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EBRD Literature Prize won by Sons, Daughters in Canary Wharf

The European Bank For Reconstruction and development has recognised author Ivana Bodrožić and translator Ellen Elias-Bursać with 2025 award

Author Ivana Bodrožić, left, and translator Ellen Elias-Bursać celebrate their win - image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD
Author Ivana Bodrožić, left, and translator Ellen Elias-Bursać celebrate their win – image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD

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Canary Wharf, known in the public psyche for its tall towers housing companies delivering financial services, has long been much more than that.

Its true essence is defined by the people inside those buildings – their interests, passions and diversity.

The European Bank For Reconstruction And Development (EBRD) Literature Prize – recently awarded at the organisation’s Bank Street offices – is an excellent example.

Born of a desire from staff to share in and engage with cultures in the territories where the bank operates, the contest is now in its eighth year and recognises works of fiction translated into English.

Both author and translator are equally celebrated for their efforts, reflecting the prize’s aim – to spread notable writing to as wide an audience as possible.

For 2025, an independent panel of judges led by critic and cultural journalist Maya Jaggi chose Sons, Daughters by Ivana Bodrožić, translated from the Croatian by Ellen Elias-Bursać as the winning work.

Ivana says she wanted to tell a story about how we're all locked in ourselves- image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD
Ivana says she wanted to tell a story about how we’re all locked in ourselves – image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD

a feeling of being locked in

“It’s a novel I published in Croatia five years ago, so I was writing it maybe seven or eight years ago,” said Ivana.

“It started from me and my own feelings of being locked in and is written from three different perspectives.

“The first is a woman who has locked-in syndrome.

“She’s paralysed but she has a really strong inner life.

“The second voice is that of a young man.

“He is transgender and he doesn’t feel like he belongs to his body when he looks in the mirror.

“The third is the perspective of the mother of the first character.

“She is a woman in her 60s. She was born and raised in the patriarchy and she is deformed by that system, although she doesn’t even realise it.

“I wanted to tell a story about how we are all locked in ourselves – that we can live and move, but  sometimes be paralysed.

“At the time I was writing it was difficult to be part of the LGBT minority in Croatia.

“It was when the Istanbul Convention was being ratified and there were some really loud parts of society – the right wing and the Catholic church.

“They wanted to point a finger at transgender people, saying that they were the biggest problem in Croatia and there were only one or two people who spoke out about their experience of living in that situation.

“In this radical metaphor through literature I was hoping that I could connect all those painful stories and make a novel that readers who wanted to be open could understand.”

EBRD Literatur Prize winners, Ivana and Ellen - image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD
EBRD Literatur Prize winners, Ivana and Ellen – image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD

winning the EBRD Literature Prize as an author

Ivana first found a love of reading as a child.

Growing up she spent five years in a refugee camp where “books were the only thing that told us there were other worlds, which was crucial for me”.

She said: “Books and stories became an essential part of my identity from an early age. Writing is connected with my life, not just talent but something I earned.

“I believe we can write about almost everything.

“What is important is our intention – what we want to do with our stories. 

“Do we want to harm or humiliate someone, or do we want to make a larger space for understanding and freedom for human dignity?

Sons, Daughters is not an easy book to read.

“All the stories are painful.

“My intention, when the reader closes the book, is to make them think that they have time to change something in their life, to open up a bit and see where their blind spots are.

“In that way, perhaps this novel is optimistic. 

“It shows you that you don’t need to be so closed, so locked in your own world.

“Winning this prize gives you the feeling that you’re a real writer and you know what you’re doing.

“It’s wonderful to know there’s a community of readers and what you’re doing means something.

“Writing can be a lonely job and being translated is very rewarding. Croatia is a very tiny community.

“It means a lot to know that sometimes I may be able to cross language borders.”

Ellen says she began working as a translator while living in Croatia - image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD
Ellen says she began working as a translator while living in Croatia – image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD

translating the work

In this instance, the person tasked with shepherding Ivana’s words over the hurdles of understanding was translator  Ellen Elias-Bursać – joint winner of the prize.

Born in the USA, it was studying Russian that sparked her professional journey.

“Our anti-Soviet professors wouldn’t send us to the USSR, but we were allowed to go to a Slavic country,” said Ellen.

“They found a programme in what was then  Yugoslavia, and I went for a year.

“I met a guy, finished school, went back and got married in 1974 and lived there until 1990.

“I had my kids there and became a community translator for many years, getting involved in translating literature towards the end of my stay. 

