The day before yesterday, at a press conference, the Russian version of the French Elle women's magazine announced a literary competition under the title My St. Petersburg.

In France, Elle's literary award is considered among the most prestigious. The jury is supposed to come up with the names of the winners by the city's tercentenary.

Accepted for consideration will be essays, short stories, and publicist's sketches about the city of St. Petersburg and the authors' sentiments related to it. Anyone who writes in Russian, not necessarily a member of the Writers' Union, is admitted to compete.

The jury includes Vladimir Gusev, Director of the Russian Museum; Tatyana Tolstaya, Andrey Bitov, Valery Popov, and Alexander Timofeyevsky, authors, and Sergey Yursky, an actor. Over the following year, the jury will read and discuss the literary works of the contenders as they arrive, then select the winner and the first and the second runner-ups. The three will receive monetary awards, USD 5,000; 2,500; and 1,000 respectively and valuable gifts from the Montblanc company.

In May 2003, the awards ceremony will be followed by a charitable dinner, its receipts handed over to the Russian National Library.

News source: Rosbalt
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