Olena Herasymiuk (Ukraine)

Olena Herasymiuk (Hera) (b. 1991) is a Ukrainian poet, writer, veteran, and public figure from Kyiv. A Revolution of Dignity participant, she served with the Hospitallers Medical Battalion in frontline areas including Avdiivka. Her literary works include Deafness, Execution Calendar, Prison Song (translated into Lithuanian), and the forthcoming collection Invisible Poems (also translated into Swedish). She is the co-founder of Nedopysani, an initiative dedicated to commemorating Ukrainian literary figures killed during Russian aggression. A finalist for the Taras Shevchenko National Prize (2020) and winner of the Women in Arts Award (2025), she won the Jury Prize at the European Slam Poetry Championship (2024) and was the first to represent Ukraine at the World Poetry Slam Championship. Her military and civic service has been recognized with the state medal “For Saved Life.”