Emerging Literature: New Voices from Odesa
Julia Butenko from Odesa is among eight authors participating in the LITUSA competition on Instagram, where they aim to complete their novel online within a year. The grand prize is the publication of the work.
All stages of the contest can be followed on the project's Instagram page.
A practicing lawyer, she is working on a novel centered around family dynamics and self-discovery. This is a tale of Astrid, who ran away from herself and returned to her native Odesa,” the press release states.
Other contestants include writers Iryna Yashchuk, Myroslava Kuntner, Marina Mozgova, Marianna Ravlo, Anna Bondarenko, Kateryna Naumka, and Iryna Pakosh, all exploring various genres from historical fiction to detective stories and non-fiction.
The authors create their texts in real-time – weekly open coworking sessions allow anyone to join. Each week, participants report on their writing progress.
Readers become part of the process: they vote, comment, choose names for the characters, and support or critique their favorite authors.
The project's page highlights all creative phases: inspiration, procrastination, battling the inner critic, writer's block, unexpected insights at two in the morning, and interesting tidbits shared by the contest organizers.
