The International Book Arsenal Festival together with BolognaBookPlus, the general publishing arm of the Bologna Book Fair,  are happy to announce an open call for the Ukrainian publishers to submit their edition for the Talking Pictures, an ongoing initiative of BolognaBookPlus centering on the visual book and contemporary publishing. 

The aim of the Talking Pictures initiative is to celebrate excellence in international  book production for the adult market, highlighting editorial innovation in the use of images and of the book-as-object, as well as recognizing boundary-crossing applications of visual imagery in contemporary publishing. The highlighted country of Talking Pictures in 2024 is Ukraine.

It is commonly acknowledged that we eat with our eyes, not our stomachs. Similarly, our appetite for books is whetted by the visual,  devouring the words within after being enticed by the cover…Each time I visited Kyiv and its bookshops I was struck by the immense care and attention to detail that was lavished on the design of books – both inside and out. BolognaBookPlus is delighted to showcase the books that have been published in Ukraine over the past challenging years and the industry talent that has contributed to them

— Jacks Thomas, Guest Director, BolognaBookPlus.

Submission criteria:

• Books published by Ukrainian publishers and created by Ukrainian creators,
• Books published in 2021-2024,
• Books for the adult market audience.

Eligible genres, but not limited to, are: illustrated books, graphic novels, books on graphic design, photography, fine art, architecture and design. 

We are pleased to be partners with BolognaBookPlus in the Talking Pictures Initiative and to expand the opportunities for introducing our best names and titles and presenting Ukrainian illustration and book design to global audiences. Bologna Book Fair is the powerful platform, participation in which attracts attention internationally, gives an opportunity to introduce Ukrainian cultural phenomena as part of the global agenda, thus encourages dialogue, and stimulates cooperation between the book creators. For us, this project is aimed at developing international cooperation and exchanges, not just at unilateral presentation of Ukrainian books abroad

— Yuliia Kozlovets, Director of the International Book Arsenal Festival.

To submit the book, please fill the Form. After filling the form the applicant must send two printed copies of the book to the IBAF office. The deadline for submitting applications and printed copies for the Contest is February 20, 2024, inclusive. Please send physical book copies by post or courier to the address of the Mystetskyi Arsenal office: NACMC “Mystetskyi Arsenal”, 10–12 Lavrska St., Kyiv, 01010. Contact person for delivery — Maryna Lymarenko, +380987087244.

To submit

Upon the submitted editions the jury will select a collection of the best Ukrainian visual books for the adult market that will be exhibited at Bologna 2024 and at the International Book Arsenal Festival in 2024. The jury will choose the winner of the Talking Pictures prize to be announced at the BolognaBookPlus theatre and awarded at the International Book Arsenal Festival. Additionally the winner will be invited to participate at the BolognaBookPlus 2025.

Judging criteria will include: 

• Publishing goal, 
• Design, 
• Typographic quality,
• Originality and innovation,
• Successful use of images and illustrations to convey narratives.

Talking Pictures is curated for BolognaBookPlus by a team of visual arts experts based in Italy and New York: 

Steven Guarnaccia is an illustrator and Professor Emeritus of Parsons School of Design, a former Op-Ed art director of the New York Times. 

The Hamelin Agency, Bologna is an association that deals with reading and books. Hamelin runs training courses for librarians, booksellers and teachers, organizes cultural events, and offers design and curation services for illustration exhibitions. 

Contact email for further questions and details (indicate “Talking Pictures” in the subject line of the letter) — [email protected]

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) — three global book events for international rights and licensing trading that take place annually in the eponymous Italian city, where culture meets style and commercial relationships are created.

BolognaBookPlus (BBPlus) was launched in 2020 by BCBF/BolognaFiere, in collaboration with the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), to reach a general publishing audience via a three-day exhibit, training and conferences — among other opportunities — taking place alongside the acclaimed Bologna Children’s Book Fair 8-11 April 2024. Working closely with the Bologna team, BolognaBookPlus is led by Jacks Thomas as Guest Director, supported by a UK team.

The International Book Arsenal Festival is a project of the Mystetskyi Arsenal that has been held annually since 2011. It is an intellectual event in Ukraine, where the book, literary, visual, music and theatre scenes develop and interact with each other, and important issues of human existence, as well as society and culture are raised, prompting the proactive position of the participants and visitors.

Applications are now open for “Best Book Design 2023”. Books that were published from January to November 2023 inclusive and were not previously entered into the Contest are accepted for participating in this Contest. Applications will be accepted until November 21, 2023, inclusive. As usual, participation is free.

