Hertfordshire Press Award is far more than a literary award ceremony. It is an annual gathering of authors, translators, artists, publishers, and friends of Hertfordshire Press, united by a shared passion for literature and international cultural dialogue.
This year’s celebration is especially meaningful as it marks the 25th anniversary of the international activities of Silk Road Media. For a quarter of a century, the publishing group has been discovering new voices, helping authors reach global audiences, and creating a space where literature becomes a universal language connecting cultures and people.
Guests will be immersed in the magical pre-Christmas atmosphere of Scotland, where historic streets glow with festive lights, the air is filled with the aromas of cinnamon and hot chocolate, and the spirit of wonder feels wonderfully real. We sincerely believe that no guest should leave without warm memories — and a special gift. As part of our long-standing tradition, thoughtful gifts from guests representing different countries are always warmly welcomed, reminding us that it is these heartfelt gestures that help build a truly international creative community.
Please, learn through our Terms and Conditions to nominate your book for the Prize.
Provisional Program
December 3: London
- Registration & Welcome meeting
- Speaker sessions
- Book presentations
- A Gala Evening Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Chingiz Aitmatov
December 4: Glasgow
- Morning session
- Train to Glasgow
- Informal event in Glasgow
- Transfer to Greenock
December 5: Greenock
- Excursion
- A Gala Dinner & The Award Ceremony
Nominations & Nominees
Book Prize
Bestseller of a Generation
◆ Война план покажет — Alexander Kazarnovsky
◆ Birds of Uzbekistan — Boris Nedosekov
◆ The Grammar Of Witchcraft — David William Parry
◆ FLASK OF CRYSTAL HOOKAH – I or Sacrament of Treasures of Emir Bukhara — Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova
◆ Akhriman – Lord of Darkness — Gulsifat Shakhidi
◆ Thirteen Steps Towards the Fate of Erika Klaus — Kazat Akmatov
◆ Igor Savitsky: Artist, collector, museum founder — Marinika Babanazarova
◆ The plight of a postmodern hunter — Mukhtar Shakhanov, Chingiz Aitmatov
◆ Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes — Robert Wight
◆ Friendly Steppes — Nick Rowan
◆ Abai, future of Kazakhstan and world civilization — Orazaly Sabden
◆ Does it Yurt? — Stephen M. Bland
Critics’ Choice: Book of a Generation
◆ Zinziver — Viktor Slipenchuk
◆ West Midlands HO! — Aldona Grupas
◆ A hundred years on the steppe: A Novel & a Collection of Stories — Bayangali Alimzhanov
◆ Bibi-Sana — Bibigul Imangazina
◆ Подражая Суфиям — Dildora Tulyaganova
◆ Raisa, What Hurts My Heart — Georgy Pryakhin
◆ Labyrinths of Loneliness — Gulsifat Shakhidi
◆ Cranes in spring — Tolibshohi Davlat
◆ Погон — Kazat Akmatov
◆ The tragedy of a Bastard — Saule Doszhan
◆ The Land Drenched in Tears — Söyüngül Chanisheff
◆ Repentance — Yermek Amanshayev
Best Children’s Book of a Generation
◆ A Pool of Stars — Olesya Petrova
◆ Aysu and the Magic Bag — Maide Akan
