Shortlistees in the 2024 Chytomo Awards in Kyiv. Image: Taras Tarasov
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Three Categories and a Special Honor
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the first iteration of Ukraine’s Chytomo Award was held last year, and today (February 3) from Kyiv we have news of the 2024 winners, who were announced on Friday (January 31).
Chytomo, as you’ll recall, reports on the book scene and publishing business in Ukraine, and thus is in a good position to organize an awards program, especially during the protracted stresses faced by the industry during Russia’s unprovoked and sustained assault on the nation.
Applications for the 2024 awards were accepted through December 16 in three categories:
- Book Publishing Market Trendsetter, awarded “for finding innovative approaches in publishing, transforming business creatively, and developing the Ukrainian book and/or literary landscape
- Book Initiative That Promotes Reading, awarded for finding new ways to deliver books to readers, creating a positive image for reading, and transforming the educational process through reading
- Ukrainian Book Ambassador, awarded to individuals for personally contributing to the visibility of Ukrainian literature worldwide and forming a positive image of Ukrainian literature and culture
In addition, a special award was provided by Frankfurter Buchmesse.
These awards are organized in partnership and cooperation with the International Renaissance Foundation; the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine; and Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 15 to 19).
Jurors this year were led by Chytomo co-founder Iryna Baturevych, joined by:
- Radovan Auer, director of the International Book fair and literary festival Book World, Czech Republic, Brussels
- Dmytro Lazutkin, Ukrainian poet, journalist, and combat veteran
- Olha Mukha, cultural analyst, curator, and project manager
- Oleksandr Sushko, executive director, International Renaissance Foundation, Ukraine
- Niki Theron, senior manager of international projects at Frankfurter Buchmesse
Chytomo Award 2024 Winners
Winners of the 2024 Chytomo Awards are, from left, Laboratoria’s Anton Martynov; BaraBooka co-founder Tanya Stus; Alim Aliyev, deputy director general of the Ukrainian Institute, a member of the Ukrainian PEN Club executive board; and Oksana Borovet, of Creative Women Publishing
- Book Publishing Market Trendsetter: Anton Martynov, the founder and former director of Laboratoria, a publishing house created in 2020 and specializing in “useful nonfiction and modern fiction. Martynov is also the founder of the book-reading app Librarius.pro. Laboratoria publishes books simultaneously in print, ebooks, and audio. They are available in particular through Librarius.pro, by subscription, single purchase, or rental.
- Book Initiative That Promotes Reading: BaraBooka Ukrainian children’s books “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.” BaraBooka’s project ecosystem consists of its site; 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 Barabooka” 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.
- Ukrainian Book Ambassador: PEN Ukraine, “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.”
- A special award provided by Frankfurter Buchmesse went to Ukraine’s Creative Women Publishing, “the first feminist publishing house in Ukraine focused on literature for and about women. Its goal is to bring change in society for the better through literature and to affirm the presence and importance of women and women’s experiences. As the winner of this honor, Creative Women Publishing will receive a booth and accreditation at October’s 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair.
The Chytomo team at the 2024 Chytomo Awards event features, from left, Anastasiia Andrushko, Tetiana Petrenko, Olesia Boyko, Oksana Khmelyovska, Oleksandr Mymruk, Oksana Gadzhiy (and young Zoriana) and Polina Horodyska. Image: Taras Tarasov
More on the Ukrainian publishing industry and book market is here.
More on international book and publishing awards is here, more on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, more on the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels is here, and more on the German book market is here.
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