The Best Book Design Contest was launched by Mystetskyi Arsenal in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Ukraine during the International Book Arsenal Festival in 2016. In 2023, the Contest will be held for the eighth time.

Winners to be chosen in five categories:

• Text book (books with the dominating text component; poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction)
• Visual book (publications with the dominating visual component; publications about art, albums, photo books, catalogues, books with a significant number of images, comics, etc.)
• Kids book (children’s and teenagers’ books of various genres and types, kids’ comics)
• Utility book (books of mainly applied nature, non-fiction, popular science books, scientific, educational literature, guidebooks, cookbooks, specialised periodicals, etc.)
• Experiment (self-published literature, photo books, art books and limited editions, zines, comics, etc.)

The winners are determined by the jury. Books submitted to the Contest must be created by Ukrainian designers / illustrators / artists or commissioned by Ukrainian publishers. Editions with purchased licensed content will not be considered. Up to 5 books from one publisher can be submitted for Contest participation.

The jury members of the “Best Book Design 2023” contest:

• Agrafka art studio (Romana Romanyshyn, Andriy Lesiv)
• Sasha Bychenko, Kultura Studio
• Nadia Kelm, data visualiser
• Hlib Kaporikov, Projector
• Anna Ivanenko, seri/graph studio
• Florian Lamm, Lamm & Kirch (Germany)
• Przemek Dębowski, Karakter Publishing House (Poland)

Considering all books submitted to the Contest, the jury compiles a shortlist of finalists (15 books in total; 3 books for each Contest category). Based on the shortlist, the jury chooses the winners in each category (5 winners in total). Among the winners in five categories, the primary winner, the Grand Prix of the Contest, is chosen.

Ukrainian cultural workers, as well as Ukrainian book designers, publishers, and printing houses, have demonstrated incredible resilience over the past 20 months. We are proud and happy to support the Best Book Design Contest, even amidst full-scale war. This allows Ukrainian book design to be presented among the most beautiful books in the world in these harsh times

— Fabian Mühlthaler, Director of the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.

Since its foundation, the Best Book Design Contest was conceived not only as a national award but also as a tool for creative search, and, what is crucial, for promoting Ukrainian publishers and designers and establishing the phenomenon of Ukrainian book art in the international professional and bibliophile communities. This contest has a more lasting impact than a one-time trendsetter event. It can provide professional development opportunities that we encourage you to take advantage of

— Olga Zhuk, Deputy General Director at Mystetskyi Arsenal.

Apply for the Contest

The results of the eighth Best Book Design Contest will be announced in early December 2023 on the website and social media pages of the International Book Arsenal Festival. Finalists and winners of the Contest will represent Ukrainian book design in the “Best Book Design from All over the World” competition organised by the German Buchkunst Foundation. The winning books will also be exhibited at international book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt. In addition, the author of the most significant contribution to the design of the Grand Prix-winning book will be invited on a professional trip to Germany in 2024.

Regulations

Before submitting an application, we advise you to read the Regulations carefully. The deadline for submitting applications and printed copies for the Contest is November 21, 2023, inclusive. Please send physical book copies by post or courier to the address of the Mystetskyi Arsenal office: NACMC “Mystetskyi Arsenal”, 10–12 Lavrska St., Kyiv, 01010. Contact person for delivery — Maryna Lymarenko, +380987087244.

The Contest is held by the International Book Arsenal Festival in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Ukraine. The “Best Book Design 2023” contest takes place with the financial support of the German State Ministry for Culture and the Media.

The project partners — the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Buchkunst Foundation.

Media partners — Telegraf.Design and Chytomo.

The hospitality partner — BURSA.

Contact email for further questions and details (indicate “Best Book Design” in the subject line of the letter) — [email protected]

Frankfurter Buchmesse in cooperation with the International Book Arsenal Festival and Goethe-Institut Ukraine announce the open call for the second season of the Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

The Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries is an intensive training and networking programme for publishers, editors, foreign rights managers and literary agents from Armenia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Ukraine within Frankfurter Buchmesse which will take place on October 18-22, 2023.

This year the Programme will be held for the second time. In 2022, 17 publishers participated in the Programme, including 9 publishers from Ukraine. Read more about the Programme and the 2022 participants on the Frankfurter Buchmesse website.

