Dec 20 2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to disrupt Ukraine’s publishing industry, as warehouses are destroyed, logistics break down, and employees are displaced. Moreover, Russia continues to try to undermine, delegitimize, and ultimately eradicate Ukrainian culture, as part of a contemporary campaign that dates back to when Ukraine achieved its independence in 1991.
At the end of November, a delegation of American writers traveled to Kyiv to present a new report on the war’s impact on Ukrainian culture compiled by PEN America and PEN Ukraine. The report noted that Russia sought to stifle criticism of the war by silencing Ukrainian writers and artists, including Vladyslav Yesypenko, a journalist and recipient of the 2022 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, who was imprisoned in March. At least 31 Ukrainian writers and artists and have been killed since the war started, either by Russian authorities or while fighting.
The report also states that the Ukrainian government has documented damage and destruction to at least 49 libraries and archives. Oksana Boiarynova, a member of the Ukrainian Library Association’s board, reported in August that 2,475 Ukrainian libraries, out of about 15,000, were closed as a result of the war, and another 21 were completely destroyed.
Russian soldiers have also seized and destroyed Ukrainian literature and Ukrainian-language books from public libraries in numerous cities, according to the PEN report. Museums have been looted, as well. In all, more than 500 cultural institutions have been impacted by the war.
But through it all, the Ukrainian publishing industry continues to operate...
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
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