Award

Founder and former director of the Laboratoria publishing house (2020), specializing in useful non-fiction and modern fiction; founder of the book reading application Librarius.pro. The books of the Laboratoria are published simultaneously in three formats – paper, electronic and audio – and are available in particular through Librarius.pro, which offers subscription, purchase, or rental of books as opposed to just online book purchases, promoting healthy competition through service, not price. In May 2024, Martynov joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In his absence, the publishing house team continues its work and is successfully implementing the approaches introduced by Martynov. The founder of the publishing house continues to support his projects online.

The first feminist publishing house in Ukraine focused on literature for and about women. Its goal is to change society for the better through literature, to affirm the presence and importance of women and women’s experiences. In the publishing house’s books and at its events, the team openly discusses feminism, its history in Ukraine, and its modern challenges. The publishing house’s catalog features historical artifacts, such as the reprint edition of one of the first feminist almanacs “The First Wreath” from 1887, and new voices. A good example of the publishing house’s work includes the launching n 2022 of the #proyavlyaysya (manifest yourself) series, which became a platform for debut authors. The team is currently working on restoring the House of Natalia Kobrynska in Bolekhiv, which will become the cultural center of the women’s movement in Ukraine. A writer’s residence for Ukrainian authors and researchers of women’s history will be created in this space. The publishing house also plans to launch a writing school for women to be named, “She Writes.”

A small independent publishing house focused on publishing books on socially significant topics in visually appealing formats. It combines book publishing with other cultural sectors, such as contemporary art, photography, anthropology, design, and cultural theory. Thanks to its cross-sectoral approach and English-language publications, IST Publishing succeeds at developing partnerships at the local, national, and international levels, collaborating with galleries, cultural institutions, festivals, and universities. The presence of the publishing house at international art and book events, organized exhibitions and art events, and its international distribution makes it possible to discover the Ukrainian art scene abroad.

A publishing house that researches, publishes and promotes classic and contemporary Ukrainian art both in Ukraine and internationally. Project by project, Rodovid writes a bright and deep history of Ukrainian art, which, in the opinion of the publishing house, should take a worthy place within the global art space. Its editorial staff and authors have been collecting materials for each edition for years in museums, archives and private collections from different parts of the world. Over its 25-year history, the publishing house has created over 100 publications in Ukrainian, English, French and Finnish, thematically varied from Ukrainian folk art to contemporary art and photography. Over the years, the publishing house has united art researchers from all over the world around itself, providing materials for further studies, as well as creating a platform for the academic art community and artists to publish their works as high-end art publications that may be presented at exhibitions or provide inspiration for the creation of such exhibitions. In addition, the publishing house launched a photo book design competition and provided other incentives for creators of photo books, zines, and lady books to develop in a new niche.

A publishing house that creates and popularizes Ukrainian comics and malopuses (a type of sketch-based story popularized by Kyiv’s Inker magazine) both in Ukraine and the world. The team actively participates in international exhibitions in Europe and the USA. The publishing house has become the flagship of comic culture in Ukraine, having built an effective business model and attracting the best artists and authors. This year, the publishing house expanded abroad by opening a store in the Polish city of Krakow. Since its founding in 2017, part of the profit has been directed to volunteer and social initiatives, and after the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a separate structural unit of the company was created, which carries out volunteer activities, in particular, helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

For implementing best practices of creative business in publishing, changing the rules of the game in the book market through high-quality service and innovative approaches, as well as fostering significant partnerships.

Rights Manager of the Old Lion Publishing House, who was one of the first to successfully extend the rights to the publication of Ukrainian authors around the world. Thanks to his work, dozens of Ukrainian books have been translated into over 50 languages, which makes Ukrainian literature visible globally. Due to his cooperation with foreign publishing houses, 496 translations of Ukrainian books have been published in 53 countries. In his work, Ivan takes guidance not only from the commercial interest of the publishing house he represents, but also from his own desire to popularize modern Ukrainian literature. Fedechko invariably appears at all key book exhibitions.

A well-known scholar of Ukrainian studies, popularizer of Ukrainian culture in the Czech Republic and Czech culture in Ukraine. Lucie actively cooperates with Ukrainian writers, helping them find translators and publishers in the Czech Republic and organize events in which they participate. For several years, she was the director of the Czech Center in Kyiv, and is currently working on a number of Ukrainian-Czech initiatives, such as the “Authors’ Reading Month” and “Czech Dreams in Lviv” festivals, and joint projects related to mental health. Lucie Rzhegorzhikova actively participates in Ukrainian literary and cultural events, such as the Book Arsenal and Fifth Kharkiv galas.

First as a publishing manager, and since 2024 as the director of print and digital publications at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), Kotsuba has carried out a number of initiatives aimed at popularizing Ukrainian culture. In particular, he created online platforms for publications that the Institute has published over the past 50 years, as well as for the Harvard Ukrainian Studies journal. Thanks to the projects he has implemented, modern and classic landmark works of Ukrainian literature have become available in English. In order to expand his circle of professional translators from Ukrainian, this year Kotsyuba launched the Translating Ukraine Summer Institute (TUSI), the first session of which was held in Wrocław. In addition, since 2008, Kotsyuba has served as the editor-in-chief for the online version of “Krytyka” magazine.