◆ Дневник Ёжика-путешественника, или Где живёт счастье? — Nadezhda Serebrennikova
◆ Elish and the wicker tales — Kamran Salayev
◆ Это зависит от меня: 7 способов изменить жизнь к лучшему — Megan Werner
◆ Fairy tales for children || Сказки для детей — Elena Makarova
◆ Elish and the Wicker Tale vol. 2 — Timur Akhmedjanov
◆ Leah and Aya the Sewing Doll — Nargisa Karasartova
◆ Leia the Little Mouse — Arina Chunaeva
◆ Menik the little mammoth — Evdokia Irintseeva-Ogdo
◆ Путешествие на Четырех лапах — Mikhail Kunitsky
Best Love Story of a Generation
◆ And a Butterfly Soared — Lusine Aleksanyan
◆ Cold shadows — Shahsanem Murray
◆ Камила — Rakhim Karimov
◆ Kashmir Song — Sharaf Rashidov
◆ Maestro and Muse — Sergey Barilo
◆ Turmoil — Dulat Isabekov
Best Epic of a Generation
◆ Narqyz — Nurpeis Baiganin
◆ Arhat — Kazat Akmatov
◆ KAGANAT. «Forty epistles since the beginning of time» (…Fragments of a Stone Book…) — Kanybek Imanaliev
◆ The Gods of the Middle World — Galina Dolgaya
◆ Finding the Holy Path — Shahsanem Murray
◆ Borte — Dulat Isabekov
Best Book’s Visuals-Art-Imagery of a Generation
◆ Звездная Лужица — Askar Umarov
◆ The Final — Daniel Akhmed
◆ The Goat That Wanted to Travel — Gareth Stamp
◆ Poetry in the paintings — Marina Shkrobova-Vernalis
◆ Cold Shadows — arts by Varvara Perekrest
◆ Wise tales for children and adults — arts by Veronika Zalesskaya
◆ Projective Graphics — arts by Yelena Bezrukova
◆ The Yarn Named Sun — Albina Petrova
◆ 24 Знака зодиака — arts by Nurlan Toksanov
◆ Leah and Aya the Sewing Doll — arts by Svetlana Nasyrbatova
◆ Elish and the wicker tale, vol. 1 — arts by Timur Akhmedjanov
◆ Selected Masterpieces from Savitsky Collection set of prints — selection by Marinika Babanazarova
Best Play of a Generation
◆ Kurmanjan – Queen of the mountains — Bubaisha Arstynbekova
◆ Bonaparte’s wedding — Dulat Isabekov
◆ A Feast in Place of War — Nadezhda Kolyshkina
◆ A Butterfly’s Song — Yermek Amanshayev
Best Book in a Native Language of a Generation
◆ Мамыры гүлдөгөн маалда — Begenas Sartov
◆ And longer life lasts — Gagik Aganjanyan
◆ Жүректегі иман гүлі — Gulzada Niyetkaliyeva
◆ Тағдыр — Kuanysh Zhienbai
◆ Почему мы так похожи? — Lara Prodan
◆ One Song Will Be Enough — Lenar Shaeh
◆ Современные Русские Сказки — Nelly Kopeikina
◆ Сундук безумного кукольника — Nina Yagolnitzer
◆ Сағыныш… — Saule Doszhan
◆ Өң мен түс — Shamshiya Zhubatova
◆ Көк Түрік-Көк Бөрі — Temirkhan Medetbek
◆ Blue river — Zinaida Longortova
Best Historical Book of a Generation поколения
◆ The guardsmen of Hippocrates — Vladimir Tulinov
◆ Under the Wolf’s nest. A Turkic Rhapsody / Көкжал белгісімен. Түркі рапсодиясы — Kairat Zakiryanov
◆ Short Stories from Azerbaijan — Agil Amrahov
Best Non-Fiction of a Generation
◆ Azerbaijan: bridge between East and West — Yury Sigov
◆ Cold War II: Cries in the Desert or how to counterbalance NATO’s propaganda from Ukraine to Central Asia — Charles Van Der Leeuw
◆ The Lines of Life — Antonina Schuster
◆ Гонки по вертикали — Yuri Bashmanov
◆ Keanu Reeves. Unfinished portrait. Part 1 — Arkadiy Novikov and Yevgeniya Sikhimbayeva
