Ukraine will be in the spotlight at the London Book Fair 2023

The London Book Fair has announced that Ukraine will be a “Guest Spotlight” country during the 2023 event.

The Ukraine focus is to be reflected in a series of events developed with organizations including:

• The Ukrainian Book Institute
• English PEN
• The Publishers Association
• The International Publishers Association
• The British Council

At the fair, there will be discussions on topics including how Ukrainian writers have responded to the Russian assault; the role played by books in countering disinformation and the support of democracy; women’s voices in such discussions; and writing from the battlefield. Stand B201 is to have a display of contemporary Ukrainian publishing.

Among the authors of our program who will speak about Ukraine are Olesia Khromechuk, Mariana Savka, Luke Harding, Victoria Amelina, Oleksandr Mykhed, Iaryna Chorhohus, Orysia Lutsevych, Kateryna Babkina, Tetyan Teren, Nina Murray, Tanja Tuma, Iva Pezuashvili, Paul Robert Magocsi, and Vladislav Davidzon.

Karine Pansa, president of the International Publishers Association, emphasized, “At a recent IPA event on the freedom to publish situation in Ukraine, all of our Ukrainian speakers were clear: “You can support us by continuing to work with us as peers, by licensing our books, by keeping us part of the international book sector. It’s great to see London Book Fair doing that and providing Ukrainian publishers with the means to keep working with their international colleagues despite the atrocities of war they face at home.”

Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute Oleksandra Koval added, “We are grateful to the organizers of London Book Fair for inviting us as a ‘Guest Spotlight’ market and helping us with our stand. … Ukrainian authors will be able to tell their story at one of the most important cultural venues. Since the beginning of the war, our reality has changed: we have witnessed what social media hides by marking photos as ‘sensitive content.’ Our truth is not aimed at impressing, but at testifying to the crimes that Russians commit every day against Ukrainians and Ukrainian culture.”

Selected Program Highlights dedicated to Ukraine:

• April 18, 9:30 a.m., Focus Theater
  Guest Spotlight welcome: Ukraine Opening Ceremony

• April 18, 1: 30 p.m., English PEN Literary Salon
  Art After War: The Future of Ukrainian Literature

• April 19, 3:30 p.m., English PEN Literary Salon
  You Cannot Mute the Truth: How the Ukrainian Publishing Market Works in Wartime

• April 20, 9:30 a.m., English PEN Literary Salon
  Prove Who You Are: The Face of Ukrainian Culture Today

• April 20, 1:15 p.m., English PEN Literary Salon
  Writers on the Frontline: Stories from Ukraine

Read also: Oscar Ekström: The core of a fair is people meeting each other

Source: Publishing Perspectives

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