Ukrainian, Polish, English
Literature/Research/Discover Ukraine Online
Iya Kiva
Poet, essayist, translator
Based in Lviv, Ukraine
Kiva’s poems have been translated into more than 35 languages. Her poetry collections were published in Bulgaria, Poland, Sweden, Italy and the USA. She is a laureate of numerous Ukrainian and international awards for poetry and translation, including the Lesia and Peter Kovalev Foundation Award (Ukrainian Women's League of America) for her poetry book Laughter of an Extinguished Bonfire (2025), the Revista Timpul din România Moldova Award for «poetic resistance to war and the courage to speak about it» (2025), the Polish Ferdinand Ossendowski Award for translations of Polish poetry (2025), Metaphor Award for translators (2020) etc.
She is the author of three poetry collections, the latest titled Laughter of an Extinguished Bonfire («Сміх згаслої ватри», 2023), and a book of interviews with Belarusian authors, We’ll Wake Up Different: Conversations with Contemporary Belarusian Writers on Past, Present and Future of Belarus («Ми прокинемось іншими: розмови з сучасними білоруськими письменниками про минуле, теперішнє і майбутнє Білорусі», 2021), dedicated to protests in Belarus.
Awards and Honours
Shortlist, "Honor of the Profession" (Ukrainian journalism award), for "The Heart of This Land Rocks Metal and Beats," Reporters magazine — Ukraine, 2026
Ferdinand Ossendowski Prize, for translations of Polish poetry into Ukrainian — Poland, 2025
Ukrainian Literature in Translation Prize, Ukrainian Institute London, for "Frozen Sea" (transl. Amelia Glaser and Yuliya Ilchuk) — UK, 2025 (for 2024)
Lesia and Petro Kovalev Foundation Prize, Ukrainian Women's League of America, for Laughter of an Extinguished Bonfire — USA, 2025
Revista Timpul Prize, "for poetic resistance to the war and the courage to speak about it" — Moldova, 2025
Women In Arts Award: The Resistance, Shortlist (Literature), Ukrainian Institute / UN Women Ukraine — Ukraine, 2024
PEN Ukraine, Best Books List, for Laughter of an Extinguished Bonfire — Ukraine, 2024
"Book of the Year" All-Ukrainian Rating, Longlist (Fiction: Poetry and Aphorisms), for Laughter of an Extinguished Bonfire — Ukraine, 2024
PEN Ukraine, Best Books List, for We Will Wake Up Different — Ukraine, 2020
Metaphora Translation Award — Ukraine, 2020
LitAkcent Special Prize, for The First Page of Winter — Ukraine, 2019
PEN Ukraine, Best Books List, for The First Page of Winter — Ukraine, 2019
Nestor Chronicler Poetic Tournament, 2nd Edition, Winner — Ukraine, 2019
Haivoronnja Ukrainian Literature Competition — Ukraine, 2019
PEN Ukraine, Best Books List, for Farther from Heaven — Ukraine, 2018
Residencies, fellowships, seminars
Zahajkewycz Poetry Prize, Jury Member — Ukraine/USA, 2026
Vil·la Joana Barcelona Literary Residency, writer — Spain, July 2026
Literaturresidenz des Fem.Cultural Network an der Ostsee, tutor for beginners in writing — Germany, November–December 2025
Quiet Centre Art and Writers' Residence, poet — Kharkiv, Ukraine, November 2025
International Literature Exchange Program, Arts Council England with the UNESCO Cities of Literature Bucheon, Jakarta, Lviv, and Odesa (online) — September–November 2025
KROKODIL Residency for Writers, poet — Belgrade, Serbia, June 2025
Writer-in-Residence of the City of Graz, poet — Austria, March–April 2024
Casa de la Poesia "El Cactus", poet — Ostuni, Italy, November 2023
International Writing Program, poet — Iowa City, USA, August–November 2023
Bazhan Residency, TRANSLATORIUM festival, translator — Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine, July 2023
Translator House for Hungarian Literature Residency, Lipták House, poet — Balatonfüred, Hungary, April 2023
AIR – Artist-in-Residence Niederösterreich, poet — Krems, Austria, December 2022
Documenting Ukraine Fellowship (non-residential), Institute for Human Sciences — Austria, 2022
Writer's Support Program (non-residential), Dartmouth College — USA, 2022
Stiftung Genshagen, poet — Germany, August 2022
The Nest Residency, poet — Vytachiv, Kyiv region, Ukraine, February 2022
International Translation Seminar "Tłumacze bez granic" ("Translators Without Borders") — Wojnowice, Poland, Autumn 2021
Gaude Polonia Fellowship, Polish Ministry of Culture, poet & translator — Warsaw, Poland, May–October 2021
International Translation Seminar "Cities of Translators Digital", TOLEDO program (German Translation Foundation), supported by the German Federal Foreign Office (online) — Autumn 2020
"Level UP: Development of Young Artists", Dom4824 / House of Europe, reviewer of young poets' work — Ukraine, September 2020
Translations
Silence Dressed in Cyrillic Letters
Language: English
Translators: Amelia Glaser, Yuliya Ilchuk
Year: 2026
