Women Looking at War

German literary award Hotlist recently announced its winners for 2025. The top spot by public vote went to Ukrainian author Tamara Duda, for her novel Daughter.

Organizers also reported that Duda won by the highest margin in the competition's history, earning 1,758 of 6,740 votes. Her novel was one among 30 titles shortlisted by the competition’s jury.

Duda was not the only Ukrainian author honored in the competition. Victoria Amelina’s novel Looking at Women Looking at War was also nominated, and came in 11th place.

Both novels follow the experiences of women during wartime, inspired by the lives of the authors affected by Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, including its ongoing full-scale invasion.

Daughter was originally published in 2019 and takes place in 2014. The novel follows the life of a young woman attempting to carve out her future, feeling her life suddenly interrupted after Russia’s initial invasion. The book is based on Duda's life experiences; she volunteered in the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone from 2014 to 2016.

Amelina’s book Looking at Women Looking at War is nonfiction. The events of the novel begin in 2022, before the full-scale invasion, and continue through it. Like Duda, Amelina writes of how the war affects her life, her family, and especially other women. She highlights the lives of a multitude of women involved in the war effort, including an activist, a soldier, and a librarian.

Amelina’s work was left tragically unfinished. In 2023, Amelina was in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk when it was struck by a Russian missile. She was injured in the blast and died a few days later. Her unfinished writings were assembled by an editorial group of those close to her and published in its fragmented form.