“I met Ivana through the publisher of her first novel, which was about the war in Croatia.”

The winners with the judges and fellow finalists at the presentation - images by Ale Di Padova / EBRD
The winners with the judges and fellow finalists at the presentation – image by Ale Di Padova / EBRD

winning the EBRD Literature Prize as a translator

Ellen said her process for translating a work began slowly before the pace picked up and she’d reach the end of a text.

Then a painstaking period of editing kicked in to ensure everything fitted together. 

She said: “Different novels require different contextual explanations depending on how much reference there is to local culture.

“It’s about the sound of the language and the humour too.

“There’s always loss and always gain with translation, you just hope there’s more of the latter.

“It’s tremendously gratifying to win this prize.

“Our role is to support authors and we end up doing much more than translating.

“We work with publishers, attend book launches, find people to review and promote things.

“I’m really happy that Ivana’s novel, which deserves attention, is thankfully getting it.

“I’m also very pleased the EBRD continues to support voices from many parts of the world by promoting books and bringing them to people’s attention – that’s a really valuable gift for everyone.”

key details: EBRD Literature Prize

The EBRD Literature Prize is awarded annually, recognising both the author and translator of a work of fiction. 

It celebrates creativity in the regions where the bank operates and aims to bring writing from a wide range of countries to a wider, global audience.

The other finalists recognised in 2025 were Ukraine’s Tanja Maljartschuk and translator Zenia Tompkins for Forgottenness, alongside Poland’s Olga Tokarczuk and translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones for The Empusium.

You can find our more about the prize here

  • Sons, Daughters by Ivana Bodrožić, translated from the Croatian by Ellen Elias- Bursać, is published by Seven Stories Press UK and is available through Waterstones in Cabot Place, priced £17.99.

Read more: Boisdale Of Canary Wharf launches Tropical Garden Terrace as the venue celebrates 15 years serving east London

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Canary Wharf: How Padium is bringing padel tennis to Bank Street

Indoor club will feature seven indoor courts, an outdoor court plus a pro shop and changing facilities

Padium is under construction at 10 Bank Street

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Just what are those vast metallic arches that have sprung up on the flat patch of ground between Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale?

Well, the three-peaked structure is set to shelter Houman Ashrafzadeh’s latest dream.

The serial entrepreneur, together with two friends, already has a presence at 35 Bank Street, having launched new wave salad bar Urban Greens in September 2021.

This summer he’s set to do something completely different with the launch of Padium, a little further west on the estate. 

“I grew up in Sweden and I’ve lived in London for nearly 16 years but, whenever I’d go back to visit, I’d see this new sport emerging,” he said.

“My brother and his friends played it and so I tried it and got completely hooked.”

That sport was padel tennis – popular across Europe and especially so in Houman’s old home town of Helsingborg with an unusually high number of courts for a place with a population a little over 100,000 people. 

“When I discovered it, I felt it was something very different – so much fun, but with a social aspect,” he said.

“You have four players on a smaller court, a lot of banter going on, and it’s intense, because you’re in a more confined space than on a tennis court.

“It’s relatively easy to pick up – after two or three sessions you get the basics and you can have a decent game even with someone who is better than you.

Entrepreneur Houman Ashrazadeh is behind plans for Padium

“I was fascinated, because it was so much fun, and I went back to London, super-excited to play a game with my friends – but there was nowhere to buy Padel rackets, except online.

“Eventually I managed to convince a few friends to play and tried to book a court, but there were hardly any.

“Back then, there was one in Regent’s Park and one in Hyde Park, but they were outdoors – when it rains, you can’t really play.

“The frustration grew because I wanted to play in London. I played every time I went back to Sweden, but that was not frequently.

“I just couldn’t get over how strange it was that it hadn’t caught on in the UK. Squash was big, so why not padel?”

Initially Houman’s idea was to try to replicate the sorts of facilities he’d used in Sweden – unmanned courts in warehouses accessed by a code.

However, a dinner with Spotify co-founder Martin Lorentzon – an investor in Houman’s successful Coffydoor venture – took things up a notch.

Canary Wharf Group CEO Shobi Khan takes on Houman in an exhibition match to mark the official unveiling of Padium

“One of the topics that came up was padel tennis,” said Houman.

“Martin loves it and plays five or six times a week – it’s a passion for him and he’s very good at it.

“ I told him I was looking to start a Padel club in London as then there were none.

“At that time, Stockholm had hundreds of courts, but I only knew of two outdoor courts in the whole of London and he couldn’t believe it.

