On August 27, the Central Library named after Ivan Franko hosted the awards ceremony for the winners of the IV municipal literary contest dedicated to the memory of Ivan Franko. 

This event was an important part of the celebration of the birthday of the esteemed Ukrainian writer, philosopher, and public figure Ivan Franko.

In 2024, the contest, which attracted participants from various regions of Ukraine, is held for the fourth time.

This year's laureates include:
in the category of “Journalism”:

- Viacheslav Kushnir (Odesa, “Pages of Newspapers and Facebook”); 

- Eduard Amchislavsky (New York, “Actors, Cinema, Odesa…”);

in the category of “Prose”:

- Volodymyr Shevchenko-Vasylenko (Kremenchuk, “The Boat Drifts in the Abundance of Grief”);
- Iryna Feofanova (Irpin, “Stranger, Native”);

in the category of “Poetry”:
- Oksana Lozova (Lviv, “Time Does Not Pass”), who, together with her son Vasyl Lozovyi, currently defending Ukraine, wrote the collection “We Are!”;

- Yuriy Ostrovershenko (Vradievka, Mykolaiv region, poetry collection “Whip”);

in the category of “Promotion of Ivan Franko’s Creativity”:
- Denys Rudyi (Odesa, second prize, script for the literary-musical concert “Withered Leaves”), 
- Olesya Franco (Kalush, first prize, local history tour “Franko’s City”).

A special recognition was awarded to Vasyl Dobriansky, a member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, known for his historical novels.

The director of the Centralized Library System, Natalia Klykova, received a certificate of honor from the Odesa District Council.

At the conclusion of the event, students and teachers from the Odesa Art School No. 1 named after Hilels performed, along with award-winning writer Svitlana Lukina. 

On the birthday of Ivan Franko, library staff and fans of the writer’s work laid flowers at his monument. 

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This literary contest was established in 2021 to mark the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence and the 165th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Franko.