VA, 23 April. The long list of the national literary award «Big Book» included 50 works by authors from 13 regions of Russia and seven countries, in particular from Belarus, Spain, Norway and France, including the novel «Journey to Eleusis» by Victor Pelevin and the collection of short stories «Dogs» and other people» by Zakhar Prilepin, the press service of the award reported.
“The Prize’s Council of Experts, which includes writers and literary critics Dmitry Danilov (Chairman of the Council), Evgeny Abdullaev, Evgenia Dekina, Alexey Andreev, Afanasy Mamedov and Valeria Pustovaya, included 50 works by authors out of 13 in the long list of the nineteenth season of the Big Book regions of Russia and seven countries of the world: Belarus, Israel, Spain, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway and France,” the message says. 
Long list of the XIX season «Big books» includes novels» Journey to Eleusis» by Victor Pelevin, «Odsun» by Alexey Varlamov, a collection of stories «Dogs and Other People» by Zakhar Prilepin, an autobiography «My Life: Before Exile» by Mikhail Shemyakin and others.
“I would call the current season of the “Big Book” a season of expectations or, according to Dickens, an era of “great hopes.” In previous years, when looking at the long list, the thesis about the absence of clear favorites from among the titled “veterans” was repeatedly repeated. “It’s different: recent debutants have won a name for themselves and may well be considered contenders for the main awards,” noted the chairman of the award jury, director of the Dal State Literary Museum Dmitry Bak, quoted by the press service.
The short list for the Big Book Prize will be announced at a traditional literary dinner on June 5, on the eve of the opening of the tenth Red Square book festival. Then the jury of the award will begin its work — the Literary Academy, formed on the principle of broad public representation and numbering more than a hundred people. The winners will be awarded at a ceremony in Moscow in the first half of December, the press service added.
In total, 346 works by authors from 73 cities of Russia and twelve countries of the world were submitted for the prize.
The Russian literary prize «Big Book» was established in 2005. The award is given for the best prose work in Russian. The long list is formed based on the selection of all received applications. Three prizes and a special prize “For Contribution to Literature” are awarded annually. The monetary content of the first place is 3 million rubles, the second place is 1.5 million rubles, the third place is 1 million rubles. In addition to the main awards, special prizes and diplomas can also be awarded.