Lyuba Yakimchuk

An award-winning Ukrainian writer Lyuba Yakimchuk was born in Pervomaisk, Luhansk region, and currently resides in Kyiv. Her poetry book “Apricots of Donbas” was listed in Forbes magazine, Ukraine’s Top 10 books about the war, and published in Ukrainian, English, French, Polish, and Estonian. Lyuba’s poetry has received international acclaim and has been translated into over 20 languages. The New York Times, BBC, CBC, and CNN have covered her works. In 2022 she performed her poetry at Grammys.

Viktoriya Kobylyatska is a Ukrainian journalist, and editor-in-chief of the website of the campaign against sexism in media and politics “Povaha”. The author of numerous journalistic articles about feminism and gender equality in Ukraine, about women’s experience of living during the war and combating sexual violence. Gender expert, sensitive journalism trainer, feminist.

Journalist and editor. For several years he was part of the Komentari team, after that he has been working for the Radio Free Europe/Radio Svoboda division. Currently, he is holding a position at Ukraiinska Pravda. He wrote news, longreads and TV stories, worked as investigative reporter, held the position of parliamentary correspondent, created radio programmes, and supervised the editorial office. In 2023, “There is no time”, his urban Kyiv novel with elements of fantasy, was published as his debut.

Lesia Voronyna is a writer, translator, and radio journalist. Born in Kyiv, she graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Taras Shevchenko National University. In 1992-2006, she headed the children’s magazine Sunflower. Among her most popular books: “Superagent 000”, “The Secret Society of Cowards”, “An Alien from the Land of Mummers”, “The Adventures of the Blue Parrot”, and “An Elephant Named Button”. The award “BBC Children’s Book of the Year 2012 (“The Secret Society of Cowards and Liars”); nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2020 and 2021), etc.

Olenka was the Director of Development at “Osvitoria” NGO, she organized the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine award in 2017-2019, and became the inspiration for major changes in the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine where she manages communications and partnerships. Now she also leads the savED team. Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science on Communications and Human Potential Development.

Since 2010, he has been the director of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and a co-founder of the first Museum of Science in Ukraine. From the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he went to the front as a volunteer of the 95th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, he continued to perform the duties of the director of the JAS remotely.

Principal of the school in the village of Novyi Bykiv, which was under Russian occupation until the end of March 2022. As a result of the hostilities, the school was heavily damaged, in particular, the premises of the school library.

Born in Kyiv in 1983. Ph.D in Literature. Translator from English and French. Author of urban fantasy novels for teenagers and books for children. She translated into Ukrainian the works by Daniel Pennac, Jamie Littler, Sylvia Linstedt, Timothée de Fombel, etc., as well as numerous bande dessinée by French authors. She was awarded with the Korney Chukovsky Prize (2016) and the “Koronatsiya Slova” (2016), as well as two Top-BaraBooka awards (2016) and (2021).

He has been working in communications and PR for over 12 years, including about seven years in educational projects. He translates from Georgian and English. In particular, he translated “Jeans Generation. Flight from the USSR” by Dato Turashvili and “The Snake’s Skin” by Grigol Robakidze, a classic of Georgian literature.

Award-winning author of more than 20 books for children and several collections of poetry. Poems were translated into Polish, Armenian, Swedish, German, English, Lithuanian, and other languages. Among the writers she has translated there are J. R. R. Tolkien, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Marsh, Judith Kerr, and others. Kateryna lives in Lviv with her partner, their three children, and two rescued dogs.