The winners of this year’s Ukraine-wide competition “Best Book Ukraine” were awarded at the opening ceremony of the Third International Book Exhibit “Book Contracts” at the Ukrainian Home in Kyiv, December 15. The event was sponsored by the National Radio and Television Committee of Ukraine. The competition aimed not only at defining Ukraine’s best book publications in terms of artistic presentation and printing quality, but also promoting and popularizing them.
“Ratings and awards hardly have any noticeable effect on book sales,” says Olena MOVCHAN, chief editor of Hrani-T Publishers. “But if you change the perspective from that of a consumer to the level of image-building, when the country must present its best publications at an international book exhibit, it is crucial that they really are the best.”
What makes this competition especially appealing is that the winners of Best Book Ukraine will be presented at international exhibits.
The contender pool included books published in Ukraine from September 1, 2011 till August 30, 2012, which competed in 10 nominations.
The Grand Prix of the contest and the special Crystal Book award went to ADEF-Ukraine Press for the book Zibrannia ukrainskykh starodrukiv XVI-XVIII stolit (“Collection of Old Ukrainian Printed Books of the 16th-17th Centuries”).
The new edition of Volodymyr Lys’ novel Stolittia Yakova (“Jacob’s Century,” KSD Publishers) was acknowledged as the best selling book. This family saga telling the story of a man in the whirlwind of history was first printed in 2010.
The poetic collection Radist vysoty (“The Joy of Hight,” University Press Pulsary) by Hanna Chubach, Merited Artist of Ukraine, won in the nomination “Poetry.” The book Prozhyty i rozpovisty (“Survive and Tell,” Dnipro Publishers) by the Shevchenko Prize holder Anatolii Dimarov became the winner in the nomination “Prose.”
Sebastian Brandt’s Ship of Fools, translated by Feofan Skliar and printed by Hrani-T Publishers, won in the nomination “The Art of Printing.” Academician Petro Tolochko’s historical study titled Yaroslav Mudry (“Yaroslav the Wise,” ADEF-Ukraine Press) was awarded a laureate’s diploma in the nomination “From the Depths of Wisdom.”
The award in the nomination “My Country” went to the book by Tamara and Olha Uhnivenko, titled Dukhovny skarb ukrainskoho narodu (“The Spiritual Treasure of the Ukrainian Nation,” Bohuslavknyha Press). The book Ukrainky v istorii (“Ukrainian Women in History,” Lybid Publishers) was awarded in the nomination “The Life of the Famous People,” while Oksana Lushchevska and Lana Svitankova won in the nomination “The World of Childhood” with their Knyzhkova smakota. Solka I kukhar (“Delicious Books. Solka and the Cook,” Hrani-T Publishers).
We were pleasantly surprised at the victory of Fotoalbom. Zhyva istoria (“Photo Album. Live History”) as the year’s best art book. Photo Album. Live History comprises photos by the winners of The Day’s annual international photo contest. The protagonists of this photo book are Ukrainians, with their emotions. That is to say, this is a book about our lives. The book, indeed, is living history. Sadly, some of the characters (like the famous actor Bohdan Stupka) are already gone. The book, edited by Larysa Ivshyna, was published by PrAT Ukrainian Press Group, a private corporation.
COMMENTARIES
Oleksii KONONENKO, director, department of publishing and press, National Radio and Television Committee:
“Virtually all books pass through my hands in this or other manner. I see them, and if I have time, I read them. All our today’s winners are worth their awards. For one, I believe that Volodymyr Lys is one of Ukraine’s best contemporary prose authors. The Day’s photo almanac Live History is nothing short of present-day history in photograph. Besides, this is a loving look at Ukraine. All winning books are my special favorites.”
Oleh SHYNKARENKO, writer, journalist:
“I am immensely pleased that The Day’s photo almanac has won. This happens very seldom that the camera captures unique, poetic moments in the flow of monotonous, hackneyed images of everyday routine. This means that our life has those unique moments, and the only thing you need to do is frame them, focus, and press the button. This schematic sequence can actually serve as a recipe for any sphere of art, be it literature, film, music, or talented photo journalism.”
Valentyn KUZAN, photographer:
“This is an interesting photo almanac. So is The Day’s photo contest. I think even more Ukrainian photographers should be involved there. Thus we will have an undistorted view of our own selves.”
