"Mistress of the Autumn House" is a posthumous book by

.

Nastya Kudasava

with the book "Near" and Zmytser

with the book "Kill Upalminzag" - in forced emigration.

And

has been imprisoned by the Belarusian regime for two and a half years.

Having learned about the release of his "Zekameron" at liberty, the prison authorities threw the author into the torture chamber.

Here is your symbol, Belarusian literature.

Closed literature

Dozens of bookish people of Belarus remain behind bars.

Among them are Nobel Peace Prize laureate

...

Professional organizations of people of the word "Union of Belarusian Writers" and "Belarusian PEN Center" were liquidated.

The magazine "Verasen" and the weekly "Novy Chas" have been discontinued.

The non-state publishing houses "Goliath" (the bookstore attached to it was also closed at the same time), "Madisont" and "Knigazbor" were deprived of their licenses.

The publishing house "Limarius" is in the stage of liquidation.

When trying to open, the new bookstore "Bookstore" was crushed.

Its creator, publisher

, stopped his activities and left Belarus after almost a month of arrest.

The "Return" charity fund, which was the sponsor of several independent literary awards, is closed.

Its director

was arrested.

"Reader" of Azaronak and "extremist" books

State propagandist

took an active interest in Belarusian literature this year.

It could be seen more than once in Minsk bookstores, after which managers received instructions from higher authorities to remove from sale the works of authors disloyal to the authorities.

And as soon as the "reader" Azaronak visited the opening of the new Minsk bookstore "Knigavka", they removed the bookstore itself.

Books were taken from her for examination.

As a result, the Belarusian translation of "Ballads of a Little Tugboat" by Yosif

's historical monograph

"Agrarian Policy of the Nazis in Western Belarus" were recognized as "extremist".

Both were published by Andrei Yanushkevich's publishing house.

The third place was "Fatherland" by

, published in "Technologiya", exhibited in "Bookstore".

's "A Short Course in the History of Belarus" , his collection of articles "Belarus at the Crossroads", "Military History of Belarus"

, the novel

"Dogs of Europe" by Algerd

and

"Belarusian

" were recognized as "extremist" earlier this year .

national idea".

And this list began in 2017 with the books of

"The Defense of Partridges.

People's Memorial" and "Good Photography".

"We left, but our favorite books stayed at home"

Four new Belarusian publishing houses in one year - this is the result of the work of domestic paper book multipliers abroad.

"Gutenberg" in Krakow, "Knigavka" and "Polatsky Labyrinty" in Warsaw and Skaryna Press in London have already managed to declare themselves as the first editions.

There is no doubt that success awaits them.

Dozens of active readers expelled by the regime from their homeland come to the presentation of new books everywhere from Vilnius to London.

The first to understand the new situation with Belarusian books abroad was Bialystok's "Communicat".

Previously, its creator and manager, Yaroslav Ivanyuk, believed that the time of paper publications had passed, and was active in converting them into digital format.

As a result, "Communicat" became the largest Belarusian online library in the world.

But last year Ivanyuk dared to publish a new novel by

"Hey Ben Ginom" in the traditional format.

The book, with which the author and the publisher traveled through ten cities of Poland and Lithuania, was a great success.

I had to reprint the edition.

While waiting for new books, readers bombarded "Communication" with requests to republish the previous ones as well.

"We left, but our favorite books stayed at home," they explained their requests.

After all, you can't put a home library in a suitcase.

As a result, about a dozen reprints came out of the "Communikatu" workshop during the year, among them the bestsellers of

and

.

Thus, today, taking into account the previously established "Logvinov" in Vilnius, "Vyasny" in Prague, and "Communikatu", reoriented to Bialystok, seven Belarusian publishing houses are working abroad.

It is easier for a swallow to fly across the sea than for a Belarusian book to fly through cardboard

Foreign publications are inaccessible to people in Belarus.

As well as forced emigrants — Belarusians.

Something, like that swallow across the sea, still flew through the cardboard boxes.

But our numerous requests to readers on both sides of the border to join us in determining the best books of the year were rejected due to the lack of an opportunity to see the general panorama.

This panorama in Belarus itself, it must be admitted, has changed many times in comparison even with the previous year, not to mention five years ago.

Back then, dozens of poetry, prose, and documentary tomes and volumes were published, and we could ask our experts to name the five best books of the year in each genre.

And ten years ago, each of them named ten poetic, prose and nonfiction nominees.

Well, we have what we have: ten people (five here and there) have chosen one of the best books of the year in each category.

We do not mention the names of experts from Belarus for reasons of their security.

They are our regular readers.

However, in the literary process of all times and peoples, the Reader is the most important and weighty figure.

General list of named books

Poetry

• Tatyana Sapach.

  Mistress of the autumn house.

  "Spring", Prague. (2)

• Nast Kudasava.

  Nearby.

  "Timberov".(2)

• Antonina Khatenko.

  Verbnitsa.

  "Book Collection".(1)

• Olga Gapeeva.

  The Baby Paradox.

  "Goliaths".(1)

• Moishe Kulbak.

  All poems and poems.

  "Spring", Prague. (1)

• Maria Martysevich.

  Watershed.

  "Polatsky Labyrinths".(1)

• Danuta Bichel.

