profound contribution to building a shared context between two distant cultures went to Mridula Ghosh, a translator from Ukrainian into Bengali.

The longlist for the 2025 Drahomán Prize included 31 individual translators and translation tandems working from Ukrainian into English, German, Italian, Polish, Georgian, Romanian, Swedish, French, Norwegian, Slovak, Bengali, Serbian, Czech, Slovenian, Hebrew, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, and other languages. Applications were submitted from 26 countries: Italy, the United States, Norway, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Spain, India, Georgia, Sweden, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Finland, Portugal, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Brazil, Greece, France, and the Netherlands.

The Drahomán Prize was established in 2020 by the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Book Institute. The award aims to support and recognize translators who champion Ukrainian literature internationally. It is presented for excellence in translation and contribution into promoting Ukrainian literature abroad.

This year marked the sixth presentation of the prize. Previous laureates include Finnish translator Eero Balk (2024), Polish translator Katarzyna Kotyńska (2023), French translator Iryna Dmytrychyn (2022), Polish translator, writer, and literary critic Bohdan Zadura (2021), and German translator Claudia Dathe (2020).

The shortlist and winner are selected by a nine-member Jury, comprising distinguished writers, translators, linguists, literary scholars, and cultural managers. The 2025 Jury included Volodymyr Sheiko, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Oleksandra Koval, Iaroslava Strikha, Alla Tatarenko, Eero Balk, Rory Finnin, Iryna Zabiiaka, and Sofiia Onufriv.

Media partners of the 2025 Drahomán Prize were Radio Culture, Chytomo, and Ukrainska Pravda. This year’s award was supported by the ЗМІN Foundation with the assistance of the Cultural Diplomacy Foundation.

may 30, 2026

1765

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