The Mystetskyi Arsenal announces an open call for the Book Arsenal’s annual Best Book Design Contest. Publishing houses, designers and authors may submit books until November 27. Books that were published between December 2025 and November 2026 inclusive and were not previously* submitted to the Contest are eligible
Since 2016, the Best Book Design Contest has recognized Ukrainian publications in which form and content work as a unified whole. The shortlisted books are exhibited at the International Book Arsenal Festival, as well as at book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt, and represent Ukraine at the international contest Best Book Design from all over the World, organized by the Buchkunst Foundation. In 2025, 225 entries were submitted, and 16 publications were shortlisted. The jury selected five winning books (one in each category), one of which won the Grand Prix, and also awarded four Special Honors.
The winners of this year’s contest will be announced in early December 2026 on the website and social media of the International Book Arsenal Festival.
For Ukrainian publishing houses, participating in the book design contest is an opportunity to gain visibility within the global book community, to introduce Ukrainian graphic culture to international audiences and to showcase the language Ukrainian books speak today.
The shortlisted books become part of the collection The Most Beautiful Books from all over the World, which is exhibited at the largest German book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt and then goes on tour to various cities across Germany. The collection is seen by international publishers, students, researchers and representatives of the book industry. For us, it is an important opportunity to demonstrate that Ukrainian book design has a strong professional tradition and holds its own place on the international cultural map
—Maria Shubchyk, the Head of Communication at the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
According to government estimates, in the summer of 2026 alone, approximately 13 million books were destroyed as a result of Russian strikes on warehouses and logistics centers. Among them there was a wide variety of literature featuring masterful design work: layouts, fonts, visual elements inside books, covers and book edges. Niche literature with small print runs is particularly vulnerable. Under these circumstances, it is important to recognize and celebrate the work of design teams, as creating books with attention to every detail has become more challenging than ever.
A book is a form of our cultural presence—a way to comprehend experience, preserve memory, and speak with the world. Book design makes this conversation visible, helps Ukrainian books become recognizable and competitive, shows the professionalism and creative potential of our publishers, designers and illustrators. Thus our contest is, above all, an opportunity to demonstrate how much the Ukrainian book industry continues accomplishing—despite the war, losses and extremely difficult conditions. We want this work to be seen, appreciated and supported. After all, behind every such book there are people who refuse to stop and continue working for the future
—Yuliia Kozlovets, the Director of Book Arsenal.
From among the submitted books the july will compile a long list (up to 45 books) and a short list of finalists (15 books—3 books in each of the five categories), from which it will select five winners—one in each category. From among them the Grand Prix winner will be chosen.
This year, the jury selecting the winners will consist of the following members:
- Mariia Kinovych—illustrator, book designer
- Lizaveta Herman— curator, art historian, co-founder of The Naked Room gallery
- Valeriia Guievska—Art Director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal
- Jakob Racek—Director of the Goethe-Institut Ukraine
- Kyrylo Tkachov—type designer
- Oleg Gryshchenko—curator, art director, lecturer, illustrator, artist, co-founder and curator of the Pictoric illustrators’ community
Before submitting an application to the Contest, please, read**
Winners will be selected in such categories:
- Word book (books in which the textual part dominates: poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction, word book for kids and teens);
- Art book (books about art, albums, photo books, catalogs, artbooks);
- Utilitarian book (books mostly of an applied nature, popular science books, scientific, educational literature, guidebooks, cookbooks, specialized periodicals, etc.);
- Visual storytelling (books of any genre, in which the story is told with the help of visual means, including children’s books, comics);
- Experiment (self-published books, limited editions, zines, editions that use non-traditional printing formats, experiments with visual design, etc.)
We are waiting for applications until November 27, 2026. Please, deliver physical copies of the books to the address of the Mystetskyi Arsenal office. This can be done only in one of the following ways:
- To bring books in person to the office of the Public Enterprise “National Art and Culture Museum Complex “Mystetskyi Arsenal”;
- To send books by courier delivery (Ukrposhta, Nova Post, Meest) marked Best Book Design. The books have to be delivered at the sender’s expense.
Delivery address: Public Enterprise “National Art and Culture Museum Complex “Mystetskyi Arsenal”, 28 Ivana Mazepy St., Kyiv, 01010. Contact person for delivery—Maryna Askurava, +380667438737
The address for questions and clarifications (indicate НКД/BBD in the subject line of the letter)—[email protected]
The Contest is held by the International Book Arsenal Festival in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
The project partner is the Buchkunst Foundation.
The media partners of the Best Book Design — 2026 Contest are Chytomo, Bazilik Media.
*In exceptional cases, a publication which was sent to the press no earlier than June 2025 and received from the printing house by November 2026 may be submitted to the Contest. Such a publication may be considered by the Contest Organizing Committee, if appropriate explanations are provided.
** If the print run of a publication was destroyed as a result of Russian attacks and the publisher does not have three copies available, such a publication may still be admitted to the Contest, provided that at least one copy is submitted to the organizers.