The 2025 Book Arsenal Fellowship Program participants announced

Following a competitive selection process, the 2025 Book Arsenal Fellowship Program will be attended by eight participants: publishers, agents and rights managers from Georgia, Estonia, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Finland, France, and Sweden.

The Book Arsenal Fellowship Program, organized in 2024, is a project of the  International Book Arsenal Festival, which brings together foreign publishers and literary agents interested in Ukrainian book publishing. The program helps to strengthen international cooperation with the book industry of Ukraine.

A dedicated networking space will be made available for meetings between Ukrainian and international publishing professionals during the 13th International Book Arsenal Festival on Friday, May 30, between 2 and 7 p.m., and Saturday, May 31, between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Participants of the Fellowship Program will gain insights into the Ukrainian book market, learn about opportunities to support the publication and translation of Ukrainian works abroad, and network with publishers taking part in the 13th International Book Arsenal Festival.

The selected participants are:

• Henrikki Timgren, Finland, Publisher, WSOY

Henrikki Timgren has been active in the publishing industry since 2005. His experience includes work at two Finnish publishing houses. From 2005 to 2011, he worked at Gummerus Publishing House, initially as a manager of translated fiction and later as publishing director. From 2012, he has been with WSOY, Finland’s largest publishing house—first as a publisher of translated fiction, and since 2015, as a publisher of both Finnish and translated non-fiction.

E-mail: [email protected]

• Nuka Gambashidze, Georgia, Publisher and Rights Manager, Sulakauri Publishing

Nuka Gambashidze is a Tbilisi-based publisher and rights manager, working with Sulakauri Publishing, where she represents Georgian authors and oversees rights sales. Nuka holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature and is currently pursuing her PhD. Over the years, she has managed the Tbilisi International Literary Festival and curated a range of international literary projects.

Sulakauri Publishing (founded in 1999) is a leading general publisher with a curated list of Georgian and translated fiction and nonfiction, and juvenile literature. The publisher’s original titles are translated into more than 30 languages; a few of them were adapted into films and series. Sulakauri represents prominent, award-winning Georgian authors such as Aka Morchiladze, Ekaterine Togonidze, Tamta Melashvili, and Archil Kikodze. Its acquisitions list includes Roberto Bolaño, Cormac McCarthy, Sally Rooney, Oksana Zabuzhko, and others.

E-mail: [email protected]

• Leelo Märjamaa, Estonia, Publisher and editor-in-chief Draakon&Kuu

Draakon & Kuu is an independent publishing house established in 2000 in Tallinn, Estonia. It focuses on publishing quality children’s books in translation for all ages: picture books, fiction, poetry, graphic novels, as well as literary fiction for adults.

E-mail: [email protected]

• Grandin Florent, France, Publisher éditions Père Fouettard

Éditions Père Fouettard is “… for the free children, who, as they rightly should, refuse to be catalogued or labelled. For today’s children, who will be tomorrow’s grown-ups.”

E-mail: [email protected]

• Barbora Baronová, Czech Republic, Publisher, writer wo-men publishing

Barbora Baronová is a literary documentary filmmaker, book curator, independent publisher, journalist, artist, and lecturer on self-publishing, as well as the author and co-author of more than ten books. Barbora has received several book awards, including the Magnesia Litera and The Most Beautiful Book in the Czech Republic. In 2012, she founded wo-men publishing, an independent publishing house that focuses primarily on artistic documentary books, particularly those exploring gender issues. The publishing house aims to distribute high-quality literary and photographic nonfiction works by both Czech and international authors. Many of the titles published by wo-men highlight the voices of marginalized communities and cover topics outside the mainstream. The books are produced in small or limited editions, and printed on high-quality, eco-friendly paper in local printing houses.

E-mail: [email protected]

• Carlo Gallucci, Italy, Publisher Gallucci Editore

Gallucci Editore was founded in Rome in 2002. Started as a family adventure, it is now one of the biggest independent publishers in Italy, especially for children. It publishes books by prestigious Italian and international authors, artists, musicians, in different formats and genres. The main imprints are: Lìbrido, which publishes “hybrid” books, i.e. cloth, bath, smell books, for toddlers; Gallucci, for board books, novelties and picture books; Bros., which gathers middle grade and YA novels; Balloon, for comics and graphic novels for all ages, with an eye on underground, fresh productions; and Glifi, which is dedicated to fiction and non-fiction for adult readers. Each book is carefully chosen and crafted to spread the love of reading and learning and share original stories.

E-mail: [email protected]

• Marta Górska, Poland, Rights Manager Foksal Publishing Group

The Foksal Publishing Group publishes an average of 800 books a year and is one of Poland’s leading publishers in the trade book publishing sector. The group includes reputable publishing houses like: W.A.B., one of the most influential and distinguished publishing houses specializing in Polish culture; Wilga, a popular and reputable publisher of children’s literature; and Buchmann, a publishing house known to readers since 1987, specializing in lifestyle literature and practical guides.

E-mail: [email protected]

• Ola Wallin, Sweden, Publisher ERSATZ

Ersatz is a general-interest book publisher in Stockholm founded in 1994 by Anna Bengtsson and Ola Wallin. Our main focus is on literature and nonfiction in translation, primarily East European and German literature, but books written in other languages and works originally in Swedish have become an increasingly large part of our output. For Ersatz it is important to maintain high quality standards in all parts of production and we only use sheetfed printing presses and wood-free paper.

The Book Arsenal Fellowship Program takes place within the 13th International Book Arsenal Festival and is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation.

To organize B2B meetings with program participants, please fill out the Google form by May 2, 2025. 

As reported earlier, the focus theme and curators of the 13th International Book Arsenal Festival have already been announced.

RELATED: 7 foreign publishers to attend the International Book Arsenal Festival in Kyiv

Main image: International Book Arsenal Festival

Copy editing: Ben Angel