17th April – 20th April, London Book Fair, Olympia London

Ukraine will participate in the London Book Fair as a Guest Spotlight country. The Ukraine focus is to be reflected in a series of events.

Programming takes the form of conversations 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 the programme 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. 

On the eve of the London Book Fair on 17 April, a discussion ‘Writing in War: Ukrainian Writers Speak’ will be held. The event will take place at the British Library with the support of the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute as part of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture.

Celebrated Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina and journalist Tetyana Teren will reflect on whether writers carry a responsibility to focus their literary gaze on the violence surrounding them and how continuing to write and publish can itself be a form of resistance.

With the invasion of Ukraine now into a second year, they will discuss how writers have responded to the war in different ways, and how writing and form continue to evolve as a means of processing trauma on an individual and collective basis. Victoria and Tetyana will appear in conversation with Claire Armitstead from the Guardian. The discussion is open to the public by prior registration.

Among the events dedicated to Ukraine at the London Book Fair are:

• 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 18, 4:00 p.m., English PEN Literary Salon
  Ukrainians, Jews, and War
• 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
  War and Writing: Stories from Ukraine
• April 20, 11:05 a.m., Literary Translation Centre
  Decolonising Eastern Europe: Found in Translation (in partnership with English PEN, British Council and Literature Across Frontiers)
• April 20, 1:15 p.m., English PEN Literary Salon
  Prove Who You Are: The Face of Ukrainian Culture Today

The programme Guest Spotlight: Ukraine is presented by the British Council, the British Library, PEN England, PEN International, PEN Ukraine, the Ukrainian Book Institute and the Ukrainian Institute.

Also, as part of the UK/Ukraine Culture Season, a networking reception will take place at the London Book Fair. During this event, foreign literary and publishing professionals will be able to introduce themselves to their Ukrainian counterparts. 

In addition, the shortlist for the Man Booker International Prize will be announced during the London Book Fair. Among others, the nominee is the novel Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv by Andriy Kurkov, translated by Reuben Woolley. 

To find out more: Guest Spotlight: Ukraine at the London Book Fair 2023 – UK/Ukraine Season (ukuaseason.org)