Since 2022, Ukrainian PEN has focused on documenting and informing the world about crimes committed against media and culture by Russia during its war against Ukraine, preserving the memory of journalists who died, restoring cultural life, and supporting libraries damaged by Russia. As part of its “In Solidarity with Ukraine” program, the organization has hosted 65 writers and journalists from 18 countries and organized trips to frontline and de-occupied territories. Owing to its work with such international partners as Book Aid International, PEN has received since November 2023 a total of 52,000 books in English from British publishers, 30,000 of which have been transferred to libraries. The organization has also created an English-language newsletter for the international PEN community, human rights organizations, and diplomatic institutions. They also maintain their “Stop War in Ukraine” online page. Ukrainian PEN regularly participates in events abroad, including the World Expression Forum, the Munich Security Conference, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Helsinki Book Fair, the Writers for Peace Committee, and the Ukrainian House in Denmark.

Kozlovets is the current coordinator of the International “Book Arsenal” Festival, and since the festival was founded in 2012, she has been the permanent curator of its children’s program. International cooperation in the literary sphere has only intensified following the full-scale invasion: Book Arsenal organized and curated special programs and individual events at festivals and fairs, promoted the participation of Ukrainian authors, designers, illustrators, publishers in partner programs and projects, organized exhibitions and performances in cooperation with Ukrainian partner institutions in 30 countries. Among the most notable initiatives are Ukraine Day in Cheltenham (Great Britain, 2022), a special program of the Book Arsenal at the Vilnius Book Fair in 2023, an exhibition and associated events at the Bologna Book Fair in 2023 and 2024, and a special program for publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries at the Frankfurt Book Fair between 2022 and 2024. Kozlovets contributes her expertise on international expert boards and speaks at book publishing conferences.

For systematic efforts to build connections between the Ukrainian literary community and international opinion leaders, giving a voice to Ukrainian authors, advocating for Ukrainian culture, and implementing effective work models that allow Ukrainian writers and journalists – both free and imprisoned by the Kremlin – to be heard far beyond Ukraine’s borders.

The project ecosystem consists of a website; #NaukaBarabuka advanced training courses for writers and editors a library space maintained on the grounds of the “Mystetskyi Arsenal,” a library space for educational literature in the Museum of Science of the Small Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; the annual “TOP Barabuka” rating for best children’s, teenagers’, family and educational books; and a system of events for the promotion and presentation of new publishing products in schools, libraries, and at mass public and online events. Over its 11 years of activity, Barabuka has united professional writing, illustration, library, educational and literary circles who work with literature for children and teenage readers. Since the beginning of the Covid lockdown and all through the war, the most massive online projects that “Barabuka” has engaged in include #LiveReading and #HowToTalkToChildrenAboutWar, which have generated tens of thousands of views on Facebook and YouTube.

This is a platform for collaboration among artists, public figures, businesses, and international partners aimed at solving today’s social challenges through culture. Among the platform’s book initiatives is the “Book to the Front” project, which sends literature encouraging the use of Ukrainian language among military and civilian people actively helping in the country’s defense, emphasizing the importance of mental support through books. “The right book at the right time can change a life,” advocates “Cultural Descent,” which has already donated over 31,000 books to the military. “Cultural Descent” has organized a widespread network to support soldiers with books, joining forces with bookstores, authors who go out to the field to engage with military personnel in person, and readers who can donate their used books for defenders.

Stovba has headed the Nikopol city centralized library system for about 10 years. Since 2022, the city of Nikopol has been a combat zone. The positions of the Russian occupiers are only just a few kilometers from the city center, where the central library of Nikopol is located and where Stovba regularly works. The library routinely replenishes its collections and prepares thematic exhibitions, and as a result, readers systematically visit it. Since 2022, the basements of the central city library of Nikopol became a shelter for hundreds of people who today are still forced to hide there from shelling. The library shelter also maintains sleeping places for overnight stays. In other words, the book storage rooms now double as a safe space for people at night.

This organization provides cultural and educational media, and has been creating content about literature and the book market for a wide audience for 21 years. The station constantly broadcasts in 84 settlements in all regions of Ukraine, covering 19 regional centers, updating listeners on cultural news and sharing classical literature in various formats. Currently, Radio Kultura broadcasts five programs dedicated to the literary word: “Audiobook,” “Poetry,” “Radio Detective,” “Radio Theater” and “Performance without Intermission.” In 2017, the editorial staff revived the genre of radio drama in Ukraine – scripted theatricals written specifically for radio and recorded in a studio with realistic noise effects. Recordings of broadcasts and special projects are stored in an online archive, which is public and available worldwide. The editorial staff of Radio Kultura works in various formats. For instance, it posts text materials (interviews, articles) on its social networks and website.

This book club is available to ambassadors of The Ukrainians Media. The closed chat of the Book Club unites over 1,100 readers in Ukraine and around the world. Videos of discussions are uploaded on YouTube to promote reading. The club has two platforms, moderated by Olga Perekhrest and Bohdana Neborak — an online space with meetings on Zoom and a physical space in the “Sens” bookstore in Kyiv. The Club invites opinion leaders and people with literary expertise to live discussions, and Ukrainians from all over the world join the online meeting. The Ukrainians Book Club is a vivid example where an organization has successfully combined the achievements of promoting reading, monetizing media, and forming a community of like-minded people.

For consistent efforts to cultivate a community of professionals and readers of Ukrainian children’s literature and for promoting children’s reading in Ukraine and among those awaiting their return home.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse Special Award consists of a free stand and free accreditations for the Creative Women Publishing team at the Frankfurter Buchmesse from 15 to 19 October 2025.