Award

Founded in 2013 in Kharkiv, Vivat Publishing House is currently one of the top three largest Ukrainian publishers in terms of print runs and the number of titles issued. Its catalogue includes fiction and nonfiction, as well as books for children and young adults. By releasing contemporary subgenres and introducing collectible book series such as Vivat Classics, the publisher continuously expands its assortment. In addition, Vivat is growing its network of bookstores: as of October 2025, 17 stores are operating (9 of which opened in 2025 alone). In its publishing strategy, Vivat aims to transform its business into a comprehensive cultural infrastructure — a network of bookstores, media platforms, clubs, festivals, partnerships, and author events. The publisher works with modern generations of readers for whom not only content matters, but also aesthetics, speed, social meaning, and engagement. For this reason, Vivat systematically integrates visual trends, creates books with illustrated edges, endpapers, merchandise, and special formats. In parallel, audiobooks and digital formats are being developed. The publishing house also participates in projects such as Books to the Front, initiatives for collecting books for libraries, and creates charity editions.

This publishing house was the first in Ukraine to introduce a community-based crowdfunding model, where readers not only finance books but also influence the selection of authors. This makes the process transparent, democratic, and focused on the quality of translation and text selection. Its goal is to publish translations of key world authors previously unavailable in Ukrainian. Since 2016, thanks to curated book selection, an emphasis on canonical world literature, and high translation standards, Komubook has been contributing to the expansion of the Ukrainian literary space, shaping readers’ tastes, strengthening the Ukrainian language as a language of intellectual and artistic discourse, helping to overcome russian influence, and demonstrating that the community can invest in the development of Ukrainian culture and directly influence its future.

The Sens bookstore began its history at the end of 2021 on Arsenalna Street in Kyiv, later opening on the capital’s main street, Khreshchatyk, and last year Sens also appeared in Ivano-Frankivsk. Currently, Sens is not only a bookstore but also a space for important book events: book presentations, reading clubs, discussions, exhibitions, musical performances, themed parties, and even fairs. Every month, around 25 events take place at the Sens bookstore on Khreshchatyk. Thanks to its convenient location, the bookstore becomes a meeting place for dozens of people every day, and its display windows, styled after individual publications, become another tool for promoting reading and encouraging people to visit the store. Despite the war, the Sens bookstore has managed to become a true center of Ukrainian culture and a recognizable brand that has formed an active community of readers and cultural figures around itself. The bookstore also hosts events with foreign guests and is often used for business meetings with foreign colleagues, as it is located in the heart of the capital. In addition, the Sens bookstore constantly supports social initiatives, which makes it a responsible business that shapes civic attitudes through reading as a social practice.

The Ukrainian Book Institute is a state institution under the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, founded in 2016, which implements state policy in the book industry and contributes to the creation of Ukrainian cultural diplomacy abroad. At the end of 2024, the UIC launched the e-Book state support program, under which 18-year-old Ukrainians are entitled to receive 908.4 hryvnia from the state for the purchase of books. As of December 1, 2025, 231,554 18-year-olds received assistance for the purchase of books under the e-Book program. More than 410,000 books were purchased with the program’s funds. This is currently the only e-Program for which statistics on goods purchased with the program’s funds are kept. According to many surveys, after graduating from school, young people aged 16-18 lose interest in reading. The introduction of the program has a direct impact on fostering the habit of reading, a key component of human development. However, e-Book not only promotes reading among young people, but also supports Ukrainian booksellers in these difficult times of russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, when the industry is particularly threatened.

The Litosvita School of Creative and Professional Writing was founded in Kyiv in 2013. Litosvita regularly holds courses on literature. It attracts highly qualified lecturers for this purpose, including literary scholars, critics, writers, and university professors (Rostyslav Semkiv, Vira Ageeva, Bohdana Romantsova, Yaryna Tsymbal). In this way, lectures from the most renowned professionals in the field are available to a wide range of listeners. Litosvita runs “Teenage Literary Schools,” where they teach how to read for pleasure and benefit, and how to become a book blogger. Participation is free for children whose parents serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2025, 52 children participated in the program free of charge. Litosvita has its own Book Club, which has attracted over 1,300 members in a year. Since 2023, over 2,000 people have attended Litosvita’s literature courses. The most popular are programs on Ukrainian literature, as Ukrainians have become more interested in their own culture since the start of the full-scale war. Thanks to the courses and the Annual Program, more books are appearing on bookstore shelves. Since 2013, over 200 graduates have had their manuscripts published. In this way, Litosvita replenishes the market with interesting debuts and new names.

