The Ukrainian Book Institute, the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal, and the Ukrainian Institute will represent Ukraine at the world’s most significant book event, the Frankfurt Book Fair from 18 to 22 October 2023, with a joint national stand as well as separate stands. Ukraine will participate in the fair with the slogan: Fragility of existence. The focus of the discussions will be on the topic of Ecology and War. Ukrainian authors, translators, intellectuals, and public figures will take part in the international discussion programme and Ukrainian industry programme.
About Ukrainian national stand
The Ukrainian national stand in pavilion 4.1/B 82 is organised by the Ukrainian Book Institute. The stand will feature over 500 books from 43 publishers. It will also be the venue for negotiations on the sale of rights to Ukrainian books, and all slots for meetings have already been booked.
The Ukrainian stand was made possible thanks to the large-scale support from the German Ministry of Culture and Media, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the Embassy of Germany in Ukraine, the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Frankfurt. As part of the cooperation, an industry programme called Fragility of creators and curated by the Ukrainian Book Institute and the Goethe-Institut will take place. The stand will have its own stage with events in English and German during each day of the fair.
“Russia’s cruel war against Ukraine is not only ruining our environment and our homes, but also taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. With its missiles, Russia is aiming at our identity. But we are resilient and unbreakable. Ukrainian authors are fighting on the front, volunteering and writing new books; publishers keep publishing books; and readers keep buying and reading them. We are proud to present new books by Ukrainian authors in Frankfurt. These are the efforts of dozens of people that made it possible for us to present Ukrainian books at the stand of the Frankfurt Book Fair, and of thousands of people that made it possible for Ukrainian books to be translated and published in different countries. Meanwhile, these are the efforts of millions of people that will make it possible for us to defeat the aggressor, to restore peace, democracy and justice and not to let invaders destroy our land,” says Oleksandra Koval, director of the Ukrainian Book Institute.
The Mystetskyi Arsenal, the Goethe-Institut and other Ukrainian partners also offer an international discussion programme Fragility of freedom, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. This programme aims to strengthen the resilience of Ukrainian cultural and educational partners.
“Although the explosion of the Kakhovka Dam, the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, or the targeted destruction of grain fields are widely reported in the news, we are still not sufficiently aware of how catastrophically Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine affects the ecosystem. The extent of the destruction is not yet known, but we can see how important it is to treat this issue with all seriousness. Ninety years after the Holodomor, Ukrainian grain production is again under threat; famine is being used as a weapon to awaken the Ukrainian trauma of artificially created famine. The consequences of this are now being felt all over the world. It is these urgent topics that will become the focus of our program’s discussion with famous intellectuals from Germany, Ukraine and other countries,” said Fabian Mühlthaler, director of the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine.
Among the authors and public figures who will also represent the national stand are Iryna Tsylyk, Evgenia Lopata, Maksym Yakovlev, Kateryna Mikhalitsina, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Oksana Zabuzhko, Anna Novosad, Oleksandr Mykhed, Pavlo Kazarin, Yaryna Chornoguz, Sevgil Musaeva, Svitlana Oslavska, Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Alyona Karavai, Vakhtang Kebuladze, Kateryna Kalytko, Yuliia Kozlovets, Pavlo Goldin, Kateryna Shavanova, Tanya Piankova, Ostap Slyvinsky, Kateryna Botanova, Kyrylo Bezkorovainy and others. The full Ukrainian programme in English is available here.
