Draft:Award of Frantsishak Alyakhnovich

The Frantsishak Alyakhnovich Award was founded in 2013 by Belarusian PEN Centre in cooperation with Radio Freedom. On December 10th the International Human Rights Day, the award is given for the best book written in prison.

Award was founded in honor of the writer and playwright Frantsishak Alyakhnovich (1883—1944), who is author book of memoirs У капцюрох ГПУ (U kapciuroch HPU, In the claws of the GPU). The award goes (not annually) to authors for the best work in any genre in Belarusian and Russian, written in prison. Authors are free to submit published works or manuscripts.

The annual Day of Imprisoned Writers, an international day in support of writers and journalists who are persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression, will be celebrated by the International PEN Club on November 15.

Prize winners

 * 2013: Ihar Alinevich
 * 2014: Ales Bialiatski, Zmitser Dashkevich, Felix Peker, Paval Sieviaryniec, Alyaksandr Feduta, Iryna Khalip
 * 2017: Mikola Dziadok, Zmitser Drozd, Andrei Sannikov, Leanid Pyatrenka
 * 2018: Aliaksandr Lapshin, Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, Volha Mikalaychik
 * 2019: Siarhei Skrabets, Ales Pushkin
 * 2021: Andrej Aliaksandraŭ, Aliaksandr Vasilievič, Maxim Znak, Volha Kalatskaya, Sviatlana Kupreeva, Mikola Papeka, Andrej Skurko
 * 2023: Ales Bialiatski, Aleh Hruzdzilovichich, Volha Klaskouskaya, Mark Kalasok (pen name), Letapisets (pen name), Nikola Tesla (pen name)