142 meetings between Ukrainian and international publishers have taken place during the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! Program
This year, 21 Ukrainian and 41 international publishers from 22 countries have joined the meetings. This year, all the meetings have taken place on the Hopin platform, which made it possible to hold multiple meetings simultaneously, bringing together people from around the world.
Most of the partners were from EU countries.
Slovenia is a small market with two millions of population, but we continue to publish all types of books at a very high level. Within the logistical constraints, the meetings organized by the Book Arsenal team are important for immersion into tne Ukrainian book market. We have held 20 meetings, and we hope for good results
— Senja Požar, Senior Foreign Partnerships Manager at Mladinska knjiga and Cankarjeva založba (Slovenia).
Representatives from Singapore, Indonesia, Croatia, India, Malaysia, and Iran have taken part for the first time.
We are happy to participate in these meetings, to know more about the key players of the Ukrainian book market, and to form the vision of our cooperation in the future. We are also impressed by the technical level of the meetings’ organization. We hope that next year we will foster our acquaintance with Ukrainian partners
said Wedha SY, Rights Manager at Gramedia Publishers (Indonesia).
The main goal of the project is to stimulate translations of Ukrainian books abroad, and to strengthen the competencies of Ukrainian publishers in selling rights abroad. A lot of Ukrainian publishers had already participated in the program last year.
This year, the level of interest of the international publishers has grown significantly, even compared to 2020. They are ready to buy and publish the projects by Ukrainian authors! The organizers were in touch with us almost 24/7 and offered a very good selection of publishers — from Asia and Oceania to Latin and North America. The portfolio of international publishers was also diverse, so I believe that it was easy for all Ukrainian participants to find partners for the meetings
said Kateryna Natidze, Rights & Trade Director at Ranok Publishing House.
A lot of participants had to learn digital tools that are new for them. The inclusive format and the extraordinary support of two strong organizing teams made this event not only possible, but also quite successful
said Anastasia Sylenok, Co-founder of Digitizing.Space, the technical partner of the event.
On the one hand, over the past year, publishers have learned on their own how to successfully negotiate in the context of social distance, as evidenced by the record number of published translations from Ukrainian into foreign languages. On the other hand, the expert presentation of the Ukrainian literary scene through video lectures, the cooperation with cultural institutions in the country, notifications of grant opportunities, important book prizes, and advocacy through ambassadors — all this forms foreigners’ comprehensive idea about Ukraine as a reliable and promising partner
said Oksana Khmeliovska, the Curator of the project.
Just giving translation grants is not enough. We need to be heard abroad, so that there is someone to receive these grants. And that is why this project is so important for the House of Europe. This is an opportunity for international publishers not only to learn more about our literature, but also to agree on cooperation with Ukrainian colleagues during online B2B meetings. Last year, some of the international publishers that applied for our Translation Grants had signed a rights acquisition agreement thanks to the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! Program. We hope that this year the project will again catalyze the emergence of new translations
said co-coordinator of the project Dzvinka Hanna Pinchuk, Translation Grant Officer at House of Europe.
This year, Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! has been a joint project between the Book Arsenal and the EU programme House of Europe. The partners of the project are Creative Europe and the Department of Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Online B2B meetings are the final component of the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! Project that took place within the 10th International Book Arsenal Festival. The first component was the educational program—interactive online lectures and workshops from leading global experts on June 7–9.
Educational programs give an opportunity not only to upgrade the skills, but also to learn how international professionals pave their way to success. This gives you the tips on how a Ukrainian publisher should move forward. Vivat uses valuable advice from the lectures, and it should be mentioned that we have made some progress. This year I have had many more meetings where I promoted literature for export, and not my international partner. Even if there were partners who were only interested in selling rights, I managed to get contacts of those who buy, so for me the meetings will continue
said Nataliia Miroshnyk, Foreign Rights Manager at Vivat Publishing House.
The International Book Arsenal Festival has been held annually since 2011 by Mystetskyi Arsenal in its historical building. It is an important intellectual event in Ukraine where the book, music, performative and visual art scenes interact, where important issues of human existence as well as society and culture, are discussed and reflected on, prompting actions from participants and visitors.
The mission of the Book Arsenal Festival is to create interactions where the aesthetic experience and intellectual engagement generated by a book enhances the ability of society to progress.
House of Europe is an EU-funded programme fostering professional and creative exchange between Ukrainians and their colleagues in EU countries and the UK. The programme focuses on culture and creative industries, education, health, social entrepreneurship, media, and youth.
The exchange encompasses 20+ separate programmes including conferences, professional events, internships, and networking in the EU and the UK, as well as study tours, residencies, trainings, and other forms of support. House of Europe funds cultural coproductions and cooperation between Ukrainian organisations and their counterparts in the EU and the UK, along with the development of cultural infrastructure and artistic concepts for youth in Ukraine. Finally, the programme provides various youth camps and an intra-Ukrainian university exchange. Implementation of the program is led by the Goethe-Institut, with the British Council, Institut francais, and Czech Center as Consortium partners.