Peterson Literary Fund welcomes distinguished group of Honorary Patrons

TORONTO – The Peterson Literary Fund is pleased to announce its inaugural group of distinguished, international Honorary Patrons from Canada, the US, and Ukraine.

The Peterson Literary Fund Honorary Patrons are:

Hanna Hopko

– Ukrainian parliamentarian and global security expert. Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Ukraine’s Parliament (2014-2019). Chair of Democracy in Action: Zero Corruption Conference. International Advisor to the Warsaw Security Forum. Recipient of the National Democratic Institute’s Democracy Award. Named a Leading Global Thinker by Foreign Policy magazine.

Basil Kalymon

– Canadian economist and opinions contributor to the Kyiv Post, the Atlantic Council, and VoxUkraine. Expert in corporate finance, capital assessment and financial planning. Holds a Ph.D. from Yale University. Taught at various institutions, including the University of California at Los Angeles, Harvard Business School, Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the Kyiv Mohyla Business School MBA Program. Professor Emeritus, Ivey Business School, Western University.

Vakhtang Kipiani

– Ukrainian historian, journalist, editor-in-chief of the online edition of "Historical Truth". Founder of Ukraine’s Press Museum-Archive. Recipient of the Oleksander Krivenko Prize “For Progress in Journalism”, the Merited Journalist of Ukraine prize; inaugural winner of the Ukrainian PEN Club’s Georgiy Gongadze Award. Author of the recent book, The Case of Vasyl Stus. Teaches at the Ukrainian Catholic University MA Program in Journalism.

Alexander Motyl

– American historian, political scientist, writer, artist, poet. Holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. Taught at Columbia University, Lehigh University, Harvard University. Author of 12 books of fiction and nonfiction. Editor of over fifteen volumes. Senior Fellow, The Atlantic Council; International Advisor, Ph.D. Program in Media Studies, Kyiv Mohyla Academy; Program Director, Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers; Member, Ukrainian Studies Advisory Board, The Harriman Institute. Currently a professor of political science at Rutgers University.

Vitaly Portnikov

– Ukrainian journalist, author, political commentator. Graduate of Lomonosov MSU Faculty of Journalism. Considered one of the founders of modern Ukrainian journalism. Served on the supervisory board of the Ukrainian National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting. Winner of the "Golden Pen" Award of the Ukrainian Association of Journalists. Nominated as Ukraine’s Journalist of the Year. Currently the host of the tv program “Politclub” on Espresso TV. Editor and host of the program “Roads To Freedom”, produced by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Roman Waschuk

– Canadian diplomat, global affairs expert. Former Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine (2014-2019) and Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia (2011-2014). Holds an MA in history from the University of Toronto. His diplomatic service included postings at the Canadian missions in Moscow, Kyiv, and Berlin. Fluent in English, French, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, and Serbian. An opinions contributor to The Atlantic Council, Emerging Europe, iPolitics, among others. Serves on several NGOs and is Chair of the Ukrainian World Congress, Foreign Policy Council.

“We are honoured to welcome this esteemed group of individuals. They bring with them unique insight into the world of literature, because, as exceptional thought leaders, they understand the power of ideas,” said Lisa Shymko, Chair of the Peterson Literary Fund Awards Jury and Fund Chief Administrator.

The Peterson Literary Fund was established by Ukrainian Canadian philanthropist, Stanley Peterson, whose generosity, and far-sighted vision created a literary fund that strives to benefit both Ukrainian and international readers. The Peterson Literary Fund operates under the auspices of the Toronto-based BCU Foundation.

The Peterson Literary Fund seeks to promote a better understanding of issues related to Ukraine and Ukrainians for a broad audience and to recognize exceptional written works that are of interest to the global Ukrainian community.

The Peterson Literary Fund offers six distinct programs, including a cornerstone literary prize of $30,000, as well as a translated book award of $10,000, screenplay award of $10,000, and several targeted grants for established and emerging writers as well as translators, valued up to $10,000 per grant.

Information on the Peterson Literary Fund, its founder, its six prizes, awards and grants programs, submission guidelines, and Awards Jury are accessible through the fund’s website petersonliteraryfund.com  

For additional inquiries, contact: office@petersonliteraryfund.com