Skopje, 11 March 2025 (MIA) — The publishing company Ars Lamina has established an award and launched a contest for an unpublished novel for young readers, naming it after the late Macedonian writer Olivera Nikolova, best known for her children's book "Zoki Poki." The award will be given every March 11, Nikolova's birthday, and this year's contest closes on June 11.

According to organizers in a press release, the contest is open to authors aged 18 and over. They should submit their novel manuscripts, written for young readers in Macedonian, typed in Cyrillic script and between 32 and 80 pages long, to konkurs@arslamina.com in Word or pdf format.

The prize consists of Mden 60,000 (EUR 975), with the publisher buying the publication rights to the book. The novel will be published under a special Ars Lamina imprint, and the winner will also get a statuette, organizers said.

At the press conference held to launch the award, Ars Lamina head of publishing Branka Bugariska highlighted the contribution of Olivera Nikolova (1936-2024) to Macedonian literature, and especially to children's literature.

"Her works brought authenticity, emotional depth and compassion, inspiring generations of readers," Bugariska said.

This year's Olivera Nikolova Award recipient will be announced in September. The panel of judges for the 2025 award consists of writer and Ars Lamina editor Olivera Kjorveziroska, contemporary Macedonian literature professor Vesna Mojsova-Chepishevska and writer Jagoda Mihajlovska-Georgieva.

"I hope that by establishing this award for an unpublished novel for children and young people that bears her name we will at least give a little in return to Olivera Nikolova for all she has done for us and for contemporary Macedonian literature," Kjorveziroska told the press conference.

According to Mojsova-Chepishevska, the award should encourage childen's authors to write better books. “I will be happy to see, ten years from now, shelves not only overflowing with the latest books for children and young adults but also full of good books that keep the attention of 21st century children,” she said.

Mihajlovska-Georgieva said her grandchildren complained that works by Macedonian children's authors were not as interesting as foreign children's books. “What are young readers looking for? They are looking for books close to their way of communication and entertainment, close to their interests. Books that are exciting, richly imaginative, funny, stimulating, and not with a condescending tone," she said, adding that writing for children was both difficult and delightful. mr/