War, despite all its horror and destructive influence, stimulates the creative activity of artists of the word. It opens up deep, controversial topics for writers to consider, provides material for artistic research and encourages rethinking life through the prism of tragedies. Stories filled with pain, loss, and hope come to life on the pages of documentaries, essays, and fiction. They reproduce both individual destinies and large-scale events of our time.
Statistics show a steady increase in the number of published books during the three years of the war. Readers’ interest in military literature, which is becoming a reflection of national experience and cultural resistance, is also increasing. Ukrainian publications find their readers not only in Ukraine, but also far beyond its borders, awakening interest in Ukrainian culture and history in the world.
It is gratifying that cultural institutions continue to support talented artists of the word. The writer Serhii Zhadan once aptly stated this remarked: “Book awards are like vitamins for literature“. And indeed, artists currently need vitamin support more than ever.
The winner of the Yuriy Shevelyov Award became famous
This year, the Yuriy Shevelyov Prize for the best Ukrainian book of essays was won by the writer Myroslav Layuk, who presented his work “Bakhmut”. This book was noted for its in-depth look at human stories and events taking place against the background of Ukraine’s wartime present.
The winners were announced on December 17, the birthday of Yury Shevelyov, an outstanding linguist, historian of Ukrainian literature, and essayist. The solemn award ceremony was held at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School.
In his speech, Myroslav Layuk shared with his vision of literature in the modern context:
“This book, although named after the city, is dedicated to the people. For me, books at this time are the foundation that records our history. You often hear from abroad that Ukraine is a shaky, uncertain country. But it is books like these that show who we are and help create this foundation“.
“Bakhmut” is a book of reports and essays published by Ukrainer. It presents the history of the city of Bakhmut, the realities of war, irreparable human losses, and resolves complex issues of memory and forgetting.
Myroslav Laiuk is also known for his novels “Babornya”, “The World Is Not Created” and “Iron Water”, as well as poetry collections “Osote!”, “Metrophobia” and “Rose”. The writer participated in numerous poetry festivals and literary events in various countries of the world, in particular in South Africa, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Poland. His works have been translated into more than ten languages and published abroad.
The BBC also announced the book of the year
It is notable that Layuk’s edition won another prestigious victory this year: it was among the finalists of the prestigious “BBC-2024 Book of the Year” competition. At the end of November, the jury of the “BBC-2024 Book of the Year” literary award made public short lists of nominees: out of 40 books nominated for this award, 15 made it to the finals. And on December 12, she summed up the results of the Competition. The book of the year was the collection of short prose “My Women”
This book is a mosaic of insightful and emotionally rich stories-narratives about the lives of women during the war. They are complemented by illustrations created by artists after the start of a full-scale invasion. These works not only reflect the artists’ own experience, but also harmoniously intertwine with the author’s short stories, turning “My Women” into a symbolic story of all Ukrainian women as a whole.
The editor-in-chief of BBC News Ukraine and head of the award jury, Marta Shokalo, congratulating the winner, noted: “Sensual sketches of Yulia Ilyukha, touching the soul, life and death of women during the war, create strong and unforgettable images“.
During the entire existence of the Prize, 617 Ukrainian books were included in its long lists.
Specialists of the Ukrainian Institute of Books, using analytical services YouControl and youcontrol.market, investigated the financial indicators of book publishing and book trading enterprises. It turned out that in 2023, the publishers significantly improved their financial results: their annual revenue from the sale of book products doubled compared to the unsuccessful year 2022 and exceeded the indicators of the pre-war year 2021 by more than a third. In 2024, volumes continued to grow. As we can see on the infographic, almost every one of the largest Ukrainian publishing houses demonstrated an increase in the volume of sales in monetary terms this year.
Infographics: AI “FACT”
However, this growth is largely dependent on pricing policy, as the cost of publishing books remains high due to inflation and economic challenges. We can also see it on our infographic.
Infographic: IA “FACT”
Small publishers show the worst financial results among participants in the book industry. However, they are the engine of creative development: they create a significant part of influential content, master new genres and topics, take risks to publish young authors, thereby ensuring the diversity that is critical for the creative sector.
If the state wants to preserve this unique component of the book market, it is necessary to develop special mechanisms to support small publishing houses and provide for their appropriate financing.
Read abroad
The demand for Ukrainian literature abroad, especially in European countries, has grown significantly in recent years. According to the Ukrainian Book Institute, the number of translated Ukrainian books increased from approximately 48 in 2013 to over 120 in 2021. In 2022, this figure increased to more than 230, which testifies about doubling the demand for Ukrainian books abroad
Among the most popular Ukrainian authors abroad — Serhii Zhadan (more than 14 licenses for his books have been sold), Oksana Zabuzhko, Yurii Andruhovych, Andriy Kurkov and Tetiana Malyarchuk.
Ukrainian publishing houses promote themselves by actively participating in international book fairs. During 2023, national stands of Ukraine were presented at fairs in Vilnius, Bologna, London, Leipzig, Warsaw and Buenos Aires. In 2024, our book publishers participated in fairs in Sharjah, Barcelona and Frankfurt. In particular, during the Frankfurt Book Fair, the question arose: how developed is our book diplomacy? And what can be its role in promoting our values, our worldview, our geopolitical position.
In particular, there will be a Ukrainian stand at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair presented more than 300 books from 30 publishing houses, which resulted in establishing international contacts and increasing the number of translations of Ukrainian works.
The growing demand for Ukrainian literature and active participation in international events open up new opportunities for Ukrainian publishers, in particular through translations and expanding their presence on the world market.
