Ukrainian Publishing industry: 2025 licensing agreement figures

In the first half of 2025, Ukrainian publishers signed more than 150 contracts for the sale of rights to literary works abroad, exceeding the figures for 2023.

In the first half of the year, two publishers took a strong lead in the rights of sales. The Old Lion Publishing House finalized 124 licensing agreements and Ranok secured 61 (for 75 books).

Chytomo reports that at least 40 additional licensing agreements involve smaller publishers. Growth in this segment is stimulated in particular by the Translate Ukraine grant program, the House of Europe translation grant program, and Tales of Ukraine, which, in particular, has contributed to the sale of rights among publishers who previously did not sell literary works abroad.

The number of agreements in the first half of the year is over 160 contracts. For the leaders in rights sales (The Old Lion Publishing House and Ranok) these figures are higher than in the same period last year. According to data by the Ukrainian Book Institute, in 2023, Ukrainian publishers secured more than 130 licensing agreements.

In most years, picture books and illustrated popular science publications for children remain the top segment. The Ranok publishing house has noted growing demand for literature for parents, while the Old Lion Publishing House reports an increase in the number of translations of adult fiction from 10% to almost 30% over the last five years.

“Sales of rights to children’s books are also growing in terms of quantity, but selling licenses for the translation of children’s books is becoming significantly difficult against the backdrop of a substantial increase in the price of materials and book production,” noted Ivan Fedechko, head of the copyright department at the Old Lion Publishing House.

This growth is also linked to the Translate Ukraine program launched by the Ukrainian Book Institute in 2020, along with rising interest from European publishers in Ukrainian literature when applying for Creative Europe funding.

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Copy editing: Terra Friedman King