The International Independent Literary Award “Glagolitsa” opened its 10th season under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO. The competition aims to discover and encourage young authors as well as to preserve and develop the Russian and Tatar languages.
The “Glagolitsa” Award was established in 2013 by the Charitable Foundation Happy Stories (Tatarstan) as a bilingual children’s literary contest aimed to discover gifted children and youth aged 10 to 17. Over 8,500 kids from all over Russia, from Derbent and Naryan-Mar to Kaliningrad and Birobidzhan, have taken part in it since. The special nomination “Multilingua” attracted contestants from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and even the Island of Nauru.
The languages are Tatar and Russian. The nominations include Prose, Poetry, Essay, Artistic Translation from English to Russian, and Unconventional. The contest has two age categories: 10–13 and 14–17 years old. This allows for a differentiated approach to the evaluation of works where the main criteria are: adherence to genre standards, creative approach, a solid grasp of literary devices, writing proficiency, adherence to the norms of the Russian/Tatar language.
Every year, 100 finalists take part in a literary workshop where they refine their writing skills under the guidance of experienced authors from the jury: Andrey Usachev, Sergey Makhotin, Victor Lunin, Olga Varshaver, Nina Dashevskaya, and others. This year, the workshop will be held from November 16 to November 21 in Kazan at the Adult Education Center of the Multilingual Complex Adymnar, which is part of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network in Russia.
Since its establishment 10 years ago, Glagolitsa has grown into a prestigious children’s contest which helps many young authors achieve their dream — to be heard. Winners’ works are published in federal and regional publications, some are adapted into theatrical sketches.
This year, 33 young authors will join the ranks of winners from previous years. Their names will be announced on November 20 at the Salikh Saidashev Grand Concert Hall accompanied by the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Olga Burova,
the press office of the Charitable Foundation Happy Stories