Along with eight other books, Sofi Oksanen’s Same River, Twice – Putin’s War on Women has been longlisted for the 2025 Moore Prize for Human Rights Writing. Oksanen’s powerful essay has been translated into English by Owen F. Witesman.

The Moore Prize is awarded to a work of non-fiction published in English that promotes the values consistent with the advancement of human rights and dignity. The Moore Prize is given by the Christopher G. Moore Foundation, a charity founded to support literary excellence in non-fiction and provide a platform to current and important human rights issues.

A jury is reading the eight longlisted books and will announce the shortlist on November 12, 2025.

Sofi Oksanen’s novel Purge has been selected by Télérama as one of the best novels published since the year 2000. The magazine states that the novel is “a deep, tragic portrayal where the compassion is ever-present”.

Télérama is a renowned French cultural magazine. Oksanen is joined by many other prominent authors on the list, among them Roberto Bolaño, Svetlana Alexievich, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Olga Tokarczuk.

Sofi Oksanen is the recipient of the 2025 Bjørnson Prize. Oksanen is prized for her “epic authorship and commitment to human rights, and for keenly portraying the realities faced by women, both in times of war and peace”. The jury further states:

“At the core of Sofi Oksanen’s authorship is a brave and uncompromising humanism. She writes about oppression, abuse of power, and injustice, and uses her public voice and position to speak clearly and directly about freedom of expression, human rights, and political freedom. /…/ With her unique blend of historical insight, engagement, psychological depth, and literary innovation, Oksanen has created a body of work that both enriches and challenges readers. Her ability to convey complex themes through epic works has gained her a wide readership and international recognition.”

The Bjørnson Prize is annually awarded to a Nordic author who works in the spirit of Norwegian Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, both in their literary work and social engagement.

The prize will be awarded at the Norwegian Festival of Literature on June 3rd, where Oksanen will also hold a lecture.

Just published in Iceland, Annette Bjergfeldt’s Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema claims the No.1 spot on the bestseller list for all books and formats at largest book retail chain Eymundsson. Meanwhile, Sofi Oksanen’s Same River Twice – Putin’s War Against Women, leads the non-fiction list and ranks No. 2 on the overall bestseller chart.

The first installment in Anders and Anette de la Motte’s new murder mystery series, Death on Capri, claims the No. 1 spot on the Swedish bestseller list for hardcovers this week. Moreover, Ulf Lundell’s Weekdays 10, from the celebrated collection of excerpts from his private diary, comes in at No. 3. On the non-fiction list, Sofi Oksanen’s critically acclaimed Same River Twice – Putin’s War Against Women, lands the No. 5 spot.

The lauded opera Innocence has received a 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production. The Olivier Award is one of the most prestigious awards in theatre, and the ceremony took place at Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday.

Innocence was composed by Kaija Saariaho with the libretto written by Sofi Oksanen. The opera had its world premiere at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2021 and premiered at London’s Royal Opera House in April 2023.

The voting is now open for this year’s Finnish Storytel Awards. 

Sofi Oksanen is in the running for the title of best Fiction with Same River Twice – Putin’s War Against Women. The Non-Fiction category meanwhile sees Anders Hansen compete for the top spot with The Happiness Cure.

The winners will be announced at the Storytel Awards gala on March 21, 2024.

Sofi Oksanen has just been awarded the Finland National Prize of 2023.

Oksanen is being honored for her rich body of work with a motivation which reads:

“Sofi Oksanen is one of the most internationally successful Finnish writers, whose works have been translated into 40 languages. Oksanen writes about war, humanity, the position of women and the problems of society in an analytical and perceptive way. Oksanen made her breakthrough with the novel Purge, which she wrote based on a play she had written for the Finnish National Theatre. In her most recent essay, Same River Twice – Putin’s War Against Women, the author describes the logic of Russia’s warfare and especially its relationship with women: sexual violence, child deportations and disinformation campaigns, offering new information and a fresh perspective on a current topic that affects us all.”

The Finland National Prize is a cultural award conferred by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland and has been handed out annually since 1993 to Finnish artists of great importance.

Twenty years after the publication of Stalin’s Cows, Sofi Oksanen is back with an impactful essay, Same River Twice, depicting how Russia is repeating its old playbook in Ukraine, a playbook first executed by Catherine the Great in Crimea in 1783, and again on a larger and bloodier scale by the Soviet Union and Stalin.

Russia has never confronted its imperialist past. Instead, the Kremlin has focused on creating enemies, using them to lay the groundwork for the sexual violence it employs in wars and dehumanizing those who become victims of human rights abuses. Gender equality progress is in decline in Putin’s Russia. Russia silences women, uses rape as a weapon, and humiliates its victims in the media, threatening them with further sexual violence.

This essay on colonialism, oppression and genocide is also a story of war and of women. It addresses the necessity of talking about war, and about war crimes, arguing that no matter what happens, silence cannot ever win.

Sofi Oksanen’s The Dog Park has just been shortlisted for the Christine Award 2023. The award is issued by Bücherfrauen – Women in Publishing, a German organization which works to support women in publishing. The Christine Award was established in 2021 and is given every two years to a writer who through their writing contributes to gender equality and empowers women. The winner, endowed with 10 000 euros, will be announced on October 19th at the Frankfurt Bookfair. 

The prestigious literary prize of the Vilhelm Moberg-Society is this year awarded to Sofi Oksanen.

The society argues that Sofi Oksanen is a tremendous author that takes great courage in discussing difficult issues and therefore is an obvious winner. She is one of the most influential and important contemporary authors, not least due to her ability to illustrate hardship and different forms of oppression.

The Vilhelm Moberg-Society Prize is awarded annually on April 6^th, and the ceremony takes place August 19^th in Sweden.

On March 22nd, Sofi Oksanen spoke at the Swedish Academy. With reference to the freedom of speech and democracy, the theme of this year’s Academy Conference was “Thought and Truth under Pressure”.

Sofi spoke on ‘Russia’s war against Women’, inquiring into misogyny as a state policy and an instrument of imperialism.

Her speech was incredibly well received, with reviews describing it as “powerful”, “on point” and “important”.

Click HERE to watch the speech.