Three Lithuanian books to be translated into Ukrainian

Three Lithuanian books will be translated into Ukrainian with support from the Lithuanian Culture Institute’s state-funded translation program. The selected works are Marius Burokas’ poetry collection “Seismografas” (“Seismograph”), Kristina Sabaliauskaitė’s short-story collection “Vilnius. Wilno. Vilna. Three Short Stories,” and Kostas Strielkūnas’ debut novel “Mieste nebetiki velniais. Kaimelio detektyvas” (“People No Longer Believe in Devils in the City: A Village Detective Story”).

The projects were selected during the second stage of the institute’s 2026 translation funding competition. Applications were submitted by 40 foreign publishers and two publishers registered in Lithuania, representing Latin America, Western Europe, Lithuania’s neighbouring countries, Africa, and Asia.

Funding was awarded for translations of 32 books by Lithuanian authors into 20 languages. Three books will be translated into Ukrainian and three into Spanish, while two books each will appear in Albanian, Belarusian, Czech, Italian, Latvian, Polish, Swedish, and German. The supported projects also include translations into English, Arabic, Armenian, Assamese, Bulgarian, Estonian, Greek, Kartvelian, Mongolian, and Sinhalese.

Three books for Ukrainian readers

Marius Burokas’ “Seismografas” (“Seismograph”) will be translated into Ukrainian by Kateryna Mikhalitsyna and published by Duh i Litera. The official funding decision identifies the work as a poetry collection.

Published by Lapas in July 2025, “Seismografas” is Burokas’ fifth book and largely consists of prose poetry. The collection received the Lithuanian Writers’ Union’s annual award for 2025. Burokas described it as a book about seeking support in one’s native city, loved ones, and poetry, as well as an attempt to capture contemporary instability through poetic geography and psychogeography.

Kristina Sabaliauskaitė’s “Vilnius. Wilno. Vilna. Three Short Stories” will be translated into Ukrainian by Beatričė Beliavciv and published by Komora Publishing House. The Lithuanian Culture Institute said that stories from the collection will appear in Ukrainian for the first time.

Kostas Strielkūnas’ debut novel “Mieste nebetiki velniais. Kaimelio detektyvas” (“People No Longer Believe in Devils in the City: A Village Detective Story”) will be translated into Ukrainian by Vira Gubariva and published by Nika-Centre Publishing House.

The Lithuanian Culture Institute allocated more than 85,000 euros in state funding during the second stage of the 2026 program. The grants will partially finance translations of 17 books for adults — 13 prose works, two poetry collections, and two historical or biographical books — as well as 15 illustrated children’s books expected to reach international readers in 2026–2027.

Jurga Vilė and Lina Itagaki’s “Sibiro haiku” (“Siberian Haiku”) will be translated into Kartvelian, while Evelina Daciūtė and Aušra Kiudulaitė’s “Laimė yra lapė” (“The Fox on the Swing”) will appear in Italian and Greek.

The program will also support translations into languages less frequently represented in Lithuanian publishing initiatives. Kęstutis Kasparavičius’ picture book “Tinginių šalis” (“The Land of the Lazy”) will be translated into Assamese through English, while Benas Bėrantas and Tania Rex’s “Ponas Kampas” (“Mr. Corner”) will appear in Armenian and Sinhalese through its English edition.

The Lithuanian Culture Institute has published the complete official list of all 32 funded projects, including their authors, original titles, target languages, translators, publishers, and countries.

As reported earlier, literary exchange between Lithuania and Ukraine has also developed in the opposite direction. Lithuanian translator Donata Rinkevičienė received the 2026 “Metų vertėjo krėslas” award for her Lithuanian translation of Ukrainian writer Vasyl Shkliar’s novel “Zayachyi kostel” (“The Hare’s Church”).

Burokas has also contributed to Lithuanian-Ukrainian literary exchange as a translator and supporter of Ukraine. In 2023, he received Lithuania’s “Bring Your Light and Faith” badge for translating Ukrainian poetry, reporting on Russia’s war against Ukraine, and supporting Ukrainian writers and soldiers.

Images: LAPAS, Baltos lankos, Aukso žuvys, Lithuanian Culture Institute, Nieko rimt

Main image: pexels