Participants of the Special Programme 2022
Photo: Frankfurter Buchmesse, Nurettin Cicek

The participation in the Programme includes:

• preparatory online seminars with advice on participation in Frankfurter Buchmesse and presentations of the book markets of the countries participating in the Programme;
• one-day seminar with experts of the German book market;
• participation in the official opening of Frankfurter Buchmesse;
• numerous events and opportunities for establishing professional contacts with international partners during Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Participation requirements:

• at least two years of professional experience in publishing with a focus on rights and licensing trade;
• a good command of English;
• being a publishing professional from Ukraine, Armenia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic.

To apply

The Special Programme for Publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries is a professional programme launched by Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2022 as part of a strategic partnership and in cooperation with the International Book Arsenal Festival and Goethe-Institut Ukraine.

The Special Programme for Publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries is subject to financial support by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In 2022, the Best Book Design Contest will be held for the seventh time. The Contest is organized by the International Book Arsenal Festival in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Ukraine, supported by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Buchkunst Foundation.

In view of the difficult circumstances of the Russia’s war in Ukraine, this year’s Contest will be a special war edition, aiming at supporting the sustainability of the Ukrainian book industry creative community.

Books that were published from June 2021 to December 2022 and have not been submitted to the Contest before are accepted to participate in the Best Book Design Contest 2022.

Books must be created by Ukrainian designers/illustrators or commissioned by a Ukrainian publisher. Publications with purchased licensed content, the rights to which belong to foreign companies, are not considered.

The competition is open to books by publishers, individuals, as well as institutions that initiated the publication. Only up to 5 books from one publisher can be submitted to the competition. Participation in the Contest is free.

The winners will be determined in five categories:

• Text Book (books in which the textual part dominates: poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction);
• Visual Book (books mostly with the visual part: art publications, albums, photo books, catalogs, books with a large number of images, graphic novels, etc.);
• Kids Book (kids and adolescent books of various genres and types, children’s graphic novels);
• Utility Book (popular science book, scientific, educational literature, guides, cookbook, etc.);
• Experiment (self-published books, photo books, art books and limited editions, zines, graphic novels, etc.).

Among all the books submitted to this year’s Contest, the jury members will determine 15 winning books, 3 books in each of the categories. The winners of the Contest will represent Ukrainian book design in the Best Book Design from All over the World competition organized by the German Buchkunst Foundation; the winning books will also be exhibited at international book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt.

In view of the unequal work conditions that some of the Ukrainian publishers and designers/illustrators have experienced due to the full-scale war in Ukraine, this year’s Contest will be held in the format of professional review by the jury members, and the Grand Prix will not be awarded.

The results of the Best Book Design Contest will be announced in January on the Book Arsenal website.

This year’s Ukrainian program at the Frankfurt Book Fair has shown us how important the presence of Ukrainian books has become in the media and the publishing sector of Europe and all over the world. Therefore, despite the extremely difficult conditions that publishers, book designers, and printing industry have been experiencing due to the war, this year’s Best Book Design Contest is an opportunity to once again remind the world about the resilience and perseverance of Ukrainian culture. This year, we have decided not to award the Grand Prix, but to determine only 15 winning books that will be submitted to the Best Book Design from All over the World competition organized by the German Buchkunst Foundation, as we strongly believe that everyone who has worked on creating new books despite all the challenges deserves an award

— Fabian Mühlthaler, Director of the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.

We have decided to nevertheless hold the Best Book Design Contest 2022, despite the cancelled 11th Book Arsenal Festival, the difficult conditions in which all of us are working today, and in which Ukrainian publishers and book designers have been creating their books all over this year. But this difficult year happened to all of us; it had its losses, but also its gains. We want to award the best ones, to name their books and give thanks to them, as well as not to miss the opportunity to present Ukrainian book design at the Best Book Design from All Over the World competition in Germany this year. After all, the global presence of our books, the promotion of high-quality contemporary Ukrainian cultural product, and the communication of our agency and dignity to the world are especially important today

— Yuliia Kozlovets, Coordinator of the International Book Arsenal Festival.

We kindly ask you to read carefully the updated REGULATIONS on the organization and holding of the Best Book Design Contest.

REGULATIONS

You can apply for participation via the link.

