Longlists Announced for the 19th Season of the Enlightener Book Awards

  • 25 Jun 2026

  • Today, 25 June, the longlists for the Dmitry Zimin Enlightener Prize and the Enlightener. Translation Prize were announced. This year, 56 books will compete for the title of the season's best popular science books.

    The selection spans an extraordinary range of subjects: Minecraft and Russian architecture, artificial intelligence and mythical creatures, Central Asia and "nameless" Japan, Enlightenment-era rebels and the intellectuals of medieval Rus', as well as cats, self-medicating animals and walking pterosaurs. In addition, the jury will evaluate six biographical works in a separate Biography special category of the Enlightener Prize.

    The longlist of the 19th Enlightener Prize includes:

    • Georgy Vasilyev. Verkhum. — CORPUS, Moscow, 2026.
    • Alexander Vetushinsky. The Construction Project of the Century: A Philosophical Interpretation of Minecraft, the Defining Game of Our Time. — Individuum, Moscow, 2026.
    • Nikolai Vlasov. The Germans after the War: How West Germany Overcame Nazism. — Alpina Non-Fiction, 2025.
    • Kamil Gimaztdinov. Representing Central Asia: Optics, Identity and the Aesthetics of Contemporary Regional Cinema. — Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2025.
    • Ivan Davydov. People and Cities: A Guide to Medieval Russia. — Individuum, Moscow, 2025.
    • Igor Danilevsky. The Intellectuals of Ancient Rus': The Birth of the Temptation of Russian Messianism. — New Literary Observer, Moscow, 2025.
    • Denis "NESIBIRYAK" Dersuyev. Museum Without a Guide, or the Mysteries of the Ust-Ilimsk Traps. — Your Print Publishing House, Saratov, 2025.
    • Armen Zakharyan. Letters from Dark People. — Babel Bookshop Publishing, Tel Aviv, 2026.
    • Andrey Zhuravlev. Life, Part II: Walking Pterosaurs, Quadcopter Dinosaurs and Reverse Birds. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2026.
    • Evgeny Koblik. At the Headwaters of the "Russian Amazon": Chronicles of an Ornithological Expedition. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2025.
    • Boris Kolonitsky et al. The Name of Discord: The Political Uses of the Concept of "Civil War" (1917–1918). Collective monograph. — New Literary Observer, Moscow, 2025.
    • Pyotr Lidsky. Ageing: Why Does Evolution Kill? — Piter, St. Petersburg, 2026.
    • Mark Lipovetsky. The Soviet Trickster: The Cultural Legacy of Cynicism. — New Literary Observer, Moscow, 2026.
    • Lev Masiel Sánchez. Domes, Palaces, Houses of Culture: The History and Meanings of Russian Architecture. — Individuum, Moscow, 2024.
    • Alexander Meshcheryakov. Nameless Japan: Demographic, Historical and Human Dimensions. — Linguistics Publishing, Moscow, 2023.
    • Denis Novikov. Tree Rings and Pollen: Human History Through the Eyes of Plants. — Piter, St. Petersburg, 2026.
    • Alexander Osadchiev. The Unknown Ocean: How Tides Work, Storms Are Born and Invisible Creatures Live in the Ocean Depths. — Bombora, Moscow, 2025.
    • Kirill Ospovat. The Pugachev Rebellion: The Political Semiotics of Revolt in the Age of Enlightenment (An Essay in Democratic Historiography). — OGI, Moscow, 2026.
    • Vladimir Payevsky. The Lives of Songbirds: Essays on Ecology, Reproduction, Philopatry and Demography. — Fiton XXI, Moscow, 2025.
    • Natalya Reznik. Humans Among Cats: A History of Close Coexistence. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2026.
    • Yegor Sennikov. Diverging Paths: Essays on Twentieth-Century Russia and Those Who Left and Those Who Stayed. — Individuum, Moscow, 2026.
    • Vladimir Surdin. Space Without Myths: From UFOs to Astrology — How Scientists Test and Debunk Cosmic Sensations. — Bombora, Moscow, 2026.
    • Ilya Udalov. My Uncle Is a Banana: The Secrets of Evolution Revealed by Genes. — Piter, St. Petersburg, 2026.
    • Dmitry Khaustov. Dark Theories: Philosophy After Postmodernism. — Lyod Publishing, Moscow, 2026.
    • Sergey Khodnev. Heretics: How Religious Schisms Created the World We Live In. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2026.