◆ Life Over Pain and Desperation — Marziya Zakiryanova
◆ Looking West: a Kazakh’s View of Great Britain — Kanat Auyesbay
◆ Wanted man: the story of Mukhtar Ablyazov: A Manual for Criminals on How to Avoid Punishment in the EU — Gary Cartwright
◆ Любовь ко всем, ненависть ни к кому! – смысл жизни мусульман-ахмади — Nurym Taybek
◆ Meet the ‘Stans — Christopher Jones
◆ Silk, Spices, Veils and Vodka — Felicity Timcke
◆ One song will be enough — Lenar Shaeh
◆ Socio-economic formations and associated markets || Социально-экономические формации и связанные рынки — Boris Guberman
◆ The Russian mentality as a fundamental factor in Russian management methods 2nd edition — Victor Kozlov
◆ The Silk Road: Revisited — Nick Rowan
◆ The art of mature love — Madina Demirbash
◆ The Earth is our common home — Bakhyt Rustemov
Best Poetry Book of a Generation
◆ Belarusian whales — Anastasia Kuzmicheva
◆ Colourful tears — Khosiyat Rustam
◆ Crane — Abu Sufyan
◆ Girl Dancing in the Sky — Sagyn Berkinalieva
◆ God and Love — Atantai Akbarov
◆ И Дай Мне Бог… — Alfred Yengalychev
◆ I Think We Should Just Live — Ekaterina Khlebnikova
◆ Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art 2026
◆ Layers Of The Heart — Ganjina Shamsullo
◆ My Homeland, Oh My Crimea — Lenifer Mambetova
◆ One of you — Lenar Shaeh
◆ The Wormwood Wind — Raushan Burkitbayeva-Nukenova
◆ Песни темного огня — Zhulduz Baizakova
Best Short Story of a Generation
◆ And longer life lasts — Ion Jani
◆ Hunting Dogs — Farkhat Tamendarov
◆ In the Loyal Eyes of a Friend — Andrey Grodzinskiy
◆ Правдивые истории — Nazym Saparova
◆ Is It Necessary to Worship at Notre Dame? — Alikhan Zhaksylyk
◆ The Confrontation — Dulat Issabekov
◆ Seraglio’55 — Georgy Pryakhin
◆ The City where Dreams come True — Gulsifat Shakhidi
◆ The best day of the year the day that dad returned — Maral Hydyrova
◆ Кому в Казахстане жить хорошо? Русская история повседневности. — Marina Golubovskaya
◆ Сборник малой прозы “НИТЬ”, том 6 — ECG (London)
Best Translation & Adaptation of a Generation
◆ Brännande sol, isande vind, levande stäpp — Bengt Samuelson
◆ Shadows of the rain — David William Parry
◆ The door to a fairy tale — David William Parry
◆ Menik the little mammoth — Evdokia Irintseeva-Ogdo
◆ Girl Dancing in the Sky — John Farndon
◆ Elish and the Wicker Tale, Volume 2 — Ksenia Moskalenko
◆ Славный Керкашка — Nargisa Karasartova
◆ Foremother Asia / Азия Хотун — Natalia Kharlampieva
◆ The Apple of My Eye (Abay Kunanbaev) — Roman Vassilenko
◆ Rhymes about Boys — Stephen M. Bland
◆ The Wormwood Wind — Vassiliy Lakhonin
Best Academic Book of a Generation
◆ A Poetic Treasury from Belarus: A Dedication to the Life and Work of Vera Rich — David William Parry
◆ The Conceptual Strategy for Humankind’s Survival in the XXI Century and Food Security — Orazaly Sabden
◆ Goethe and Abai — Herold Belger
◆ Phonetics and phonology problems — Fakhraddin Veysalli
◆ The Turkic Saga of Genghis Khan & the KZ factor — Kairat Zakiryanov
◆ Профессиональная компетентность артиста балета — Gulnara Kapanova
◆ Strategic Guidelines For Higher Education — Salima Kunanbayeva