“So I showed him the Excel spreadsheet I’d been working on  and he said he’d be interested in partnering up and investing.

“Having him on board gave me the ability to do something on a bigger scale than I’d been considering.

“My experience of Padel in the UK was that it was often very basic.

“It was embarrassing to bring friends from Sweden to these places, because the facilities were poor.

“Courts would not be maintained properly, with broken plaster on the walls and would often be too close to one another, so balls would be flying in from other games, or there would be no changing facilities or showers.”

An artist’s impression of how Padium will look

So Houman went back to the drawing board to create something he thought would be capable of “revolutionising” the game in the UK.

“I realised the club needed to be in a flagship location – a place that could attract a lot of people who had never played before,” he said.

“It should be an educator, to get a lot of people involved, including kids and schools so they too can enjoy this amazing game.

“I was told by some companies that I could just put up some courts and not spend much money because the demand was so high that they would be packed anyway.

“But I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to create an experience and an environment where you could build a community. 

“I want young people involved, corporate clients and really good players too – the full 360-degrees like I was used to in Sweden. 

“With Martin involved, I didn’t want to replicate any of the experiences I’d had in the UK, I wanted to raise the bar and have something much better to revolutionise the sport here.”

Padium will house seven indoor glass courts

The result is Houman’s plans for Padium.

The facility will be home to seven indoor panoramic glass courts under a 10-metre high ceiling including a centre court.

There will also be an outdoor court, a pro shop and a nutritional drinks bar. 

The store will stock clothing from tennis legend Björn Borg and a selection of rackets from Babolat. 

It will also have changing and shower facilities with a towel service and a club lounge on a mezzanine floor where players can hang out before and after games. 

“Right now I play at other clubs, but I have to devote half a day for one hour of padel, because I have to travel for an hour, play, return home to shower, then continue my day,” said Houman.

“That’s a lot of time to spend when the whole thing could just take 90 minutes.

“I want the emphasis to be on good service at Padium with my staff being really knowledgeable and friendly – to create an environment for everyone where it’s welcoming and everybody feels included.

“This goes back to my Swedish roots, where padel is open to everyone.

“We don’t have fancy clubs over there where you have to be a member and it takes you 20 years to get on the list. It’s possible to create a premium product and to have that inclusivity where all are welcome.”

The proposed lounge area on the structure’s mezzanine

Extensive work to strengthen the foundations under 10 Bank Street have been undertaken to support the concrete slab on which Padium will sit.

Located on the site of a mooted 32-storey office block, the club will bring fresh life to a patch of ground that had become a popular sun trap before the winds of Storm Eunice tore up its astroturf.

Open daily from 6am-11pm, courts will be bookable in advance for four players with slots of 60, 90 or 120 minutes available with no membership required to play.

“One of the seven indoor courts is a centre court, which will cost a bit more, but we’ll be incorporating court camera technology on that one, which reads the game and gives you statistics,” said Houman.

“One is a recording camera which records the game and the other is AI-based, to give you statistics about your game, which is really cool.

“This will help people who want to improve their game and so coaches can assess their performance.

“If it’s popular, then we’ll look at rolling it out to other courts too.

“For me, padel is the perfect combination of squash and tennis. It takes the best of both and combines them into one game. 

“It’s easy to learn, but hard to master. Because the courts are smaller, the actual amount of time you spend playing is greater than tennis – rallies can often go on for minutes rather than being over quickly.

Padium will include a pro shop and nutritional drinks bar

“Also, tennis can be a lonely sport. With padel you play with four people, so it’s super social.

“You have a ranking, sign up and play with players of a similar level you don’t know, so it’s a great way to meet people.

“One of our responsibilities will be to help nurture the grass roots of this amazing sport.

“We want schools and people from the local community to come and discover the game because they will be the players of the future.

“We need players to convince councils and other organisations that it’s worth approving these facilities – that the investment will be worth it – so we can grow the sport.

“Ultimately the aim is for it to become an Olympic sport.

“There’s a federation and there are professional players making a living from the game now, which is great.

“The Lawn Tennis Association is also involved now and we’re looking forward to working with them too.”

As for Houman, Urban Greens remains a strong focus and, come the opening of Padium there will certainly be some crossover between the two brands.

“Padel and salad go well together and Urban Greens will certainly be catering for events we put on,” he said.

“We’ll also be offering companies corporate sponsorships for the courts where businesses can have their name and logo on the booking app and on the courts themselves, with playing time for their staff and whole-club takeover events.” 

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
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