The Society of Writers of Macedonia (DPM) has announced the names and works of the winners of the annual awards for prose, poetry, criticism and essay, and literature for children and youth for 2022, which will be presented on February 13 at the DPM.

The novel "Navel of Light" by Venko Andonovski is the winner of the "Stale Popov" award for the best prose achievement for 2022. The recognition has traditionally been awarded by the Society of Macedonian Writers since 1975. At the competition for the "Stale Popov" award in DPM, eighteen works by the same number of authors arrived.

Their quality was assessed by the committee consisting of: Milovan Stefanovski (member), Vesna Damchevska Ilievska (member) and Alexandra Jurukovska (president). After several meetings, the committee unanimously decided to award the "Stale Popov" prize for the best prose book for 2022 to the novel "Navel of Light" by Venko Andonovski.

According to the rationale, it is a layered, complex work, which reveals several worlds and a multitude of strong messages to the reader.

- Andonovski very consciously, precisely and lucidly plays with time and space, with temporal discontinuity, but also with one of the eternal human obsessions - immortality. The three main stories take place in three periods, with (un)random synchronicities between them and through several key themes: fidelity, eternity, other people's sin and one's own sinlessness - the commission's explanation states.

This is the third "Stale Popov" award of DPM for Venko Andonovski, who received the recognition for the best prose achievement for the novel "The Navel of the World" in 2000 and for the novel "The Mathematician's Daughter" in 2013.

The committee selected for awarding the annual "Atso Shopov" prize of DPM for the best poetry collection in 2022, consisting of Zoran Anchevski (chairman), Merciha Ismajloska and Slave Gjorgjo Dimoski (members), reviewed the books from this year's poetry production that arrived at the competition and after a longer and reasoned discussion, the Commission reduced its choice to three poetry collections, listed in alphabetical order according to the surnames of the authors: "The Beautiful Women" by Zoran Pejkovski; "Caduceus and Lyre" by Susanna W. Spasovska; and "Gilded Crucifixion" by Ivica Celiković.

The members of the Commission gave preference to the book "Beautiful Women" by Zoran Pejkovski. Although certain weaknesses have been identified in it, it is pointed out that the book as a whole offers a roundness with a clear thematic preoccupation and idea, focused on beauty as a universal human dimension and that it abounds with impressive poetic images moved into the spheres of love, eroticism, and sensuality. By awarding the "Aco Shopov" award for 2022, DPM joins the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Macedonian poet Aco Shopov.

The book "Literary Binoculars" by Sonia Stojmenska-Elzeser is the new holder of the "Dimitar Mitrev" award for 2022. It is a book review or essay award. The commission consists of: Dr. Marina Mijakovska, prof. Dr. Lidija Kapushevska-Drakulevska and Gligor Stojkovski, reviewed in detail all the books received and at the last meeting unanimously decided that the "Dimitar Mitrev" prize should be awarded to the work of Sonja Stojmenska-Elzeser.

It is an essay work, in which the comparatist consideration of literary phenomena opens up new vistas and challenges in Macedonian literary science. The style is clear and fluid, and the theoretical implications and citations of the works used by the author do not make reading the essays difficult at all.

The commission for the "Vancho Nikoleski" prize of DPM, which is awarded for a book for children and young people, unanimously decided that the prize for 2022 will be awarded to the book of poetry "A miraculous gift in an annual calendar" by the author Eli Makazlieva.

The commission composed of: prof. Dr. Kristina Nikolovska, Kuzman Kuzmanovski and Alexandra Velinova reviewed in detail all the books received and at the last meeting they unanimously decided that the work of the author Eli Makazlieva is distinguished by high quality and built structure, a set idea that grows into an excellent content-expressive and graphic realization . The work encourages with creation, originality, innovation, "breathes" with modern poetics and contemporary expression, current topics, but also eternal, universal messages.

The traditional presentation of the awards for the best achievements will be held on February 13 - the Day of the Society of Writers of Macedonia, at 11 a.m., in the premises of the DPM. President Hristo Petreski will speak about the 76th anniversary of the Society of Writers of Macedonia, and the newly elected honorary members of DPM from abroad will be announced at the ceremony: Zlatko Kramarić from Croatia, Alla Sheshken from Russia and Ana Bagrjana from Ukraine.

(The text was published in "Cultural Press" number 166, in the print edition of the newspaper "Free Press" on February 11-12, 2023)