English PEN awards translation prize to Belarusian prison memoir

February 1, BPN. English PEN awarded the PEN Translates prize to “Zekameron,” a collection of short stories by jailed Belarusian lawyer Maksim Znak translated into English by Jim Dingley.

“Books are selected for PEN Translates awards on the basis of outstanding literary quality, the strength of the publishing project, and their contribution to UK bibliodiversity,” English PEN said on its website on January 31.

The awards were launched in 2012 to motivate UK publishers to be more interested in books in other languages.

“Zekameron” is one of the 15 winning titles this season. It focuses on Belarusian prisoners, and its title is a play on words combining “zek,” a Russian slang word for “inmate,” and “The Decameron,” the title of a book by Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio.

Maksim Znak, born in 1981, is serving a 10 year sentence on charges believed to be politically motivated. He was a legal adviser to presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka’s campaign in the 2020 presidential election.