Culture Ministry launches fundraising drive for small publishers’ printing grants

The Ukrainian Culture Ministry, in collaboration with the Kyiv School of Economics, the Ukrainian Book Institute, and the Book Arsenal festival, has initiated a fundraising drive for a new grant program aimed at supporting small publishers, according to an announcement on September 21. Applications for the initial round of grants will commence in November.

Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna highlighted that Russia has been specifically targeting Ukraine's publishing industry. "Every Ukrainian book that is printed strengthens our cultural resilience," she remarked, emphasizing the significance of supporting small publishers, who often serve as the initial discoverers of new authors and creators of important topics, thereby contributing to the variety of Ukrainian literature.

The Small Publishers Support Grant Program intends to assist these small publishers in maintaining their operations and publishing their planned titles. The program aims to sustain publishers' activities even after the grant period concludes. It covers publishers' production expenses and may encompass funding for multiple new print runs of various books by a single publisher, addressing both books lost in Russian strikes and new publications that have yet to be released.

Notably, the program does not necessitate co-financing. Svitlana Denysenko, executive director of the Kyiv School of Economics charitable foundation KSE Foundation, expressed that supporting publishing is crucial as it allows people to create, develop knowledge, and realize their ideas within Ukraine. After the loss of more than 13 million books, the program seeks to aid publishers not only in restoring print runs but also in preserving teams and enabling them to continue their work.

The organizers anticipate that the first grant round will assist at least 20 small publishers if they can secure $500,000 for the program. They urge all interested parties to contribute to the fundraising campaign for the initiative. The ministry also noted that Russia has destroyed approximately 10 million Ukrainian books over the past year, through strikes on warehouses, publishing houses, and printing facilities.

In mid-August this year, a Russian missile attack further devastated the historic book market in Kyiv's Pochaina neighborhood.