Author Levan Berdzenishvili in EBRD Literature Prize longlist

Berdzenishvili was awarded for his 2017 nonfiction work 'Evolution of Literacy' with a SABA Award in Georgia, among other recognitions. Photo via liberali.ge.

Agenda.ge, 26 Feb 2020 - 19:50, Tbilisi,Georgia

Author Levan Berdzenishvili's historical fiction novel Sacred Darkness has been selected as one of 10 works in contention for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's Literature Prize.

The award-winning popular author's recent novel, in its translation by Brian James Baer and Ellen Vayner, is part of the longlist from which juries will select winners for a ceremony in London this spring.

The EBRD award honours both authors and their translators, promoting fiction from countries where the bank is in operation. The winning entry receives a €20,000 money prize for the group selected from finalists.

Revealed on Tuesday, the longlist sees Berdzenishvili and the two translators picked alongside such established names as Russian author Boris Akunin and Jewish writer Grigory Kanovich.