◆ The Kazakh Model for a Research University — Tlektes Yespolov
Personal Prize
Tribute of a Generation
◆ Kazat Akmatov
◆ Sariya Mammadova
◆ Gerald Belger
◆ Dulat Isabekov
◆ Peter Berman
◆ Naziken Alpamyskizy
◆ Raim Farkhadi
◆ Mukhtar Shakhanov
Best Artist of a Generation
◆ Seid Atambayev
◆ Ekaterina Shkut
◆ Darya Zalesskaya
◆ Evgeniya Serebryakova
◆ Zhazira Janabaeva
◆ Katerina Kudryavtseva
◆ Polina Lakhtina
◆ Natalya Karpenko
◆ Oksana Zhukova Sky
◆ Egor Mytsyk
◆ Elena Shilova
◆ Vita Tocilovska
◆ Roza Red
Best Female Writer of a Generation
◆ Gulsifat Shakhidi
◆ Zinaida Longortova
◆ Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova
◆ Svetlana Yudina
◆ Farideh Heyat
◆ Zhanna Golubitskaya
◆ Shahsanem Murray
◆ Aldona Grupas
◆ Shahzoda Nazarova
◆ Adolina Gordon
◆ Elena Soboleva
◆ Anna Gharib
◆ Tatiana Linchik
Best Male Writer of a Generation
◆ Stephen M. Bland
◆ Erkin A’zam
◆ Zaur Hasanov
◆ Paul Wilson
◆ Begenas Sartov
Best Editor of a Generation
◆ Laura Hamilton
◆ David William Parry
◆ Stephen M. Bland
◆ Nick Rowan
◆ Jonathan Campion
◆ Gareth Stamp
◆ Francesca Mepham
◆ Anne Thompson-Ahmadova
◆ Daniel Akhmed
◆ Robin Thompson
◆ Ola Kitchen
◆ Tatiana Larina
Best Translator of a Generation
◆ Elden Sarybay
◆ Elena Bosler-Guseva
◆ Alexey Ulko
◆ Timur Akhmedjanov
◆ Caroline Walton
◆ Jonathan Campion
◆ Robin Thompson
◆ Anton Kovalenko
◆ Zina Karaeva
◆ Nrgisa Karasartova
◆ Dana Zheteeva
◆ Symon Holingworth
◆ Bengt Samuelson
◆ Rano Xavier
Best Poet of a Generation
◆ Sagynbubu Berkinalieva
◆ David William Parry
◆ Maria Muchinskaya
◆ Zhuldyz Baizakova
◆ Michael Ananov
◆ Atantai Akbarov
◆ Natalia Kharlampieva
◆ Polina Lakhtina
◆ Anna Martynchik
◆ Shahzoda Nazarova
◆ John Farndon
◆ Lenar Shaeh
◆ Nadja Roth
◆ Leyla Aliyeva
Ambassador Award
Ambassador of Eurasian Literature
◆ Timur Akhmedjanov
◆ Yermek Amanshayev
◆ Aldona Grupas
◆ Gulchekhra-begim Makhmudova
◆ Shahsanem Murray
◆ David William Parry
◆ Nick Rowan
◆ Gulsifat Shakhidi
◆ Victoria Levin
◆ Elena Bosler-Guseva
◆ Yelena Aslanyan
◆ John Farndon
◆ Nargisa Karasartova
◆ Bayangali Alimzhanov
◆ Bubuira Bektenova
◆ Elena Tkachuk
◆ Irina Gurkova
◆ Saltanat Khamzeyeva
◆ Anna Garib
◆ Lara (Larisa) Prodan
◆ Hamid Ismailov
◆ Viktor Slipenchuk
◆ Marsel Salimov
◆ Sultan Raev
◆ Georgy Pryakhin
◆ Gulsifat Shakhidi
◆ Alex Levin-Arles
◆ Rima Ulchina
Ambassador of Eurasian Poetry
◆ Michael Ananov
◆ Sergey Bely
◆ Raushan Burkitbayeva-Nukenova
◆ Polina Lakhtina
◆ Natalia Loskutova-Korshun
◆ Maria Muchinskaya
◆ Aiya Maxutova
◆ Arie BenZell
◆ Mikhail Kunitsky
◆ Lenifer Mambetova
◆ Marina Shkrobova-Vernalis
◆ Lenar Shaeh
◆ Tatiana Vasileva
◆ Elena Ananyeva
◆ Yulia Olishevskaya-Hatzenboller
◆ Anatoly Lobov
◆ Nurgul Osmonkulova
◆ Marina Podlesnaya
◆ Marina Vardanyan
◆ Irene Yavchunovsky
◆ Sagynbubu Berkinalieva
◆ Sharaf Rashidov
Ambassador of Eurasian Art
◆ Larisa Pak
◆ Aleksandra Rey
◆ Marinika Babanazarova
◆ Yelena Bezrukova
◆ Marina Shkrobova-Vernalis
◆ Michael Matveev
◆ Anastasia Kalinovskaya
◆ Mariya Priznyakova
◆ Lazzat Samrat
◆ Elena Shilova
◆ Yusuf Kryrbessov
◆ Shaizada Baitenova
Ambassador of Eurasian Education & Science
◆ Salima Kunanbayeva
◆ Tlektes Yespolov