     

    The longlist for the Biography Special Category includes six titles:

    • Alexander Arkhangelsky. Pushkin: A Book About Everything. — Vidim Books, Bratislava, AST, Elena Shubina Editorial, Moscow (published in Russia under the title In Short: Pushkin!), 2025.
    • Natalia Gromova. Yevgeny Shvarts: The Fate of a Storyteller in the Age of the Dragon. — ISIA Media Verlag, Leipzig; Ivan Limbakh Publishing House, St. Petersburg, 2026.
    • Lev Danilkin. Madama Palace: The Imaginary Museum of Irina Antonova. — Alpina Non-Fiction, 2025.
    • Oleg Kovalov. Muratova: Kira Georgievna's Recipes for Harmony. — Seans, St. Petersburg, 2025.
    • Gleb Morev. Joseph Brodsky: The Soviet Years. A Literary Biography. — New Literary Observer, Moscow, 2026.
    • Alexandra Pakhomova. The Uninvited Stranger: Mikhail Kuzmin. From the Silver Age to Unofficial Culture. — New Literary Observer, Moscow, 2025.

     

    The longlist of the 7th Enlightener. Translation Prize includes the following books:

    • Wolfram Eilenberger. The Spirit of Hope: Philosophy, the Last Idealists, and the Birth of the New Enlightenment, 1948–1984. Translated from German by Natalia Chepeleva; edited by Maria Syutkina. — Ad Marginem Press, Moscow, 2026.
    • Shadi Bartsch. Plato Goes to China. Translated from English by Maxim Leonovich; scientific editor Alexey Maslov; managing editor Alina Klimkina. — Lyod Publishing, Moscow, 2025.
    • David Bellos & Alexandre Montagu. Who Owns This Sentence? A History of Copyrights and Wrongs. Translated from English by Vladimir Terentyev; scientific editor Christopher Kosmidis; editors Elizaveta Solodovnikova and Maryana Terekhova. — KoLibri / AZBUKA Publishers, Moscow, 2025.
    • Burkhard Bilger. Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience and Family Secrets. Translated from English by Maxim Sher; edited by Oleg Yegorov. — Individuum, Moscow, 2025.
    • Bergsveinn Birgisson. The Black Viking. Translated from Norwegian by Ekaterina Lavrinaitis; scientific editor Alexander Khlevov; literary editor Olga Markelova. — Gorodets Publishing House, Moscow, 2025.
    • Kevin Birmingham. The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses. Translated from English by Alexandra Glebovskaya; scientific editor Sergey Divakov; editor Olga Nizhelskaya. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2026.
    • Paul W. Werth. 1837: Russia's Quiet Revolution. Translated from English by Sergey Karpov. — New Literary Observer, Moscow, 2025.
    • Roger Crowley. Spice: The Sixteenth-Century Contest That Shaped the Modern World. Translated from English by Olga Korchevskaya; edited by Olga Nizhelskaya. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2026.
    • Kenneth Catania. Great Adaptations: Star-Nosed Moles, Electric Eels, and Other Tales of Evolution's Mysteries Solved. Translated from English by Anastasia Kovalenko; scientific editor Ivan Starikov; editors Anna Yefimova and Ekaterina Lebedeva. — Sindbad, Moscow, 2025.
    • Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre. Freedom at Midnight. Translated from English by Olga Grinkrug; scientific editor Ilya Spektor; editor Nikita Sokolov. — CORPUS, Moscow, 2026.
    • Zoltán Magyar. Hungarian Bestiary: The Most Mysterious Fantastic Creatures of Europe. Translated from Hungarian by Yuri Gusev; edited by Maria Nikolaeva. — KoLibri / AZBUKA Publishers, Moscow, 2026.
