International jury lineup announced for the 2025 Chytomo Award

Seven experts in publishing and literature have joined the jury that will select the winners of the 2025 Chytomo Award. The jury will be chaired by Oleksandr Mymruk, head of a civic organization and managing editor of Chytomo, a media outlet dedicated to books.

“A book, no matter what it tells, is a place of focus and attention — and therefore, a place of calm. Today, it’s difficult to concentrate on just one thing, yet the need to stay focused is growing. A culture in survival mode must unite people around a great narrative — and that’s exactly what books do: they are smart, engaging, and comprehensive. Reading is a kind of intellectual training that helps us not lose ourselves among ideas, worldviews, and different dimensions of subjective truth,” said Mymruk.

Alongside him, the jury will include:

• Hryhoriy Baran (Ukraine), director of the “Social Capital” program at the International Renaissance Foundation.
• Anton Martynov (Ukraine), founder of Laboratory publishing house and Librarius.pro reading app.
• Vladka Kupska (Germany), senior manager for Central and Eastern European markets at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
• Svetlozar Zhelev (Bulgaria), director of the National Book Center at the National Palace of Culture, and member of the TRADUKI network program committee.
• Fiona Greenland (U.S.), associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, researcher of cultural heritage and Ukrainian literary processes.
• Sasha Dovzhyk, head of INDEX (Ukraine): Institute of Documentation and Exchange, writer, editor, curator, and cultural researcher.
  
  

“Literature can synchronize the experiences of different cultures,” noted jury member and writer Fiona Greenland. “Hanna Uliura taught me this, and it has become my reading ethic. Especially during wartime, fiction and poetry have expressive power that allows them to convey the full range of emotions people carry within. The Ukrainian literary process is built on networks of collaboration — and these networks demonstrate an unbreakable commitment to preserving and developing Ukrainian ideas, imagination, and language.”

Candidates for the Chytomo Award can be nominated in three categories:

• “Publishing market trendsetter” — awarded for developing innovative approaches in publishing, creative business transformation, and advancement of Ukraine’s literary landscape.
• “Reading promotion initiative” — awarded for finding new ways to engage readers, creating a positive image for reading, and transforming education through reading.
• “Ambassador of the Ukrainian book” — awarded for personal contributions to increasing the visibility of Ukrainian books and literature worldwide, and for shaping a positive image of Ukrainian culture.

“A book preserves the nation’s vocabulary, which defines its mental borders. Without this border, any geographical boundary becomes symbolic. In postwar Ukraine, libraries and bookstores are not just cultural centers — they are headquarters for rebuilding consciousness,” added jury member Anton Martynov.

Applications for the Award are open until October 31 via the online application form.

The Chytomo Award ceremony — featuring the finalists and jury members — will take place in Kyiv in late January or early February 2026. The results will be published on the official Chytomo Award website.

More details are available in the 2025 Chytomo Award regulations.

RELATED: Chytomo team announces members of international jury for 2024 Chytomo Award

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn