Kseniia Dvornikova’s Book Makes the BBC Book of the Year – Essays Longlist
The book “Surviving Hostomel: 21 Stories from a Hero City” by Kseniia Dvornikova, Head of Communications and Public Relations at the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, has been included in the Long List of the BBC Book of the Year 2026 literary award in the Essays category.
The other day, BBC News Ukraine announced the long lists of the award in three categories: “BBC Book of the Year,” “BBC Book of the Year — Essays,” and “BBC Children’s Book of the Year.” In total, they include 41 titles. In December, the jury will announce the winners in each category.
“Surviving Hostomel: 21 Stories from a Hero City” is the testimony of people who lived through the Russian occupation of Hostomel in February–March 2022. It brings together personal stories of the town’s residents about the experience of being tested by war and the struggle for survival.
The book was published in 2026; the first presentation took place in Hostomel, and later in the Czech Republic with the author’s participation, in cooperation between the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation and the Ukrainian Institute in Prague. Earlier, during the Lviv BookForum, a copy of the book was presented as a gift to former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The long list of the award in the “BBC Book of the Year” category also includes “Game of Numbers” by journalist and veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war Yevhen Shybalov. “Game of Numbers” is a first-person testimony — the recollections of a soldier able and willing to speak about the hard experience of war and captivity and to describe to society, from the inside, the enemy’s conveyor belt of death and suffering.
The jury of the award includes Vira Ageyeva, professor at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy; blogger Vitalii Chepynoha; Vitaly Chernetsky, professor at the University of Kansas; Svitlana Pyrkalo, adviser on culture at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); Marta Shokalo, editor-in-chief of BBC News Ukraine; Daria Taradai, planning editor of BBC News Ukraine (“Children’s Book of the Year”); and Viktoriia Prysedska, journalist at BBC News Ukraine (“BBC Book of the Year — Essays”).
Following the next stage of selection, the jury will form the short lists, and the names of the winners will be announced at the award’s final in December 2026.