For creating an open book space for dialogue and cultural diplomacy that connects readers and cultural professionals in Ukraine and worldwide, and for the creative promotion of reading as a social practice.

Managing Director of Friedrich Mauke Verlag (Germany, Weimar). Since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Friedrich Mauke Verlag has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine. The publishing house, which specializes primarily in European historical fiction, has become known for its numerous translations of works by contemporary Ukrainian authors into German. In particular, FM Verlag has translated some of the most significant works on the russian-Ukrainian war, including Tamara Gorikha Zernia’s “Donezk Girl” and Volodymyr Vakulenko’s “I am transforming myself” among many others. Half of the publisher’s book range (7 out of 18) consists of Ukrainian war prose and children’s literature. Additionally, FM Verlag received a special award from Hotlist 2025 (Germany) for its German translation of “Donezk Girl” and won the readers’ vote. The publishing house firmly positions these works as an important part of contemporary European literature, which makes a significant contribution to shaping a positive image of Ukraine among German-speaking readers.

Halyna Kruk is a Ukrainian writer, translator, Doctor of Philosophy, lecturer in European and Ukrainian Baroque literature at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, and ambassador of Ukrainian literature. Her texts have been translated into over 30 languages. Her 2025 poetry collection Lost in Living was a finalist for the PEN America Literary Awards. In 2024, Kruk won the Griffin Prize: it was the first time that a poetry collection entirely devoted to the theme of war had been recognized. Between 2024 and 2025, Halyna Kruk took part in over 60 international literary festivals, conferences, and book fairs in the US, France, Germany, India, Sweden, and other countries, accompanied by broadcasts on national radio stations and in the media. Halyna Kruk also plays a significant role in commemorating writers whose lives were taken by russia – their stories, works, and names are remembered at cultural events around the world.

One of the most famous translators from Ukrainian into German, project coordinator, dedicated to literary translation at the University of Tübingen, promoter of Ukrainian literature in Germany. Claudia Date’s more than 20 years of translation work have significantly changed the visibility of Ukrainian literature in the German-speaking world, making it noticeable not only among professionals but also among a wide readership. She has succeeded in introducing Ukrainian works to a wide range of readers (and thus convincing major German publishers that they are worth publishing), including Suhrkamp, Haymon, and Wieser Verlag. She has made significant contributions to establishing a translation infrastructure, which has facilitated the emergence of a new generation of translators from Ukrainian into German. The translator regularly participates in discussions, public readings, and festivals in Germany, where she represents Ukrainian authors. Claudia Date increases the visibility of Ukrainian books abroad not only through translations, but also through the recent large-scale project “Ukrainian Library” (Ukrainische Bibliothek), created in collaboration with Tanya Malyarchuk.

Director of the publishing program at the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, Ukrainian literary scholar, cultural manager, editor-in-chief of the online version of Krytyka magazine. He has implemented several initiatives aimed at promoting Ukrainian culture, including the creation of online platforms for the Institute’s publications spanning over 50 years, as well as for the journal Harvard Ukrainian Studies. In 2021, he launched the Harvard Library of Ukrainian Literature, a new book series that has already published 10 volumes of Ukrainian literature in English translation. Another important project is the Ukraïnica database, launched in 2022. It provides information on translations of Ukrainian literature into English and includes a tool for creating educational programs that promote the integration of Ukrainian sources into research. Oleg Kotsyuba is also actively building partnerships with educational and cultural organizations worldwide dedicated to Ukraine. With the aim of expanding the pool of professional translators from Ukrainian, in 2024 Oleh Kotsyuba is participating in the organization of the Summer Institute of Ukrainian Translation, founded by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS), the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard (HURI), Cambridge Ukrainian Studies, and other partners.

Since 2019, she has served as the coordinator of the International Book Arsenal Festival, and since its inception in 2012, she has been the festival’s permanent curator of the children’s program. After the full-scale invasion, international cooperation in the literary sphere only intensified: Book Arsenal has organized and curated special programs and individual events at festivals and fairs, facilitated the participation of Ukrainian authors, designers, illustrators, and publishers in partner programs and projects, and organized exhibitions and performance events, including in collaboration with Ukrainian partner institutions in 30 countries. Among the most notable initiatives are Ukraine Day in Cheltenham (United Kingdom, 2022), exhibition projects and related events at the Bologna Book Fair in 2023-25, and a special program for publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022-25. Her activities promote the visibility of Ukrainian book publishing, particularly through the international competition “Best Book Design” and her participation in the CELA program for translators from 11 European countries. Yulia works on international expert councils and speaks at book publishing conferences, and her voice is listened to by foreign partners.

