A Ukrainian writer now living in Connemara after she was forced to flee her own country has been shortlisted for a prestigious honour as part of the An Post Irish Book Awards.

Anna Hodovychenko who is living in Letterfrack is one of his of her compatriots shortlisted for the ‘New Voices: The An Post Writing Prize’ which, this year, focuses on the Irish based Ukrainian community.

This new writing competition was introduced for this year’s awards, inviting new and established writers from the Irish based Ukrainian community aged 16+ to compose a new and original short story, essay or poem in either English or Ukrainian describing their experiences of flight and exile in no more than 1,000 words.

Anna’s work, entitled 3465 days – or 3465 – was one of more than 100 entries received.

The shortlisted six will be invited to attend the An Post Irish Book Awards ceremony at the Convention Centre, Dublin on November 22 where the overall winner will be announced.

The winner will be presented with an official An Post Irish Book Awards trophy and a €500 voucher to use in creative writing courses at the Irish Writers Centre.

The five other shortlisted writers will each receive a €100 voucher for the Irish Writers Centre which can be used for a variety of writing courses.

“We are delighted this category was introduced to give new and established writers in the Ukrainian based Irish community an opportunity to share new and original work which gives us a very real and personal insight into their stories of flight and exile,” said Brendan Corbett, Chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards.

“This shortlist displays the sheer writing talent we have in this country and our incredible literary community which is constantly evolving and growing.”

Pictured: Anna Hodovychenko.