Book Aid International Sends More Books to Ukraine

Following its first 25,000-book shipment to Kyiv, Book Aid International at London Book Fair announces that 15,000 more books are heading to Ukraine.

As Publishing Perspectives reports. In December, an initial 25,000-book shipment was announced in this project, with leading support from Hachette UK, Oxford University Press, Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, and Pan Macmillan.

That original shipment went into Kyiv in November, and the organization says that more than 10,000 of those books, including children’s books, literary classics, art and leisure books, and English-as-a-foreign language texts, have now been distributed to more than 68 libraries, many of which are on the front line, according to Book Aid’s team members with whom Publishing Perspectives spoke on Tuesday.

In partnership with the Nova Post humanitarian initiative, Book Aid International’s publisher-donated books in that first tranche have been distributed to regions including Chernihiv, Kherson, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, and Chernivtsi.

Alison Tweed at Olympia London on Tuesday, said, “When PEN Ukraine first reached out to Book Aid International at London Book Fair last year, we understood what an important project Unbreakable Libraries is, and we were keen to be involved. …

‘The books our publisher partners have generously donated are now in the hands of people who most need them, and we’re committed to sending more.

“It’s good to know that these books will offer both comforts now and will help to build the futures of many Ukrainians who are facing the daily reality of war. We want to thank all our book donors and financial supporters for helping to make this book donation possible.”

And Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton—who is also Book Aid International’s president—spoke of how “a relationship forged a year ago at London Book Fair has had such a positive outcome,” starting Book Aid on a path to “supporting the Unbreakable Libraries project.

“Ensuring continued access to books for Ukrainians who are facing immeasurable challenges must remain at the forefront of this collaboration,” Newton said.

“I urge more publishers to join this important initiative by donating books, funds and spreading the word.”

During the course of Tuesday’s event, it was mentioned that publishers interested in working with the program should contact brian.martin@bookaid.org.

The other charity named by London Book Fair’s administration as an official humanitarian nonprofit program honored by the trade show this year is the National Literacy Trust, a UK-facing program “supported by the population and the publishing business, and reaching in 2022, what it reports as more than 1.3 million children and young people through school settings and in other community venues. ”

Source: publishingperspectives.com (Porter Anderson)

Image: olympia.londo