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Tidens nya alfabet
Language: Swedish
Translators: Mikael Nydahl, Diana Dobrodij
Year: 2024
Publisher: Ellerströms förlag
La guerra è sempre seduta su tutte le sedie
Language: Italian
Translators: Yuliia Chernyshova, Pina Piccolo
Year: 2024
Publisher: La Vita Felice
Czarne róże czasu
Language: Polish
Translator: Aneta Kamińska
Year: 2022
Publisher: Pogranicze
Свидетел на безименност
Language: Bulgarian
Translator: Denis Olegov
Year: 2022
Publisher: Знаци
International Events & Appearances
"La campana del cor" / "The Bell of the Heart" — poetry readings with Iya Kiva and her Catalan translators — Barcelona, Spain, 2026
"From the Other Side: Creation and Resistance" — panel with Kholoud Charaf (Syria/Austria) and Bissan Edwan (Palestine/Sweden), moderated by Núria Cadenes — Barcelona, Spain, 2026
University of Tübingen — reading and discussion with the Ukrainian poet — Germany, 2026
Poetry International Festival — Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2026
International Book Fair in Warsaw — Poland, 2025–2026
Uppsala International Literature Festival — Sweden, 2026
UkraineVision Festival — Stockholm, Sweden, 2026
Higher Seminar, Stockholm University — "Author Talk with Ukrainian Poet Iya Kiva" — Sweden, 2026
House of Writers and Translators, Stockholm — "Poetry Conversation: Iya Kiva and Artur Dron" — Sweden, 2026
European Poetry Biennale — Brașov, Romania, 2025
Festiwal Endemity — Poland, 2025
Timișoara International Literature Festival — Romania, 2025
IUFU Summer School — public talk with students — Budapest, Hungary, 2025
KROKODIL Literature Festival — Belgrade, Serbia, 2025
Stuttgart Literature Festival — Germany, 2025
Poznań Poetry Festival — Poland, 2025
Littfest (Umeå International Literature Festival) — Sweden, 2025
Frankfurt Book Fair — Germany, 2024
Bibliography
Poetry collections
Farther from Heaven (2018)
The First Page of Winter (2019)
Laughter of an Extinguished Bonfire (2023)
Journalism
We will wake up different: conversations with contemporary Belarus authors about the past, the present, and the future of Belarus (2021)
Essays
What will give us strength? Essays of Ukrainian intellectuals on the focus of the Ukrainian PEN 2019/2020 (2021)
This is war – Ukrainian writers on how to survive a catastrophe (2024)
Translations
Children's literature
Jamie Korngold. Sadie's Snowy Tu B'Shevat /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2026. — 32 p. (PJ Library)
Sylvia A. Rouss, Shannan Rouss. Watermelon in the Sukkah. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2026. — 24 p. (PJ Library)
Salina Yoon. Found. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2025. — 40 p. (PJ Library)
Erica Lyons. Zhen Yu and the Snake. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2025. — 24 p. (PJ Library)
Michelle Edwards. Hat for Mrs. Goldman. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2025. — 40 p. (PJ Library)
A time to hope: a PJ Library family guide from Hanukkah through Purim. /Translated from English by Iya Kiva and Yulia Sheket. – Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2024. – 84 p.
Linda Glaser. Way too many latkes. A Hanukkah in Chelm/ /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2023. — 32 p. (PJ Library)
In every generation: A PJ Library family Haggadah. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva and E. Kanishcheva. — PJ Library, 2023. — 84 с.
Pamela Moritz. The Great Passover escape. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2023. —32 p.
Tuvia Dikman Oro But Perhaps, Just Maybe... /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2022. — 28 p.
Chris Naylor-Ballesteros. The Suitcase. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2022. — 32 p.
Elizabeth Suneby and Laurel Molk. No room for a pup! /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — PJ Library, 2022. — 32 p.
Rita Golden Gelman. Queen Esther saves her people. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — PJ Library, 2021. — 32 p.
Yael Molchadsky. The peddler and the baker. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — PJ Library, 2021. — 32 p.
Pamela Mayer. Don't sneeze at the wedding. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — PJ Library, 2020. — 32 p.
Eric A. Kimmel. Gershon's monster. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — PJ Library, 2020. — 32 p.
Gloria Koster. Little Ruthie: A Hanukkah tale. /Trans. from English by Iya Kiva. — PJ Library, 2019.— 32 p.
Poetry
Veniamin Blazhenny. The light of wandering and separation. — Kyiv: Dukh i Litera Publishing house, 2021. — 160 p. (co-translator; translations into Ukrainian)
Fiction
Maria Galina. Autochthonous. /Trans. from Russian. — Kharkiv: Folio publishing house, 2016. — 352 p
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