Updated at 13:45,15-04-2024

Victar Martsinovich: Science fiction prize looks fantastic

Euroradio

The writer learns the news from Euroradio and considers his European science fiction prize to be an advance prize for his novel Language.

The European Science Fiction Society awarded Belarusian magazine Kosmoport and writer Victar Marstiniovich, Euroradio reported earlier.

The writer was awarded for two of his novels – Paranoia and Sphagnum. Martsinovich was surprised at being considered a science-fiction writer:

Martsinovich: I think that people of the future have sent me such a message so that I knew that I have been noticed. You cannot call "Paranoia" or Martsinovich a pure science fiction.


Martsinovich thinks that the award is a way to present Belarus and our literature to the literary community. Belarusian writers are only noticed for social reasons abroad, he said.

Martsinovich: Paranoia will be out in Germany in a week. I am giving a lot of interviews and talking to German journalists in connection with it. I see that the only way to appear on frontpages for Belarusian writers in Western Europe is to be banned or something like that. Unfortunately, nobody cares about the quality of texts.


Martsinovich compares the Belarusian situation to the Latin American one. The West considered it a province for a long time until Latin American magic realism exploded. Belarus can also publish such explosive texts now, the writer thinks.

Martsinovich’s new novel Language will soon be out. It will be social fiction, the author said:

Martsinovich: The setting is in Minsk that is part of the north-west lands of China, a union state of Russia and China. People will be fightingf or words there. It is an action novel. People will shed blood for Dubouka, Tsyotka, Hienijuš, etc.