For building sustainable institutional ties between Ukraine and international partners, mobilizing international support for Ukraine’s book sector, and implementing effective formats for the advocacy of Ukrainian culture.

The Radio Dictation of National Unity is a traditional annual nationwide event that takes place on Ukrainian Writing and Language Day. The event has been held since 2000, a testament to its enduring continuity. Every year, participants from all regions of Ukraine and dozens of countries worldwide – including China, Canada, the USA, Poland, Australia, and Lebanon – join the event. The radio dictation has a stable international dimension, as it is taught in foreign universities and cultural centers. In 2024, more than 700,000 people participated, and over 10,000 texts were submitted for review from 30+ countries. In 2025, members of the diaspora also took part in the radio dictation, once again confirming its unifying function, especially in times of full-scale war, when millions of Ukrainians found themselves outside the country. For over twenty years, the radio dictation of national unity has remained an important cultural and educational event, read by famous actors and actresses such as Pavlo Vyshebaba and Natalia Sumska. The radio dictation is actively discussed in the media and on social networks, which, in particular, contributes to the promotion of books by the authors of the annual dictation text.

The Frontera literary platform is creating a sustainable environment in Lutsk where literature becomes the basis for cross-sectoral connections, inclusion, and cultural diplomacy. The platform’s team integrates literature into community life through an international festival of the same name, clubs (City Reads, Reading with Spoons), theatrical formats (Poetry.Bread.Wine, Hide and Seek), and the future Paco House space. Together with the NGO “misto.rebut,” Frontera conducted an audit and is implementing solutions for the accessibility of cultural locations, setting a new standard for inclusivity. The 2025 literary festival in Lutsk attracted over 2,500 visitors from five countries. Frontera also co-organized Ukraine’s national stand at the Liber fair in Madrid, strengthening the international presence of Ukrainian literature. Frontera is becoming a driving force for the development of the contemporary literary process in the Volyn region and a platform for international cooperation. In the context of war, accessibility promotes the reintegration of victims, and regional influence ensures the sustainability of the cultural process.

An initiative by Cultural Forces that brings reading back to where the war is raging. The Books to the Front team delivers books to the military, sets up libraries in units and hospitals, and supports events where the defenders themselves read poetry or prose aloud – for their comrades, for themselves, for remembrance. Their activities have changed the perception that culture can and should be present even on the front lines. The initiative team has already delivered over 42,000 books. The project involves caring people, businesses, publishers, and bookstores. Now, while the war is still going on, this work is especially important. It doesn’t just promote reading – it gives meaning and words the place they deserve: alongside the people who protect us.

Nedopysani is a project dedicated to the memory of literary figures killed by russia. The platform’s monitoring service provides the most comprehensive list of victims to date, with over 280 profiles. The project team works in three areas: search, preservation, and dissemination. A significant number of those on the list are writers and individuals from the literary sphere who did not achieve widespread popularity during their lifetime. The team identifies those whose literary legacy should be preserved in various ways and shares their stories with their audience on social media. The goal of Nedopysani is to become an echo of the voices of those who have passed away. The project has produced an audio anthology, Voices. Nedopysani participated in the creation of video poems and helped create a Wall of Remembrance featuring the names of Nedopysani at the Ukrainian national stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The Kharkiv Literary Museum is a cultural center that preserves the heritage of Ukrainian literature by presenting outstanding authors, organizing literary events and projects (Generation Nika—a competition in memory of the late Nika Kozhushko), book presentations and discussions at Litnamet, the Kvitka Day festival, the City on the Line and Poetry on the Ladder projects, and the Slovo residency). The museum collaborates with public organizations, educational institutions, and youth centers that promote reading, changing the perception that books are only for school. In particular, the Reading Room 2.0 competition in 2025 involved teenagers from the Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions. Thanks to foreign partnerships, the Literary Museum’s exhibitions are seen around the world. In particular, the “Antitext” exhibition was displayed not only in Kharkiv and the surrounding regions, but also at Humboldt University in Berlin, the Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig, the Viadrina University in Frankfurt (Oder), and the Ukrainian Festival in Toronto. Despite constant russian attacks on Kharkiv, the museum’s work increases the visibility of Ukrainian cultural heritage worldwide and promotes it in Ukraine.

For systematic work on developing reading as a tool for growth and psychological support for the military, complementing programs of cultural rehabilitation for veterans and fostering understanding within society.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse Special Award consists of a free stand and free accreditations for the Osnovy Publishing team at the Frankfurter Buchmesse from 7 to 11 October 2026.