LIUDMILA ULÍTSKAYA, Formentor Prize 2022

The jury of the Formentor Prize for Letters 2022, trained by Elide Pittarello, Marta Rebón, Gustavo Guerrero, Enric Bou and Basilio Baltasar, has decided to award the prize to the writer Liudmila Ulitskaya.

The jury has awarded it for the way in which it accounts for human emotions, his sensitivity and delicacy with the stories he tells, and for the mastery with which he develops characters and dialogues. Likewise, have highlighted the role of the author as heir to the Russian literary tradition. They have also highlighted the updating that the author of this legacy has done with her prose.

The Formentor Award ceremony will take place in Gran Canaria in September.

The winner of the Formentor Award 2022

Descendant of Ukrainian Jews, Lyudmila Ulitskaya was born on 21 February 1943 in the Ural Mountains. Graduated in Biology from Moscow State University, worked as a scientist at the Institute of General Genetics. Although I had always felt a literary restlessness, writing was for her a private activity for many years.

After her time as a scientist, began a literary career at the Kamerni Theater in Moscow and as a screenwriter before perestroika, economic liberation from the USSR. Although he began writing novels in the years 80, it was not recognized and published until the dismantling of the Soviet Union.

He first achieved literary success in 1992 with the novella Soniechka, although internationally he triumphed in 1990 y 1991 with the movie scripts Liberty Sisters y a woman for all. Since then, She has been a prolific author: has published more than ten novels, and has written several collections of short fiction. His works have sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into several languages. His psychological prose has been compared to the works of Chekhov. Ulitskaya frequently focuses on female characters and the inequality between men and women, especially in the eastern traditions with weight in Russia. Some of his most notable works are Sincerely, yours, Shúrik y lies of women.

LIUDMILA ULÍTSKAYA, who has always been very critical of the government of Vladimir Putin, lives since March in Berlin. Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, Ulitskaya was one of the first voices to publicly oppose the war.

By Maite Vallejo Muñoz

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