August 25, 2025

More War, Fewer Books


More War, Fewer Books
Kyiv-Mohyla reading hall Anntinomy, Wikimedia Commons

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused devastating losses for Ukraine’s literary market. Chytomo, a Ukrainian media outlet that focuses on literary and cultural news, recently reported on the state of Ukraine’s literary economy after the first half of 2025. The Book Chamber of Ukraine reports a 20 percent sales decline, while the number of books published has held steady.

Ukraine’s publishing sector has suffered losses both in their market base and in their actual infrastructure as a result of Russian military attacks. In June alone, damage was done to the Krokus publishing house, the Skovoroda Library in Kyiv, the Ukrainsky Prioytet publishing house, and the Їzhak publishing house.

The Ukrainian government has established a handful of aid initiatives. In July, Independent Bookstore Week united over 20 independent bookstores from across the country in a promotional event that led to a 19 percent increase in sales. For younger audiences, Ukraine began an “eBook” program that gave aid to 18-year-old Ukrainians for the purchase of books and e-books.

Users of the eBook program were mainly female and mostly bought books by foreign authors in the romance/fantasy genres. English-language literature is generally in high demand, with more titles being published here than literature in Russian. The “romantasy” genre dominates, with one of the highest selling books in Ukraine being “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by American author Sarah J. Maas, which aligns with global trends in escapist literature.

Meanwhile there is also uptick in demand for Ukrainian authors, with special interest in Ukrainian reality and authors who can capture the Ukrainian war experience.

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