Ukrainians often react to pressures of culture and language. However, we do not have a literary reason for this now. The book market of Ukraine is rapidly developing. And here’s why.

The 2014 Maidan gave rise to a chain of events. A sharp increase in patriotism and the beginning of the war in Donbas led to a ban on the import of Russian-language literature. And such a status quo once again confirmed an axiom that does not need to be confirmed – the holy place is not empty.

In fact, the book market of Ukraine has been growing for more than half a dozen years in a row. But this is due not only to the protectionism of the Ukrainian publisher, but also to several other factors. First, there is a trend for a stress-free, relaxing vacation, and with it, reading traditions. Secondly, the pandemic, which made us look at books in a new way. Thirdly, Tiktok, or rather, BookTok.

In Ukraine, one more should be added to all these trends. It is about a full-scale invasion of Russia on February 24, 2022. Since that time, for the twenty-fifth month now, Ukrainians who are not at the front are under the constant pressure of stress. And this forces us to look for salvation in art – cinema, music, computer games. And books.

Along with the growth of circulation, assortment and number of book formats, bookstores began to open and were, as it were, forgotten. However, their format has also changed. Now it is often not just a place to exchange publishing products, but also a location where you can drink coffee, listen to a presentation of a novel, or even read your poems aloud in person.

And although we are still behind neighboring Poland in terms of market volume, more and more authors, publishers and sellers appear in Ukraine every month. And fashion, in turn, forces Ukrainians to read more and more. It is hoped that this state of affairs will benefit our nation.

And our paper phoenix will shine again in the sky of the 21st century.

This material is part of the “Competing narratives” project, which is implemented by the Media Initiatives Center and N-ost organizations