On April 26, at the TASS press center in Moscow, the organizing committee of the “Big Book” National Literary Award announced the longlist for the eighteenth season. The list of 51 works included the manuscript of the new novel “Which” by Gala Uzryutova, the writer from Ulyanovsk

In the eighteenth season, 322 works of writers from 73 cities of Russia and 17 countries of the world were nominated: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Canada, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Norway, the USA, Ukraine, France and Estonia.

The Long List includes 51 works by authors from 16 cities of Russia and four countries of the world: Austria, Belarus, Great Britain and Georgia, including books by Vasily Avchenko, Pavel Basinsky, Evgeny Vodolazkin, Shamil Idiatullin, Evgeny Kremchukov, Evgeny Popov, Andrey Rubanov, Alexey Salnikov, Andrey Tavrov, Victoria Tokareva.

“Which” is a new auto-fiction novel by Gala Uzryutova about a generation that puts off growing up and chooses escapism in the form of an endless travel sabbatical from themselves. The novel, written in the wake of the author’s travels and experiences of tragedy in the family, unfolds in a parallel setting (Russia-Slovenia (and eight other countries)) in a multi-timeline format. It is an exploration of generational fears, feelings, weaknesses and strengths. “Which” spend the nights in hotels, motorhomes and move along the water, instinctively feeling that this is how they can survive, this is how their ancestors survived, but neither movement, nor hotels, nor ecology, nor giving up meat, nor tolerance, nor coffee to go, nor motorhomes can save them.

Over a hundred nominators presented their books and manuscripts, including the country's leading publishing houses, media, writing organizations, literary magazines and agencies, publishing services and writing schools, as well as members of the Literary Academy. Dmitry Danilov, the famous writer, poet, playwright, became the chairman of the jury this year. The Expert Council of the Prize included writers Evgeny Abdullaev, Roman Senchin and Evgenia Dekina, literary critic Valeria Pustovaya, and Alexey Andreev, the deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine “October”.

In June, on the eve of the Red Square Book Festival, the finalists of the “Big Book” of 2023 will be announced at the traditional Literary Dinner. Then the Literary Academy - the jury of the awardБ formed on the principle of broad public representation and consisting of 105 people - will begin its work. The winners will be awarded at a ceremony in Moscow in December.

The "Big Book" National Literary Award was established by the Center for Support of Russian Literature in 2005. The co-founders and trustees of the prize are: the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushkin House), the Russian Book Union, the Russian Library Association, All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, TASS, Gazprom-Media Holding, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” Publishing House, “Alfa-Bank”, “LitRes” service of electronic and audio books, “Chitai-Gorod” bookstores, etc. Over the years, the prize winners were Alexander Ilichevsky, Evgeny Vodolazkin, Guzel Yakhina, Roman Senchin, Vladimir Sorokin, Zakhar Prilepin. Three prizes and a special prize “For Contribution to Literature” are awarded annually. The award of the first place is 3 million rubles, the second – 1.5 million rubles, the third – 1 million rubles. In addition to the main awards, special prizes and diplomas may also be awarded. 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gala Uzryutova is a prose writer, poet, playwright, screenwriter. Born in 1983, in Ulyanovsk. Graduated from Ulyanovsk State University, Faculty of Culture and Art. Author of the books “Country Sasha” (KompasGid, M., - 2019; in 2022, the film of the same name “Country Sasha”, based on the book, was included in the program of the Berlin Film Festival and was released widely in Russia); “I’m not talking to you, or Zhenya’s Country” (the book is being prepared for publication); All the names are occupied, but one is vacant (Proper Tales Press, Canada, 2021); “The snow that I missed” (Bookscriptor, M., - 2018); “I turned around, and there was a forest” (Russian Gulliver, M., - 2015).

Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature, in cooperation with the Institute of International Relations of the Ulyanovsk State University and the City Administration, is working on the socio-cultural adaptation of foreign students. Through culture, we can demonstrate foreign students the beauty of our country.

On April 15, students from India and Egypt took part in "My Venets", a walking tour of the city center, and learned about the history of Simbirsk on a literary and local history tour in the Book Palace.
The students explored key sights of the city center: they visited Karamzin Square, learned the history of the Karamzin monument and visited the Museum of Gymnasium №1. In the Book Palace, the participants were told about the outstanding writers of Simbirsk, they had a chance to see the expositions and costumes of the pre-revolutionary era.We thank the Book Palace and the Centralized Library System of Ulyanovsk for their cooperation.

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On April 20, 2023, Ulyanovsk hosted a meeting of the Ulyanovsk Region Committee for UNESCO.

The Committee representatives discussed the issues of cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Kirill Rynza, head of the Department of the Secretariat of the Commission for UNESCO in Russian Federation, took part in the meeting online. Rynza commended the work of Ulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk UNESCO team and the region as well as the quality of projects implemented in the city.