APPLY FOR PARTICIPATION

The deadline for submission of applications and printed copies of books for the Contest is December 23, 2022.
Please send printed copies of books by mail or courier to the address of the Mystetskyi Arsenal office:
Kyiv, 10 Lavrska st.
Contact person: Oksana Karpiuk, +380675889410

In 2021, the Book Arsenal Festival held the sixth Best Book Design Contest. The Grand Prix of the Contest was won by the Agrafka creative studio (Romana Romanyshyn, Andriy Lesiv) for the book On the Move (the Old Lion Publishing House). The same publication won the nomination Kids Book. Read more about the winners in other nominations via the link.

The Best Book Design Contest was launched in 2016. It is organized by the International Book Arsenal Festival and Goethe-Institut Ukraine, supported by the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Buchkunst Foundation. The winners of the Contest represent Ukrainian book design in the Best Book Design from All over the World competition organized by the German Buchkunst Foundation; the winning books are also exhibited at international book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt.

Contact persons:
Oksana Karpiuk, Book Arsenal
[email protected]

Maria Shubchyk, Goethe-Institut Ukraine
[email protected]

Responding to the challenges of the war, the International Book Arsenal Festival is announcing the third edition of the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! program.

The main goal of the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! 2022 program is to promote the export of Ukrainian books abroad and to strengthen the competencies of Ukrainian publishers in overcoming the challenges of the full-scale war.

This year again, the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! 2022 program is supported by the European Union under the House of Europe programme. The information and analytical partner is the Chytomo media project.

The Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! 2022 program will include 2 components:

• The educational component includes individual mentoring sessions from world and Ukrainian experts who have successful and effective experience working with cases of organising the export of Ukrainian books abroad during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.
  The educational component of the program will take place online on July 19-26.
• The information and analytical component includes a series of texts about the opportunities of Ukrainian book export in the full-scale war based on the solutions found in the course of the educational component.
  The text materials will be published on the Chytomo, a leading Ukrainian media resource for the professional publishing community. The release is scheduled for August and September.

Within the educational component, we invite publishers to work in one of the four tracks related to the export of Ukrainian books abroad:

1. Direct sale of printed and electronic books abroad through the publisher’s website. Development of website logic, optimization for the international market, setting up search options, payment systems etc.
2. Selling rights abroad (focus on publishers with little or no experience in selling rights). Creating and enhancing catalogues, finding contractors, working with foreign literary agents and publishers.
3. Customs and legal procedures for selling books abroad.
4. Cooperation with bookstores abroad.

Each participating publisher will have an opportunity to work in one of the four tracks. The track is chosen when filling out the registration form.

How to apply for the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! 2022 Edition

Organisations are eligible to apply if they:

• are Ukrainian publishers and registered as a legal entity;
• have at least 5 books with the potential of selling rights to (for publishers whose track is working with the rights catalogue);
• have a clear current idea or case within the need of book export.

Within the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! 2022 program we are planning to invite 12 participating publishers from Ukraine and 6 mentors, who will work together on each individual case in order to find the most effective up-to-date solutions for the export of Ukrainian books.

To apply for participation in the program, please fill out the registration form.
The deadline for applications is July 4, 2022.

APPLY NOW

The Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! 2022 program is being implemented in a completely different format than in the previous two years. The full-scale war continues in Ukraine, having a dramatic, often catastrophic impact on the book publishing industry. Therefore, we stepped back from the goals of peacetime in order to refocus our program to support Ukrainian publishers in overcoming the challenges of wartime. This year, we invite to participate in the program those Ukrainian publishers who have the idea, the case of ​​an export-oriented project, and who need mentoring support, advice, additional knowledge and expert opinion on their problem from the outside perspective. The main principles of this year’s program are maximum practice, relevance and joint search for the most effective solutions that can support the sector and bring our victory closer on this front as well

— Yuliia Kozlovets, Coordinator of the International Book Arsenal Festival.

It is Russia’s declared goal not just to conquer Ukrainian territory, but to erase Ukrainian culture. House of Europe has re-purposed up to EUR 1.5 mln. of its budget in the framework of its war response. Continuing the Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! programme together with the Mystetskyi Arsenal is a part of it, as making Ukrainian professionals even stronger and their voices even more heard internationally is now more important than ever

— Dr Christian Diemer, Head of Programme of House of Europe.

The International Book Arsenal Festival is an annual project of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, established in 2011. Book Arsenal is an intellectual event in Ukraine, where the book, literary, visual, music and theatre scenes develop and interact with each other, and important issues of human existence, as well as society and culture are raised, prompting the proactive position of the participants and visitors.

Ukrainian Literature: Rights On! program, launched by the International Book Arsenal Festival in 2020, helps to establish effective connections between Ukrainian publishers and international business partners, as well as to integrate the Ukrainian literary process into the global one.

