A Canadian literary fund with Ukrainian roots and a global reach
Finalists for the 2026 Peterson Literary Prize are Announced
The Peterson Literary Fund 2025 Journey for Truth Award presented to philanthropist Howard G. Buffett
In recognition of his compassion and global leadership, support for the documentation and investigation of Russian war crimes, commitment to rebuilding Ukraine, and determined sense of purpose in conveying the resilience of the Ukrainian people to a global audience.
“My photographs cannot convey the totality of this war or even what I’ve seen and experienced, but I hope they will provoke enough outrage to encourage the world to do everything possible to end it and ensure Ukraine prevails.”
– Howard G. Buffett
Courage of a Nation: Three Years of War
By Howard G. Buffett
© 2025 The Howard G. Buffett Foundation
Winners 2025 Peterson Literary Fund Translated Book Awards
Failed State: A Guide to Russia’s Rupture
In this book, Janusz Bugajski argues that the Russian Federation is not a stable successor to the Soviet Union but a failed state confronting profound structural…
On Freedom
In his book On Freedom, Timothy Snyder examines one of the most invoked yet least understood ideals of modern political life. While freedom is often celebrated…
State of War
This anthology brings together 35 powerful texts by some of Ukraine’s most prominent writers and intellectuals, offering an unflinching account of the first year of Russia’s…
Ukrainian Sunrise
In Ukrainian Sunrise, Kateryna Zarembo offers a nuanced and deeply researched portrait of Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk before Russia’s 2014 invasion. Based on…
2025 Peterson Translation Grant recipients
Aftershock
Author: Matthew Green
Translator: Iryna Reformator
Aftershock follows the journey of veterans as they return from the battlefield into civilian life, exploring the hidden wounds of war—psychological trauma, moral injury, and the…
Butterflies Under Glass
Author: Iryna Vilde
Translator: Ali Kinsella
Butterflies Under Glass by Iryna Vilde is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story set in a diverse Ukraine on the brink of change. With warmth and psychological…
Furious Harvests
Author: Alex Averbuch
Translators: Oksana Maksymchuk, Max Rosochinsky
This volume presents the first standalone English translations of a selection of poems by Alex Averbuch, drawn from his acclaimed collection The Jewish King (Kyiv, 2021),…
Naissances du totalitarisme
Author: Philippe de Lara
Translator: Dmytro Karatieiv
Naissances du totalitarisme by Philippe de Lara offers a profound exploration of the origins and evolution of totalitarian ideologies in the twentieth century. Through an analysis…
Petrichor: The Scent of the Earth After Rain
Author: Volodymyr Rafeyenko
Translator: Mark Andryczyk
Petrichor: The Scent of the Earth After Rain by Volodymyr Rafeyenko is a profound meditation on war, memory, and the fragile boundary between life and death.…
Stories of Khmelnytsky: Competing Literary Legacies of the 1648 Ukrainian Cossack Uprising
Author: Amelia M. Glaser
Translator: Iaroslava Strikha
Stories of Khmelnytsky: Competing Literary Legacies of the 1648 Ukrainian Cossack Uprising explores the life and legacy of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the Cossack leader whose 1648 revolt…
The Ladder
Author: Eugenia Kuznetsova
Translators: Alina Senchenko, Donato Mancini
The Ladder by Eugenia Kuznetsova is a moving novel about a Ukrainian family suddenly displaced by Russia’s invasion. Just as the main character buys his dream…
ABOUT THE FUND
The Peterson Literary Fund is a unique, international awards and grants fund established by Canadian philanthropist Stanley Peterson.
The fund was created to recognize books that promote a better understanding of Ukraine or the Ukrainian people, and whose subject matter is relevant to a global readership. The fund’s founder sought to recognize books that contribute to a positive image of Ukraine. The fund encourages publications that confront disinformation and challenge the use of Russian colonial narratives to frame Ukrainian history. The fund’s prizes, awards, and grants focus on distinguished written works that have a positive impact on the reader and are judged to be of interest to a broad diaspora audience.
The Peterson Literary Fund is comprised of several programs, including its cornerstone literary prize, as well as translated book award, and grants for writers, translators, and publishers. The Peterson Literary Fund also supports special projects that reflect our mission to advance a better understanding of topics and issues related to Ukraine or Ukrainian identity.
In accordance with the wishes of its founder, the Peterson Literary Fund is managed by Canadian political scientist Lisa Shymko, who also serves as Chair of the Peterson Literary Fund Awards Jury.