    • Ben Orlin. Math with Bad Drawings. Translated from English by Maria Yeliferova; scientific editor Konstantin Knop; editor Pyotr Favorov. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2025.
    • Michel Pastoureau. Bestiaries of the Middle Ages. Translated from French by Denis Golovanenko; scientific editor Mikhail Maizuls; literary editor Ekaterina Abegyan; managing editor Pavel Zdeshnev. — Lyod Publishing, Moscow, 2025.
    • Venki Ramakrishnan. Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality. Translated from English by Nikolai Mezin; scientific editor Sergey Kiselyov; editor Valentina Bologova. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2025
    • Stephen Robertson. Before Computers: Information Technology from Writing to the Age of Digital Data. Translated from English by Alexey Korolev; literary editor Olga Kirillova. — HSE Publishing House, Moscow, 2025
    • Jaap de Roode. Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves. Translated from English by Valentina Vishnevskaya; scientific editor Mikhail Nikitin; editor Valentina Bologova. — Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2026.
    • Alex Ross. Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music. Translated from English by Alexander Ryabin; editors Yulia Bederova, Arseny Gavritskov, Pavel Gershenzon and Anzhela Orlova. — Podpisnye Izdaniya, St. Petersburg, 2026.
    • Raymond G. Stokes. The Three Erhard Brothers: The Untold Story of Germany's Postwar Economic Miracle. (Russian edition: Phoenixes of the World Economy: The Economic Revival of Germany and Japan after 1945). Translated from English by Mikhail Overchenko; scientific editor Sergey Goryachy. — Alpina Publisher, Moscow, 2026.
    • Menno Schilthuizen. Darwin Comes to Town (Russian edition: Like Animals: What the Intimate Lives of Insects, Birds and Mammals Tell Us About Evolution, Biodiversity and Ourselves). Translated from English by Polina Inozemtseva; editor Anna Vysochkina. — Bombora, Moscow, 2026.
    • Johannes Thienemann. Rossitten: Three Decades on the Curonian Spit. Translated from German by Irina Alekseeva, Ivan Wagner, Polina Vladimirova, Elizaveta Musanova, Sofya Negrobova, Polina Nikulina and Alexander Filippov-Chekhov; editors Alexander Filippov-Chekhov and Mikhail Markovets. — lutra, Moscow, 2025.
    • Andrew Ford. The Shortest History of Music. Translated from English by Ivan Bogdanov; scientific editor Lyalya Kandaurova; editor Vyacheslav Ionov. — Alpina Publisher, Moscow, 2025.
    • David J. Chalmers. Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy. Translated from English by Maria Akimova; scientific editor Renat Khabeyev; literary editor Zoya Novoselova; managing editor Anastasia Ivanova. — Astrel-SPb, St. Petersburg, 2026.
    • Eugene Charniak. The Intellectual History of Artificial Intelligence: AI and Us. Translated from English; scientific editor Artem Smirnov. — Gaidar Institute Publishing House, Moscow, 2025.
    • Govert Schilling. The Elephant in the Universe: Our Hundred-Year Search for Dark Matter. (Russian edition: Deep Space: Beyond the Solar System, to the Edge of the Universe and the Beginning of Time). Translated from English by Lev Levin; editor Anna Vysochkina. — Bombora, Moscow, 2025.
    • Eliezer Yudkowsky & Nate Soares. If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All. Translated from English by Evgeny Ponikarov; scientific editor Sergey Nikolenko; editor Alyona Yakimenko. — CORPUS, Moscow, 2026.

     

    The shortlists for the Enlightener Prize group will traditionally be announced before the end of September.