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.

Frankfurter Buchmesse in cooperation with the International Book Arsenal Festival and Goethe-Institut Ukraine are happy to announce the open call for participation in the Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

This Special Programme is an intensive training and networking opportunity for publishers, editors, licence managers and literary agents from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary.
This project is one of the professional programs that are a priority of the Book Arsenal activities, and will be implemented in cooperation with the partners in 2022.

• The programme offers the following stages:
  — Open call for publishing professionals;
  — Selection of participants of the programme;
  — Online preparation seminars;
  — One-day seminar with German experts in Frankfurt;
  — Matchmaking events and numerous networking opportunities during Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Before the programme in Frankfurt starts, the selected participants will be offered a comprehensive online preparatory seminar with market presentations and tips on “How to do Frankfurt”. The programme in Frankfurt then consists of a one-day seminar with German experts. Participants will also have free time to organise their own meeting schedules while at the fair.
The programme will take place from 17 to 22 October 2022 in Frankfurt.

• Conditions of participation:
  At least 2 years of experience in publishing;
  Experience in buying or selling translation rights;
  Good command of English;
  Publishing professionals from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Georgia, Moldova, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovak Republic are eligible to participate in the program.
• How to apply:
  Applications for the special programme can be submitted online on the Frankfurter Buchmesse website.
  15 publishing professionals will be selected for the programme.
  Application deadline is 10 July 2022.

The programme is the result of the effective strategic partnership and fruitful cooperation of the International Book Arsenal Festival, Frankfurter Buchmesse and Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
The programme is subject to financial support by the German Federal Foreign Office.

APPLY

The 11th International Book Arsenal Festival has started accepting applications for participation in the Program of the events and the Book Fair. This year the Festival will be held on May 25-29.

The structure of the Book Arsenal Festival remains unchanged: in addition to the traditional Book Fair, the Festival Program of the events will include the Focus Theme Program, the Literary Program, several special projects, the Music Program, the Kids&Teens Program, professional programs, book design and illustration programs, and the Best Book Design Contest. The events of the Festival will be held on 11 stages. The 11th Book Arsenal Festival has announced the focus theme and the curators.

However, there will be some changes. Unlike last year, the whole area of the Fair will be located in the Arsenal building. A new section – General Publishers – will be introduced for those participants who publish literature of various genres and have previously exercised the right to have 2 stands. The Indie section and the Comics and Graphic Novels section will be located on the 2nd floor; they are offered the most affordable conditions of participation.

Yuliia Kozlovets, the Festival Coordinator, talks about the peculiarities of preparing the 11th Book Arsenal Festival:

Applications for participation in the Exhibition Fair will be accepted until February 11, 2022. Applications for the Program of the events will be accepted until February 16, 2022.

• To apply for participation in the Fair, you must read the Conditions of Participation and fill out the application form.
• To apply for participation in the Program of the events, you must read the Conditions of Participation and fill out the application form.

In order to effectively use the limited space of the Mystetskyi Arsenal and to present a wide range of publishers and high-quality books at the Festival, the Arsenal expert committee will select the participants of the Fair and form the Program of the events. The Book Arsenal pays special attention to new independent market players. The results of the selection will be known by mid-March.

The Book Arsenal is an international event organized by the Mystetskyi Arsenal. The Festival has been held since 2011, and it annually gathers together more than 200 participating organizations and over 50,000 visitors. In 2019, it received the Literary Festival Award from the London Book Fair (LBF) International Excellence Awards. The mission of the International Book Arsenal Festival is to create such interactions between people, communities and institutions when the combination of aesthetic experience and intellectual engagement in the context of the book enhances the ability of man and society.

The International Book Arsenal Festival and the all-Ukrainian non-governmental organization Ukrainian Library Association invite libraries to join the joint project Book Arsenal in Your Library. As part of the project, local libraries will be able to join the online program of the 10th International Book Arsenal Festival that will take place in a hybrid format on June 23-27.

The Book Arsenal in Your Library project will allow residents of local communities from different parts of Ukraine and the world to visit the Festival online and join in viewing and discussing the events that will take place during the Festival in Kyiv.

The library will be a platform for library workers and visitors to discuss and be inspired by new ideas in the international and local context. Following the experience of Book Arsenal, the project participants will be able to create their own events on the basis of local libraries.

