Chytomo in 2025: USAID cancellation, Andrey Kurkov’s opinion, and major awards

One of our key missions is to continue to speak about Ukraine and other underrepresented neighboring countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The existence of Chytomo’s English-language version is 70% supported by our patrons and volunteers. Join our community to help us spread the word about Ukraine and other countries fighting for their cultural and linguistic agency.

As before, our publications are widely translated internationally. We provide commentary and additional information to colleagues abroad and engage with bloggers. The most widely republished article last year was “Conclusions without Optimism: The Ukrainian Book Market in 2025” (published simultaneously by three professional outlets).

In addition to covering Ukraine, we paid special attention to the situation in Georgia, publishing nine articles about publishers’ fight for creative freedom and the crimes of Georgian Dream against culture and freedom of speech. We also covered Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Hungary and many other countries.

Chytomo editorial picks: best articles of the year

• Dmytro Krapyvenko on the end of anti-war literature
• Ukrainian literature witnesses a renaissance of the short story form
• Review of Artur Dron’s book ‘Hemingway Knows Nothing’
• Eero Balk: Our elders warned us that the KGB might try to recruit us
• Daisy Gibbons: It’s interesting that so many «giants» of Russian literature often worked in Ukraine or came from Ukraine
• Reading and publishing in Greece: without libraries and ‘resort literature’

Media about / in collaboration with Chytomo: from Le Monde to Publisher’s Weekly

Last year, we collaborated with one of France’s largest and most authoritative newspapers, Le Monde. Together, we prepared materials on the situation in Ukraine, the work of Chytomo, the Executed Renaissance, and even Trump’s policies. We expected our collaboration with journalist Florent Georgesco to appear merely in the Culture supplement, but the article was selected as a cover story. It brought us not only new readers but also new partners.

As Andrey Kurkov noted: “For the first time in the history of the French press, Le Monde dedicated three pages to Ukrainian literature — at the worst time for Ukraine and Ukrainian literature.”

Articles about (and in collaboration with) Chytomo also appeared in Livres Hebdo (FR), Index on Censorship (UK), LOGOS: The Journal of the World Book Community (UK), Boersenblatt (DE), Publisher’s Weekly and Publisher’s Weekly Frankfurt Daily (US), Publishing Perspectives (US).

Thanks to a House of Europe grant, seven articles on Ukrainian culture and literature were published in Greece — both in mainstream outlets (Kathimerini, Ta Nea, Marie Claire Greece) and in literary media (Vakxikon, Kroma Magazine, The Books’ Journal).

Chytomo’s mission: not just translation, but readership

We regularly publish reviews of both translated and untranslated books. Based on our suggestions, publishers make decisions about acquiring and publishing Ukrainian works in other languages — and this deeply inspires us. We believe our work helps underrepresented voices resonate more frequently around the world.

One of the year’s major projects was Chapter Ukraine — a new interactive digital platform offering comprehensive information about Ukrainian books available in translation. Users can access detailed data, filter the catalogue by genre, theme, or historical period, create curated lists, and share them directly with libraries and bookstores.

We compiled a database of roughly 500 titles:

• French – 104
• Spanish – 33
• German – 151
• English – 200+

The project was shortlisted for the Responsibility Award, and inspired by this support, we began working on four additional language versions: Portuguese, Swedish, Polish, and Italian.

Developing literary criticism in Ukraine

We consciously chose the development of literary criticism in Ukraine as one of Chytomo’s strategic goals for 2025 — and the results were ambitious and far-reaching.

First, we launched an educational program for young journalists and critics — an intensive course in book journalism and literary criticism supported by the British Council Ukraine in partnership with Litosvita. Lecturers included Ukrainian critics Hanna Uliura, Anatolii and Kateryna Pityk, Tetiana Petrenko, Tetiana Kalytenko, Valentyna Vzdulska, as well as Dr. Emily Finer (University of St. Andrews) and Charlotte Higgins, Chief Culture Correspondent of The Guardian.

Second, we established a new Ukrainian award and presented the Chytomo Picks 2025 for Best Ukrainian Prose, Contemporary Fiction, and Autofiction.

The Chytomo Award

For the third time, our editorial team honored companies, projects, and changemakers for outstanding achievements in publishing and literature. For the second year in a row, the award was made possible thanks to the International Renaissance Foundation and, as since its founding, the continued support of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

RELATED: 2025 Chytomo Award: Winners unveiled

The winners were the Sens bookstore, Yulia Kozlovets, and the initiative “Book to the Frontline.” The publishing house Osnovy received a special award from the Frankfurter Buchmesse, including a stand at the key international publishing event of the year.

Finances

In 2025, the Chytomo team continued actively applying for grants while also developing parallel initiatives to strengthen the media outlet’s sustainability — namely, our Community and Advisory Board.

We secured nine grants for specific small-scale projects. Grant support remains crucial, but it also places us in a position of dependence on additional projects and leaves fewer resources for structural editorial development.

The total grant funding raised in 2025 amounted to 116,280 USD (5,003,880 UAH), representing 68% of our income — 11% less than the previous year. Contributions from the Chytomo Club totaled 13,780 USD (593,000 UAH) – 8% of the budget.

We replaced commercial partnerships with a different model, focusing on the Advisory Board, which ensured Chytomo’s continued work and demonstrated that publishers are willing to financially support the only professional media outlet in the field.

Our goal is to reduce the number of “extra” grants that distract from our daily media work and increase the share of funding from the Advisory Board and readers via Patreon, allowing us to focus on strategic goals.

Throughout the year, the Chytomo community supported us intellectually, emotionally, and financially — and we are deeply grateful. Club members stay connected through a dedicated chat and receive monthly insider digests from the team. They also receive book gifts and invitations to exclusive offline events.

In 2026, there will be even more benefits, including updated membership bonuses aligned with new support levels. Join us!

RELATED: Chytomo report 2024: money raised, books published, and partnerships built

Copy editing: Ben Angel