Writer.
Jaroslavas Melnikas (b. 1959) is a writer well known not just in Lithuania but in a cultural broader context: he is a member of both the Lithuanian and the Ukrainian writers’ unions. Born in Western Ukraine, Melnikas, a prose writer, critic, and philosopher, graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Lviv University and later enrolled in the doctoral program of Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow. Melnikas’s career has also been diverse: he worked at Lutsk Teacher Training Institute, for the magazines Laima and Moteris, at the literary magazine Novyi Mir (New World) in Moscow, and for the French magazines ELLE and Les Alpes vagabondes. Melnikas is a prolific writer whose work has been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Azeri, Croatian, Esperanto, and other languages.
Mention should be made of his earlier work: Pati kilniausia kančia (The Noblest Suffering, criticism, 1981); Jauni, bet skirting (Young Yet Different, criticism, 1983); Dukh kak liubov’ k zhizni; Svoboda, ili grekh: opyt ontologii (Spirit as Love of Life; Freedom or Sin, 1996, in Russian); Les Parias d‘Eden (The Pariahs of Eden, a novel, 1997, published by one of the largest French publishers); Rojalio kambarys (The Grand Piano Room, short stories and novellas, 2004); Pasaulio pabaiga (The End of the World, short stories and novellas, 2006); Labai keistas namas: 88 romanai (A Very Strange House: 88 Novels, miniatures, 2008); Tolima erdvė (Distant Space, a novel, 2008); Kelias į rojų (The Road to Paradise, a surrealist novel, novellas, and short stories, 2010); Paryžiaus dienoraštis (The Paris Diary, essays, 2013, 2014); Maša, arba Postfašizmas (Masha, or Post-Fascism, a novel, 2013).
The writer has received a number of awards. In 1996, Melnikas was the laureate of the competition ‘The Best Short Story of the Year’; in 2004 he won the short prose competition of the ‘Imbiero vakarai’ (Ginger Soirees, prose readings to commemorate the writer Jurgis Kunčinas); his 2006 book Pasaulio pabaiga (The End of the World) was shortlisted among twelve most creative books of the year.
In 2007, Pasaulio pabaiga was shortlisted for the Book of the Year competition in the category of books for adults; in 2008, Melnikas was awarded the main, Jurgis Kunčinas prize of ‘Imbiero vakarai’ prose readings; in 2009, he was the recipient of first prize for the best short story of the year (. In the same year, the novel Tolima erdvė was shortlisted for the Book of the Year competition in the category of books for adults; in 2010, his Kelias į rojų found its way to the list of twelve most creative books of the year, while in 2011 it was nominated for the ‘Europe Book’ prize. In 2012, the book of prose Skambink man, kalbėk su manimi (Call Me, Talk to Me) was shortlisted among five best books of the year in Ukraine (BBC Book of the Year shortlist).
in 2013, the novel Tolima erdvė was voted the BBC Book of the Year in Ukraine; in 2014, the prose book Kodėl aš nepavargstu gyventi made it to the shortlist of five books of the BBC Book of the Year and in the same year the novel Maša, arba Postfašizmas was shortlisted for the Book of the Year competition in the category of books for adults.
His novel Distant Space, translated to French (Espace lointain, published by Agullo Editions, 2018) received a prestigious Libr’a Nous prize as the best book of the year (Livre de l'Année en France in the category Imaginaire).
Bibliography:
Pati kilniausia kančia: critics. – Maskva: Molodaja Gvardija, 1981.
Jauni, bet skirtingi: critics. – Maskva: Vitrila, 1983.
Дух как любовь к жизни; Свобода, или грех: опыт онтологии (in Russian). – Vilnius: Petro ofsetas, 1996.
Les Parias d‘Eden: novel. – Paryžius: Robert Laffont, 1997.
Rojalio kambarys: short stories and novellas. – Vilnius: Lietuvos rašytojų sąjungos leidykla, 2004.
Pasaulio pabaiga: short stories and novellas. – Vilnius: Lietuvos rašytojų sąjungos leidykla, 2006.
Labai keistas namas: 88 novels: miniatures. – Vilnius: Lietuvos rašytojų sąjungos leidykla, 2008.
Tolima erdvė: novel. – Vilnius: Lietuvos rašytojų sąjungos leidykla, 2008.
Kelias į rojų: surrealistic novel, novellas and short stories. – Vilnius: Baltos lankos, 2010.
Paryžiaus dienoraštis: (secrets of French soul): (2009–2012): optimism manual. – Vilnius: Alma littera, 2013, 2014.
Maša, arba Postfašizmas: novel. – Vilnius: Alma littera, 2013.
Moters laimės enciklopedija: stories, advices, tests and comments. – Vilnius: Alma littera, 2013, 2014.
Anoreksija: 22 short stories. – Vilnius: Alma littera, 2014.
Gyvenk be kompleksų. Moters laimės enciklopedija 2: true stories, advices, tests and comments. – Vilnius: Alma littera, 2014.
Awards:
1996 Laureate of the Best Short Story Contest.
2004 Imbiero vakarai award.
2006 Book Pasaulio pabaiga was included into the list of twelve most creative books of the year.
2007 Book Pasaulio pabaiga was nominated in the Book of the Year Campaign, Prose section.
2008 Jurgis Kunčinas award.
2009 1st award for the best short story of the year.
2009 Book Tolima erdvė was nominated in the Book of the Year Campaign, Prose section.
2010 Book Kelias į rojų was included into the list of twelve most creative books of the year.
2011 Book Kelias į rojų was nominated for Europe Book Prize.
2012 Book Skambink man, kalbėk su manimi was included into the list of five best books of the year in Ukraine (BBC Book of the Year shortlist).
2013 Book Tolima erdvė was awarded the BBC Book of the Year Award in Ukraine.
2014 Book Kodėl aš nepavargstu gyventi was included into the list of five best books of the year in Ukraine (BBC Book of the Year shortlist).
2014 Book Maša, arba Postfašizmas was nominated in the Book of the Year Campaign, Prose section
