Through Russian attacks in August, Ukraine lost approximately one-third of its annual book production. Due to extensive losses and financial constraints, some publishing houses may not survive the aftermath of these strikes.
This was reported by Yulia Orlova, the General Director of the Vivat publishing house, on Radio Kultura.
According to Orlova, the attack on the warehouse in Sviatopetrivske, Kyiv region, resulted in losses exceeding 16 million UAH for Vivat, a critical sum for the company.
“It’s over sixteen million. For any book business, this is indeed a large sum. For us, it’s critical,” Orlova stated.
However, Orlova mentioned that Vivat still has two warehouses stocked with books, its team, and its publishing plan. She added that the publishing house intends to continue its operations despite the losses.
She also highlighted the delayed consequences of destroying book stocks. She estimates that approximately one-third of Ukraine’s total annual book output was destroyed in August alone. With these new losses, the total number of destroyed books could reach around 15 million copies.
“Currently, in August alone, about a third of what Ukraine publishes overall has been destroyed,” she said.
Orlova noted that Ukraine typically publishes around 26–30 million books annually. The destruction of print runs has left publishers with insufficient funds to print new books. Vivat, she explained, has stopped accepting new manuscripts and has reduced its acquisition of rights for foreign publications.
Choose Suspilne as your news source in Google Choose Suspilne as your news source in Google
In addition to financial difficulties for printing, publishers face challenges with book storage. Orlova mentioned that many businesses are attempting to relocate their warehouses to western Ukraine, but there is a shortage of storage facilities for everyone wishing to move.
She also reported that the Vivat bookstore chain does not plan to expand its number of stores this year. On the contrary, the publishing house is forced to reduce investments in opening new bookstores and is closing some existing ones.
“If the state does not hear us and support us now, then I believe the book industry will be in a very, very bad state,” declared the director of Vivat.
According to Orlova, the transition to e-books cannot fully compensate for the losses of print publications. At Vivat, e-books account for approximately 5% of sales. The publishing house has over 500 e-books, and this number is constantly growing.
Orlova pointed out that the share of e-books abroad also remains relatively small, around 6–8%. Therefore, the electronic format cannot completely replace physical books in the current situation.
She urged readers to support publishers by purchasing books. Orlova stated that Vivat does not plan to launch fundraising campaigns, understanding that many are facing financial hardships.
“If you have the opportunity, the desire, or have been thinking about buying a book, do it right now,” she advised.
Information about the “Nova Poshta” warehouse shelling on August 28
On the night of August 28, a Russian attack damaged and destroyed book print runs from at least three dozen Ukrainian publishing houses and bookstores at the “Nova Poshta” warehouse in Sviatopetrivske, Kyiv region. Notably, publishing houses such as “Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva,” Vivat, “A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA,” “Knyholav,” “Laboratoriia,” “Nash Format,” ArtBooks, “Ranok,” BookChef, and others were affected.
For some publishing houses, including Verba Publishing, “IPIO,” “Khto tse?”, and “Krapky,” the destroyed print runs constitute a significant portion or nearly their entire stock.
Online bookstores Readeat and Book.ua also suffered substantial losses, as their book inventories, including stock for orders within Ukraine, were stored at the warehouse. The Varvar publishing house, due to the loss of a large number of books, has already announced its withdrawal from the autumn “Knyzhkova Kraina” festival. Vivat also reported considerable losses, as the warehouse held new releases and books by Ukrainian authors prepared for a festival. Several publishing houses and bookstores are still assessing the scale of their damages, and the online bookstore Arfa has reported delays in certain deliveries and shipments.
Source: suspilne.media