YOU CAN JOIN IF YOUR LIBRARY:

1. is large or small, public, under school or university authorities; has the experience of successful events or is just looking for ways to establish relations with a community; is located in a city or village, in Ukraine or abroad;
2. is interested in super-relevant intellectual online content from the best literary festival in the world.

ALL IT TAKES IS:

• to fill out the application form at the link by May 31 and receive a participant package with the detailed program of online events and the set of layouts for your own information campaign;
• to study the program of events offered by Book Arsenal, and to create your own program on its basis, which will be interesting to your community. Your own program may include discussions, meetings with local authors and publishers, presentations of local lore books, etc;
• to arrange a location creatively and technically, taking into account safety standards, in order to hold the program events in your library;
• to design, using layouts, your own posters, flyers and ads, create an event in the social media profile of your library, conduct an advertising campaign among your potential audience and invite them to the library for the program events;
• from June 23 to June 27, 2021 (and later): to celebrate the Festival to its full extent by your own schedule and plan, and to share impressions and photos from events on social networks, using the hashtag #bookarsenal_lib;
• to summarize and report by July 10, 2021 on how everything went, what worked best and how to improve the project next year.

By July 24, 2021, the Organizing Committee for the Project will choose the most active participating libraries that will receive prizes from the Book Arsenal Festival.

JOIN AND CREATE AN INTELLECTUAL CULTURAL CENTER IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

The call for applications for participation in the exhibition fair and the event program of the International Book Arsenal has been launched. The annual 10th Festival will take place on May 26-30, 2021

Due to quarantine restrictions, this year the Festival will be held in a hybrid format. However, the Mystetskyi Arsenal team understands the value of live contact between literature and its readers, so the fair and event parts are not to be cancelled in the Arsenal space.

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, the Mystetskyi Arsenal Director, tells how exactly the Festival will change due to the pandemic threats:

The safety of visitors and participants of the International Book Arsenal Festival has always been and will remain our priority. Therefore, this year the fair and the event part will have fewer participants. We will focus on making the Arsenal space safe for everyone. For example, we are developing the system of visiting the Festival by booking time slots to prevent crowds. This year, which is still very hard, Book Arsenal will not be as noisy and crowded as usual, but it will allow publishers, readers and writers to meet each other. To do this, we need all our participants to help us: we ask that safety be given priority, while remembering that this crisis will eventually end and that our incredible Book Arsenal will sooner or later become as crowded and free from restrictions as ever.

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta

The Organizing Committee invites publishers, illustrators and different cultural institutions to apply for participation with their own expositional stands, as well as propose ideas to the event offline and online program. Yuliia Kozlovets, the Festival Coordinator, tells what are the advantages of the new hybrid format of Book Arsenal:

This year, our main task is to use all the benefits of online formats and thus attract people from all over the globe to the Festival. To do this, we are creating a new Book Arsenal website with simple and user-friendly navigation for both participants and visitors, with additional opportunities for publishers. Together with you, we will create a program of undoubtedly bright and interactive online and live events. We are preparing a great Professional Program for publishers, agents, literary managers with a focus on international cooperation. Book Arsenal will traditionally have an effective promotional campaign, the goal of which this year is to gather at least 50,000 visitors both in the Arsenal space and online. The traditional visual component of the Festival together with the unique space of the Old Arsenal will be presented in online programming as well.

Yuliia Kozlovets
© Oleksandr Popenko

Please find the updated Terms of Participation in the Book Arsenal Festival here.
For registration, please fill out the online forms — fair and events program.
Applications for participation in the exhibition fair are accepted until February 12, 2021.
Applications for the program of events are accepted until February 17, 2021.

It is worth noting that approval of applicants for participating in the exhibition fair is based on the mechanism of expert selection aimed to efficiently use Mystetskyi Arsenal’s limited space for presenting at the Festival a wide variety of publishers whose work is recognized as high quality. At the same time, the Festival supports new independent actors promoting quality competition on the market.

The Organizing Committee will notify the applicants on the selection results in early March 2021 by email.

This year, the Festival’s focus theme is OPTIMISTS SKEPTICS curated by literary critic Rostyslav Semkiv.

Book Arsenal is an international event that annually gathers more than 100 foreign guests, more than 200 publishers and cultural institutions, more than 55,000 visitors. The International Book Arsenal Festival was founded by Mystetskyi Arsenal in 2011 and is an annual intellectual event in Ukraine, where the book, literary, visual, musical, and theatrical scenes develop and interact.