◆ Elena Korneeva
◆ Fakhraddin Veysalli
◆ Faride Heyat
◆ Orazaly Sabden
◆ Marina Alyassova
◆ Kairat Zakiryanov
CATEGORIES OF PARTICIPATION
◆ OFFICIAL PARTICIPANT
£250 GBP for external participants
£190 GBP for Guild members (25% off)
This participation package includes:
◊ Up to 5 minutes to introduce yourself during the general participant presentations
◊ Printed Certificate of Participation
◊ Access to all public and industry events
◊ Mention in the festival’s official post-event promotional materials
◆ EXHIBITION (UP TO FIVE ARTWORKS)
£350 GBP for external members
£260 GBP for Guild members (25% off)
This participation package includes:
◊ Display space for up to 5 artworks (wall-mounted or on easels)
◊ Printed Certificate of Participation
◊ Access to all public and industry events
◊ Mention in the festival’s official post-event promotional materials
◊ Additional display spaces may be rented at £20 GBP per artwork
Please note: The Festival provides exhibition space only. All logistics, including shipping, customs clearance, installation, sales, insurance, dismantling, and return transportation of artworks, are the sole responsibility of the participant and must be arranged at their own expense.
◆ SPEAKER/PERSONAL PRESENTATION
£595 GBP for external participants
£446 pounds for Guild members (25% discount)
This participation package includes:
◊ 45-minute presentation of your projects, company, masterclass, or other professional activity
◊ Printed Certificate of Participation
◊ Access to all public and industry events
◊ Mention in the festival’s official post-event promotional materials
◆ ABSENTEE PARTICIPANT
£250 GBP for external participants
£190 GBP for Guild members (25% off)
This participation package includes:
◊ Up to 5 minutes for a pre-recorded welcome word video
◊ Electronic Certificate of Participation
◊ Access to all online festival events
◊ Mention in the festival’s official post-event promotional materials
◆ FILM SCREENING
£1,300 GBP for external participants
£975 GBP for Guild members (25% discount)
This participation package includes:
◊ Up to 90 minutes for the film screening, followed by up to 30 minutes for an introduction and audience discussion
◊ Printed Certificate of Participation
◊ Access to all public and industry events
◊ Mention in the festival’s official post-event promotional materials
◆ CORPORATE
£1,300 GBP for external participants
£975 GBP for Guild members (25% discount)
This participation package includes:
◊ A 45-minute presentation of your company, projects, masterclass, or other professional activity
◊ Printed Certificates of Participation for a delegation of up to five people
◊ Visa support or an official invitation (if required) for a delegation of up to five people
◊ The opportunity to rent an exhibition table for your products or promotional materials throughout the festival
◊ Access to all public and industry events
◊ Mention in the festival’s official post-event promotional materials
◆ PRESS
free after accreditation
◊ Access to all public and industry events
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