SOURCE: THE BOOKSELLER

The Russian author Maria Stepanova has won the Berman Literature Prize for In Memory of Memory (Fitzcarraldo Editions).

Stepanova received the prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on Monday evening (23rd October). More than 300 invited guests attended, including Sweden’s minister for culture Parisa Liljestrand.

The prize is SEK 750,000 (£55,400) and also includes a work of art in paper in the form of several pop-up books by Rang Li i and Nina Ulmaja.  

The poet Ida Börjel gave a speech and the donors Catharina and Thomas Berman and the chairman of the jury Daniel Pedersen presented the award before Stepanova gave a speech.  

The prize jury said: “Maria Stepanova is being awarded the 2023 Berman Literature Prize for her genre-transcending family saga In Memory of Memory. With winding, finely honed prose she breathes life into pictures, objects, places and documents, in a portrayal of the transformative power of memory, both for individuals and for forgotten collectives.”