The Zekameron : Winner of 2023 English PEN Award

Zekameron derives from the Russian word zek, an abbreviation formed by the names of two letters of the Cyrillic alphabet; it stands for zakliuchonny, a word that originally referred to a convict held in a Soviet labour camp. The word now has the general sense of ‘prisoner’.

The stories found themselves outside the prison walls and were sent directly to Jim Dingley who previously translated two books from Belarus for Scotland Street Press. Dingley immediately sent the manuscript to Scotland Street Press.

Its arrival was a huge consideration: would its publication endanger Znak's life, or agitate successfully for his release? By September 2021 this brilliant lawyer was already re-sentenced to ten years in a penal colony in the north of Belarus. His wife and sister urged us to go ahead with publication.

Inspired by the 14th century Decameron by Boccaccio and taking the form of 100 short stories, charting 100 days of prison in Belarus today. Banality and brutality vie with the human ability to overcome oppression. The tone is laconic, ironic; the humor dry. The stories bear witness to resistance and self-assertion and the genuine warmth and appreciation of fellow prisoners.

Maxim Znak is an international lawyer and member of the Belarusian resistance movement. He was arrested in autumn 2020 and sentenced to ten years in prison in 2021. He is a recognised prisoner of conscience. This book made its way outside the prison walls and was sent to Jim Dingley the English translator in early 2022. Jim Dingley is a scholar and academic in Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian Studies from University College London. Now retired, he is an award winning translator and has collaborated on this book with his wife Ella who is from Belarus. Ella Dingley is from Minsk where she studied Belarusian and Russian languages and literatures. She has worked as a language teacher and for the BBC World Service. She is married to Jim Dingley.