Curated by Oksana Karpiuk
Books certainly count. Because how then would you explain the boom in the opening of small and network bookstores in wartime? Or the fact that all but a few publishers, with their damaged offices, warehouses, and scattered teams, remain in business? And the fact that printing houses, despite shelling and blackouts, continue to work? After all, we have an unimaginable demand for Ukrainian books abroad, and Ukraine is a welcome guest of international book fairs and literary festivals.
However, creative industries are very vulnerable and need support even in normal times. Therefore, the faith in activities and the superpowers, thanks to which the book industry survived at the beginning of the full-scale war, require a revision towards sustainable systemic solutions, both in the private sector and at the level of state policy, including through the activities of specialized institutions and professional associations. Sustainability, clear and transparent rules and mechanisms, developed connections and networks, after all, trust between industry representatives, the state, and civil society is what is worth investing in and what can be done even in the adverse conditions of war.
The Book Arsenal Professional Program is a meeting place for representatives of the industry, providing a platform for public discussions, formulation of requests, search for solutions, and exchange of knowledge and experience. As part of the Program, we will talk about the state policy and the role of specialized institutions in the book industry, about what business models give publishers sustainability, as well as about the role of small independent bookstores in promoting reading and building civil society.
For publishers who work with the purchase and sale of rights, there will be the Professional Seminar on the Possibilities of International Cooperation with the participation of Ukrainian and international speakers, as well as a coordination meeting of this year’s winners and graduates of the Special Program for Publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
We’ll be talking to members of the visual community about the results of the latest Best Book Design competition, which was held for the first time outside of the Festival dates, this January, with books submitted during or just before the full-scale war.
And, as always, we invite the Festival visitors and professionals to workshops and lectures by designers, illustrators, and typographers — friends and partners of the Book Arsenal.
The program is supported by the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine