2024 - Myroslav Laiuk – Author Acceptance Speech, Peterson Literary Prize, short list
Бахмут [Bakhmut] Myroslav Laiuk – Author Ukraїner — Publisher During the most intense fighting for Bakhmut in the winter and in March 2023, the author spent days and nights with Ukrainian infantrymen and artillerymen, medics and chaplains, rescuers and children who remained in the city and its surroundings, where artillery shelling and street battles were a constant. It’s a story about the anti-aircraft gunner who has just shot down a Russian fighter jet, father and sons fighting side by side, and a member of Wagner who cherishes Nabokov. It’s a journey to places where dogs feast on the dead, where you are petrified by fear and desolation, but also stunned by courage, resilience, and even love.