Debut Prize


The Debut Prize — is an independent literary prize for young authors who write in Russian. It was established by Andrei Skoch with the support of the Generation International Foundation in 2000.
It was last held in 2015 and got cancelled in 2016.

History

The Debut Prize was first awarded in 2000, with financial support from Andrei Skoch.
In 2003, a special nomination for the Voice of a Generation was created.
During the first five years of the award, more than 170,000 manuscripts were submitted from Russia, many European countries, former members of the Soviet Bloc, the United States, Israel, Australia and Japan. In 2007, the Young Russian World prize was created for writers living outside the Russian Federation.
In 2012, the Debut Prize winners toured the eastern USA and participated in the Festival of Russian Arts in New York.
In 2018, a project to re-establish the award was put forward, but it did not receive government support.

Selection of the winners

The works had to be written in Russian and fit the nominations of the competition. There were a total of 5-7 of them, depending on the year. The permanent nominations included Large Prose, Small Prose and Poetry. It was allowed to participate in the contest regardless of the place of living, but there was a restriction on age. Initially, the author had to be no older than 25, but thanks to an innovation in 2011, the age limit was raised to 35.
Works could be nominated by the authors themselves, as well as by public organizations, mass media, and people involved with the literary process. Both published texts and manuscripts were accepted.
At the first stage, all works were submitted to expert readers. From the works selected by them, a long-list was drawn up and handed over to the jury. The composition of the jury changed completely every year. After reading the long-list, the jury formed a short-list of 3-4 works per nomination. One-week creative workshops were organized for the finalists. On the evening before the awards are announced, the jury holds a closed session to determine the winners in all categories.
The announcement of winners and presentation of awards takes place at a reception in December of each year.
All award-winning works were published in anthologies or separate books. The authors also had the opportunity to sign a publishing contract, receive cash prizes and a Bird-shaped statuette.

The prize

Winners in all categories receive a Bird award and a publishing contract with the Pokolenie Foundation worth one million rubles. Works of the winners and finalists of the Debut Prize are published annually in collections and individual books. The winners in all categories receive publication fees, and those on the shortlist are provided with 20 author copies.

Jury and chairmen

2000

2000

  • Large-prose. Sergei Sakin and Pavel Teterskii, for the story Big Ben .
  • Small prose. Danila Davydov, for a book of short stories Experiments cruelty.
  • Large-scale poetic form. Catherine Boyarskikh, for the poem Echo of Women.
  • Small poetic form. Cyril Reshetnikov, for a series of poems.
  • Drama. Vasily Sigarev, for the play Clay.

    2001

  • Large-prose. Sergei Shargunov, for the novel The Kid punished.
  • Small prose. Denis Osokin, for a series of short stories Angels and Revolution.
  • Poetry. Natalia Starodubtseva, for a series of poems.
  • Drama. Svetlana Savina, for the play The violin and a little nervous.
  • Humor in the literature. Anastasia Kopman, for a series of ironic miniatures.

    2002

  • Large-prose. Anatoly Ryasov, for his novel Three of hell.
  • Small prose. Dean Gatina, for a cycle of miniatures Hot Countries and Attraction.
  • Poetry. Paul Kolpakov, for a series of poems.
  • Drama. Sergei Kaluzhanov, for the play Sooner or later.
  • Literature for children. Anna Russ, for the selection of poems.

    2003

  • Large-prose. Vladimir Lorchenkov, for his novel Hora Shootout.
  • Small prose. Nicholas Epihin, for the selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Marianne Heiden, for a series of poems.
  • Drama. Ksenia Zhukova, for the play By accident.
  • Fantastic. Alexander Force, behind the story Army Gutentaka.

    2004

  • Large-prose. Alexander Grishchenko, for the story Backwards.
  • Small prose. Oleg Zobern, for the selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Anna Logvinova, for a cycle of poems In the bosom of the Soviet coat.
  • Drama. Zlata Demina, for the play God Loves.
  • Literary criticism and essays. Julia Idlis, for the selection of book reviews and essays.

    2005

  • Large-prose. Dmitry Faleev, for the novel "Cold beer on a sunny afternoon".
  • Small prose. Alexander Snegirev, for a selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Alla Gorbunova, for a selection of poems.
  • Drama. Alexander Gritsenko, for the play "Carriers".
  • The film story. Anastasia Cech, for the script "Otlichnitsa".
  • Journalism. Dmitry Biryukov, for a selection of articles.
  • The literature of spiritual search. Andrew Nitchenko, for a selection of poems.

    2006

  • Large-prose. Victor Tufts, for his story Diabetes.
  • Small prose. Daria Tagil, for a selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Marina Mursalova, for a selection of poems.
  • Drama. Nicholas Sredin, for the play The stars in the sand.
  • Literary criticism and essays. Valeria Pustovaya, for a collection of essays and reviews.
  • Literature for Children. Vadim Celine, for the story At home on the board! How to learn to ride a skateboard.

    2007

  • Large-prose. Stanislav Burkin, for the novel On the bank of the Tom Faun.
  • Small prose. Irina Glebova, for a selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Vladimir Kochnev, for a selection of poems.
  • Dramatic. Valery Pecheykin, for the play Falcons.
  • Fantastic. Olga Onoyko, for his novel Surgery.
  • Young Russian world. First Prize: Dmitry Vachedin, for his story The Rifleman azure sky; Second prize: Valery Pecheykin, for the play Falcons; Third Prize: Alexander Mortgage, for the play Travel.

    2008

  • Large-prose. Sergei Krasilnikov, for the novel Blood Bitch.
  • Small prose. Michael Coons, for a selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Andrei Egorov, for a selection of poems.
  • Drama. Yaroslav Pulinovich, for the play Natasha's Dream
  • Literary criticism and essays. Alexander Montlevich, for his essay Criminology Presence.
  • Screenplay. Daria Gratsevich, for the script Touchy.
  • Young Russian world: First Prize: Sergey Krasilnikov, for the novel Blood Bitch; Second Prize: Daniel Benditskiy, for a compilation of short stories, and the third prize: Oksana Barysheva, for the documentary On this and that side Ryskulov.

    2009

  • Large-prose. Gulla Hirachev, for her story Salam, Dalgat!.
  • Small prose. Pauline Klyukina, for a selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Ekaterina Sokolova, for a selection of poems.
  • Drama. Anne Buchanan, for his play Frontovichka.
  • Essays. Eugene Tabachnikov, for his essay ''Generation I.''

    2010

  • Large-prose. Olga Rimsha, for the novel Still Water.
  • Small prose. Anna Geraskina, for the story, I can not hear you.
  • Poetry. Alex Afonin, a poem from the book Water and Time.
  • Drama. Maria Zielinska, for the play Do you hear?
  • Essays. Tatiana Mazepina, for an essay A Journey to the side of paradise. In Egypt, on the ground.

    2011

  • Large-prose. Vladislav Beekeeper, for the story Mode.
  • Little Prose. Edward Lukoyanov, for a selection of stories.
  • Poetry. Andrew Bowman, for the book Tysyacheletnik.
  • Drama. Ekaterina Vasilyeva, for the play You were my, Love me greatly, One day we'll all be happy.
  • Essays. Marianne Ions, for the product Residents gardens.
  • Fantastic. Anna Leonidova, for the novel Before I die.