Ethiopia’s distinguished literary figure Abere Adamu has been named among the ten finalists for the prestigious 2025 BRICS Literature Award. The shortlist was officially announced at a press conference held at the H.B. Jassin Literary Documentation Center in Jakarta, bringing together authors and cultural representatives from across the BRICS nations.
The BRICS Literature Award, inaugurated in 2024 during the Traditional Values Forum in Moscow, celebrates contemporary authors whose works embody the cultural and spiritual heritage of the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—while also including nominees from partner nations. The prize promotes literary exchange, translation, and publishing collaboration across member states’ languages, fostering deeper cultural understanding.
Abere Adamu, who also serves as President of the Ethiopian Writers’ Association, expressed that the award represents a significant advancement for Ethiopia’s global literary presence. She highlighted that the initiative is invaluable in nurturing humanitarian and cultural ties among BRICS members through enhanced cultural exchange.
“The award honors authors reflecting the traditions, histories, and lived experiences of our peoples,” said Abere Adamu. “It not only promotes the preservation of vast cultural diversity within BRICS but also underscores our shared values of mutual respect and solidarity.”
Abere emphasized the challenges Ethiopian authors face in gaining international recognition, especially those writing in local languages such as Amharic, Oromo, and Tigrinya. She noted that a key expectation from the BRICS collaboration is the promotion of translation initiatives to bridge this gap.
“Translations open vast new readerships in Russia, India, China, and Brazil,” she explained. “This not only broadens market access for Ethiopian literature but also creates income opportunities and fosters literary collaborations across borders.”
The other finalists hail from a range of BRICS and partner nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Indonesia, and Egypt, representing the diverse literary richness across these regions.
Vadim Teryokhin, Co-Chairman of the BRICS Literature Network and a prominent Russian poet, noted that the award offers contemporary writers a platform to explore each other’s work, enhance their own literary practices, and share the unique cultural narratives of their peoples with a global readership.
The final winner is to be announced on November 27, 2025, in Khabarovsk, Russia, where celebrations will mark the culmination of this emblematic effort to strengthen cultural cooperation and foster people’s diplomacy through literature.
