Daniil Pashkoff

was the first Russian student of English at the Technische Universität Braunschweig. From his hometown of Novosibirsk, he brought with him an infectious passion for the English language and its literature as well as an outstanding talent for making friends with people from all corners of the world. Daniil passed away suddenly in July, 1998, at the age of 27.

The idea of offering a prize for creative writing in English by a non-native speaker was born over the Atlantic Ocean on a flight to the United States. The prize was intended to commemorate Daniil’s 29th birthday, his delight in English and American literature as well as offer a forum for non-native speakers of English to express themselves literarily.

The Daniil Pashkoff Prize for Creative Writing in English by a Non-Native Speaker was awarded for the first time in 2001. The response was so enthusiastic that we decided to award the prize again the following year, and for this purpose we founded Writers Ink. e.V. on February 27, 2002. From then on, entries flowed in from all over Germany and Europe and as far away as Indonesia, Africa, and the United States.

From 2001 to 2008 Writers Ink e.V. awarded the prize annually, but in 2008 we decided to offer The Daniil Pashkoff Prize bi-annually. The members wanted to have more time to promote creative writing in English in schools and workshops and to read / perform texts at other events in and around Braunschweig.

So far, we have published six anthologies of prize-winning poetry and prose.