Among the participants of the meeting were T.V. Kirillova,Vice-Rector for External Relations and Youth Policy of UlSU, T.A. Ivshina, Executive Director of the Creative Industries Fund of the Ulyanovsk Region, E.E. Sidorova, Minister of Art and Cultural Policy of the Ulyanovsk Region,  E.N. Toporkova, Head of the Department of Culture and Organization of Leisure for the Population of the Administration of Ulyanovsk,  O.N. Mezina, adviser to the administration of the UlSPU named after I.N. Ulyanov,  D.A. Ilyina, head of the Tourism Agency of the Ulyanovsk Region, and others.Elena Cherkas, Head of Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature team, shared that 2022 was a fruitful year. Ulyanovsk hosted and participated in significant international projects of UNESCO Cities of Literature Network. For 2023, the goals are set in the areas of international cooperation, social adaptation of foreign students, organization of international, interregional, city projects, etc. 

Ulyanovsk UNESCO team thanks the City Administration, the Department of Culture of the city of Ulyanovsk for coordinating activities as well as all the participants of the meeting for their collaborative work.
According to E.N. Toporkova, the founder of Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature program, Ulyanovsk has developed strong partnerships both within the country and internationally over 8 years of work within the UNESCO CCN. Ulyanovsk has built strong connections with the managers of UNESCO Creative Cities and right now dozens of projects are being implemented. Every year, we see the program's positive impact on the field of cultural development of the municipality.The meeting ended with the announcement of new Regional Committee for UNESCO. Congratulations to Tatyana Viktorovna Kirillova and Tatyana Alexandrovna Ivshina on their reappointment to the positions of Committee Co-chairs. Elena Evgenievna Cherkas was elected Deputy Co-Chair.
 

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The meeting took place on April 12, 2023 in the «Commonwealth» Model Library №17.  Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature hosted the event.

The meeting went well: the participants actively asked questions about the writing tips and the nuances of working with publishing teams, about the work of the writer, about traveling, culinary preferences and philosophy of life.

The TOP 5 books for beginner writers from Yulia Evdokimova:

• RobertMcKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting
• Lisa Cron, Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)
• Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way
• Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft
• K.M. Weiland, Writing Archetypal Character Arcs: The Hero's Journey and Beyond

Yulia Evdokimova is a writer, author of 14 popular books, laureate of the Russian Detective 2022 award, member of the jury of the Around the World literary competition, ambassador of the Liters e-book service. He is considered the founder of the culinary detective genre in Russia. https://vk.com/wall-116703960_4042

On April 11, 2023, Yulia Evdokimova, a writer, presented her new books 'To Russia with Love' and 'Taste of Milan', told about her trips to Russian cities, unique dishes and creativity.

The meeting was held in the Chitay-Gorod bookstore and was hosted by Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature.

Yulia is considered the founder of the culinary detective genre in Russia. The author masterfully combines culinary recipes, love for mysterious stories and traveling in her books. Yulia Evdokimova shared stories behind creation of her books, spoke about the uniqueness of Russian, Italian and French cuisine. The author shared her future plans with the audience as well: she wants to write one  more book about Russian cuisine, which, perhaps, will include recipes from  the Ulyanovsk region.

Dear friends, if you have saved old recipes used by your grandmothers and great-grandmothers, as well as stories related to these recipes, feel free to send them to Yulia Evdokimova

Today, at 19:00 Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature hosts a creative meeting with Yulia Evdokimova, a writer. Everyone is welcome! You will learn:
what destinations are ideal for gastronomic tourism;
• where to go for the May holidays in Russia;
• how to create an Italian atmosphere at home with a couple of recipes;
• what recipes of Russian cuisine can strike the imagination of a Michelin chef.
The meeting will be held on April, 11 at 19:00 in the Chitai-gorod bookstore: Ulyanovsk, 6 Zheleznoy Divizii St. The event is hosted by Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature.

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On April 10, 2023 at 18:00 Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature will host a 'Travel, Eat, Investigate' meeting with Yulia Evdokimova, the author of 14 popular books, winner of the Russian Detective 2022 award, travel blogger and writer

Yulia is considered the founder of the culinary detective genre in Russia. The author masterfully combines culinary recipes, love for mysterious stories and traveling in her books. 
You will have a unique opportunity to learn how bestsellers are created. The author will share her secrets of writing and talk about:
- How to turn travel notes into popular books?
- How do cuisine and literature unite the world?
- What are the features of traveling in Russia, Italy and France?
The event is hosted by Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature.
The meeting will be held on April 10 at 18:00 in the Model Central City Library named after. I.A. Goncharova, 40 Kirova St.  Everyone is welcome!