Until tomorrow Thursday is held in Madrid the 43rd International Book Fair LIBER, in which Ukraine will participate for the second time, where it will present the national stand 14C02, organized by the Ukrainian Book Institute and the Literary Platform “Border” (location: IFEMA Madrid, Avda del Partenón, 5).
This year the LIBER Fair will bring together more than 350 publishers and companies from 63 countries. The programme will include an intensive cycle of professional events to discuss and analyse the most relevant issues in the publishing sector.
En este espacio se presentarán 12 editoriales ucranianas: “Bogdan”, “ist publishing”, “Ukraïner”, “Ranok-kreatyv”, “RODOVID”, “Vilnyi Víter”, “Kompas”, “Kovyla Publishing”, “Editorial del Centro Nacional ‘Pequeña Academia de Ciencias de Ucrania’”, la plataforma de autopublicación “Antyvydavnytstvo”, “Editorial Anetta Antonenko” and “Folio”. Also, on the stand you can find books by Ukrainian authors published in Spanish-speaking countries.
There are currently 32 translations of Ukrainian books into Spanish in the database of the Ukrainian Book Institute, of which three projects have been supported by the Institute under the Translate Ukraine programme.
“Ukrainian literature is still underrepresented in the Spanish-speaking market. While in the United States, Germany or Poland every year dozens of translations of contemporary Ukrainian authors and classics are published, in the Spanish-speaking countries only a few titles arrive. After the successful experience at the Liber-24 fair in Barcelona, we decided to take the next step: present Ukraine at the fair in Madrid with a large stand and 12 publishers who see prospects of entering this market. We do it together with the NGO ‘Border’, which shares our plans. I believe that participation in LIBER will help establish strong links that in the near future will turn into lasting partnerships,” said Oleksandra Koval, acting director of the Ukrainian Book Institute.
For her part, Ella Yatsuta, founder of “Frontera”, noted that “for the second consecutive year, together with our partners and the Ukrainian Book Institute, we systematically develop a cooperation with Spain. Their authors participate in the International Literature Festival ‘Border’ in Lutsk. This year, analyst Inna Bilonozhko conducted a study on the presence of the Ukrainian book in the Spanish-speaking market, which confirmed the importance of Ukraine’s participation in events such as LIBER. Together with the medium ‘Chytomo’ and with the support of the Embassy of Spain in Ukraine, we are carrying out a special project, the edition and development of cultural dialogue between Ukraine and Spain. LIBER is an excellent opportunity to continue this work, establish new alliances and contribute to the visibility of our country and our literature in the world”.
The presence of the Ukrainian national stand at the event was possible thanks to the support of the LIBER International Book Fair, the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain and the platform “Algoritm Diy” (Algorithm of action).