  The Gavia flows into the Neuman.

  "About Christ".(1)

• Anna Yankuta.

  Geology.

  "Colossus".(1)

Prose

• Maxim Sign.

  Zekameron.

  "Belarusian prison literature".

  Human rights center "Viasna".(3)

• Ina Snarskaya.

  Enchanted treasure.

  "Book Collection".(2)

• Stepan Stureyka.

  Passengers on the ship of Theseus.

  "Yanushkevich".(2)

• Oleg Dashkevich.

  From a bird's eye view."

  Zimberov". (1)

• Svetlana Avdzeichyk.

  Book of the Able 2: Descendants of the Agri.

  "Goliaths".(1)

• Sergei Rublevskii.

  Barlyosh on the leg.

  "Goliaths".(1)

Documentary

• Zmytser Bartosik.

  Kill Upalminzag.

  "Library of Freedom".(3)

• Vsevolad and Anatol Steburaki.

  Steburak's fate.

  "Book Collection".(2)

• Siarhei Lesket.

  Whisper.

  "Timberov".(2)

• Siarhei Ablameyka.

  Why Belarus is not Russia.

  "Library of Freedom".(1)

• Ales Bialiatski.

  Belarusian PEN and "Polatsky Labyrinths".(1)

• Tatyana Ostrovskaya.

  Culture and resistance.

  Intelligentsia, dissent and self-publishing in Soviet Belarus (1968–1988).

  "Viasna Human Rights Center". (1)

How we determined the rating

A total of twenty nominees have been named.

Some of the experts liked the same book.

The number in parentheses means how many times the publication was named.

The simple sum of this number determined the authors of the prize-winning books.

They became

and

in poetry with the same number of votes,

in prose and

in documentary .

How our experts voted

Natalya Rusetskaya, poet, literary critic

• Poetry: Tatyana Sapach.

  Mistress of the autumn house.

  "Spring", Prague.

• Prose: Ina Snarskaya.

  Enchanted treasure.

  "Book Collection".

• Documentary: Siarhei Ablameyka.

  Why Belarus is not Russia.

  "Library of Freedom".

Reader A.

• Poetry: Antonina Khatenko.

  Verbnitsa.

  "Book Collection".

• Prose: Oleg Dashkevich.

  From a bird's eye view.

  "Timberov".

• Documentary: Vsevolad and Anatol Steburaki.

  Steburak's fate.

  "Book Collection".

Zmytser Vishnev, writer, artist, book publisher

• Poetry: Olga Gapeeva.

  The Baby Paradox.

  "Goliaths".

• Prose: Siarhei Rublevskii.

  Barlyosh on the leg.

  "Goliaths".

• Documentary: Zmytser Bartosik.

  Kill Upalminzag.

  "Library of Freedom".

Reader V.

• Poetry: Moishe Kulbak.

  All poems and poems.

  "Spring", Prague.

• Prose: Stepan Stureyka.

  Passengers on the ship of Theseus.

  "Yanushkevich".

• Documentary: Zmytser Bartosik.

  Kill Upalminzag.

  "Library of Freedom".

Wanda Martins dos Reis, poet, translator

• Poetry: Nastya Kudasava.

  Nearby.

  "Timberov".

• Prose: Maxim Znak.

  Zekameron.

  "Belarusian prison literature".

  Human rights center "Viasna".

• Documentary: Zmytser Bartosik.

  Kill Upalminzag.

  "Library of Freedom".

Reader B.

• Poetry: Maria Martysevich.

  Watershed.

  "Polatsky Labyrinths".

• Prose: Stepan Stureyka.

  Passengers on the ship of Theseus.

  "Yanushkevich".

• Documentary: Siarhei Lesket.

  Whisper.

  "Timberov".

Ales Arkush, writer, book publisher

• Poetry: Nastya Kudasava.

  Nearby.

  "Timberov".

• Prose: Maxim Znak.

  Zekameron.

  Series "Belarusian Prison Literature".

  Human rights center "Viasna".

• Documentary: Tatyana Ostrovskaya.

  Culture and resistance.

  Intelligentsia, dissent and self-publishing in Soviet Belarus (1968–1988).

  "Viasna Human Rights Center".

Reader D.

• Poetry: Danuta Bichel.

  The Gavia flows into the Neuman.

  "About Christ".

• Prose: Maxim Znak.

  Zekameron.

  Series "Belarusian Prison Literature".

  Human rights center "Viasna".

• Documentary: Ales Bialiatski.

  "Belarusian PEN and "Polat Labyrinths".

Valentina Andreeva, book publisher

• Poetry: Anna Yankuta.

  Geology.

  "Colossus".

• Prose: Svetlana Avdzeichyk.

  Book of the Able 2: Descendants of the Agri.

  "Goliaths".

• Documentary: Siarhei Lesket.

  Whisper.

  "Timberov".

Reader H.

• Poetry: Tatyana Sapach.

  Mistress of the autumn house.

  "Spring".

  Prague.

• Prose: Ina Snarskaya.

  Enchanted treasure.

  "Book Collection".

• Documentary: Vsevolad and Anatol Steburaki.

  Steburak's fate.

  "Book Collection".

For sensitive topics,

write to us here.

SAFE