BCU Foundation, a Toronto-based charitable foundation supporting educational and humanitarian initiatives, is the home of the Peterson Literary Fund.
PETERSON LITERARY FUND / AWARDS:
For Translators:
Submission Dates: TBA
It was the desire of the late Stanley Peterson — the founder of the Peterson Literary Fund — that the Literary Fund bearing his name have a Canadian-based jury composed of individuals who understand the unique historical culture of the Ukrainian people
The jury will, from time to time, include a mix of writers, editors, journalists, academics, literary translators, and other professionals qualified to undertake a balanced review and assessment of the works submitted to the various prize, awards, and grants programs offered by the Peterson Literary Fund. When warranted, the Awards Jury will have access to the Peterson Literary Fund’s advisors and international language evaluators.
In addition to their professional qualifications, members of the Awards Jury are selected with consideration to fair representation of gender, age, language competency, community engagement, and global awareness.
All books and manuscripts submitted to the various prize, awards, and grants programs of the Peterson Literary Fund will be evaluated using a particular set of JUDGING CRITERIA
2026 Awards Jury
2025 Awards jury
2024 Awards jury
ADVISORS
Irena Chalupa
Irena Chalupa is a journalist specializing in broadcasting. She was born in northeastern Poland, formerly East Prussia. She emigrated to the US as a child with her family, settling in New Jersey. From 1985 to 2011, Irena lived in Europe, working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich, Kyiv and Prague, where her last position was that of director of the Ukrainian Service. Irena has worked for the Atlantic Council, spearheading the Council’s Ukraine Alert initiative and was a Fulbright Scholar in Ukraine from 2016-2017. During her Fulbright tenure, Irena recorded video interviews with former Ukrainian political prisoners and worked at two state universities training students in radio journalism, which resulted in the students launching radio stations that continue to broadcast to this day. Since 2016, she has worked as an editor at StopFake, a fact-checking website that debunks Russian disinformation and propaganda. Irena is a member of the national board of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America and the chair of the DC chapter. For the last five years, Irena has taught Ukrainian literature and is a member of several Ukrainian book clubs. Irena also volunteers at the Walter Reed Naval Hospital translating for Ukrainian soldiers who are currently undergoing treatment and prosthetic development at this facility.
Ksenya Kiebuzinski
Ksenya Kiebuzinski holds a PhD in literary studies from Brandeis University, as well as master’s degrees in information sciences and French and women’s studies. Her diverse background led her to serve as Head of the Petro Jacyk Central and East European Resource Centre and Slavic Resources Coordinator for the University of Toronto Libraries. She is co-director of the Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine at the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. She has held a variety of positions in academic libraries, archives, and museums. Her research interests include nineteenth-century French cultural history, Slavic studies, and the history of the book.
Olga Klymenko
Olga Klymenko holds an M.A. in History (Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University), M.A. in Central European History (Central European University) and an MSc in Research, Economic and Social History (University of Edinburgh). She currently holds a research position with the Holodomor Research & Education Consortium in Toronto, Canada.
Oles Kulchynsky
Oles Kulchynsky is a scholar, writer, translator from Turkish into Ukrainian, and a lecturer at the Department of Ukrainian Studies at Istanbul University. He holds a PhD in Turkish Studies (Istanbul University) and a PhD in Linguistics (A. Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS of Ukraine).
Anton Sestritsyn
Born in Crimea, Ukraine, Anton holds a Public Affairs and Policy Management degree from Carleton University. Fluent in three languages, with working knowledge of three others, his journalistic, NGO, and policy work on foreign affairs and human rights led him to advise international delegations at the UN and the U.S. Senate, as well as Canadian parliamentarians and party leaders. He has served as a senior consultant at Earnscliffe Strategy Group, and held senior executive and advisory positions with several leading Canadian firms.
Oksana Smerechuk
Oksana Smerechuk has a degree in Linguistics from the University of Sydney (Australia). She was a researcher and fixer for CBC News and BBC Newsnight in Moscow in the last years of the USSR, and co-hosted Hromadske Radio’s Ukraine Calling in Kyiv. Ms. Smerechuk spearheaded Ukrainian-English interpretation and translation for Canada at the head-of-state level. She was President of the International Women's Club of Belgrade, President of the Ambassadors' Spouses Club of Kyiv and contributed to the recent podcast and book edition of Ukrainian Public Radio’s Ukraine Calling.