State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine named the 2015 winners of the “Best Book of Ukraine.” This year the contest featured 51 titles from 23 domestic book publishers. The ranks among the contenders for the Best Book title were determined by the jury, which included prominent scientists and librarians: Serhii Halchenko, Deputy Director of Taras Shevchenko Institute for Literature at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Liubov Dubrovina, Deputy Director of Volodymyr Vernadsky National Library; Mykola Senchenko, Director of Ivan Fedorov Book Chamber, and others.
The competition has ten nominations. The highest is the Grand Prix, which is awarded to a unique publication on a universal topic, which created a major event in the domestic book publishing. This year’s Grand Prix was taken by the second book of a collage-novel by Bogdan Goryn – Love and Art of Sofia Karaffa-Korbut, (publishing house A Priori). The book’s protagonist is now less known than the author of this thorough work, who is a public and political figure, member of National Writers’ Union, art critic, and journalist. Sofia Karaffa-Korbut was a Ukrainian graphic artist from Lviv. She illustrated about 60 works of Ukrainian writers; the books with her art had a total circulation of over 6,000,000 copies. Experts estimate that one in four Ukrainian children’s book from the early1960s to the 1990s came out with illustrations by Sofia Karaffa-Korbut.
In the nomination “Lives of the Glorious,” the award was won by another equally thorough research of a great Ukrainian’s life and work – the book Ihor Sikorsky. From Kyiv to Connecticut, From Sky to Heaven (publishing house ADEF-Ukraine).
Of the dozen worthy candidates in the “From the Depths of Knowledge” nomination, the triumphant was the book Return to Tsarhorod, edited by Larysa Ivshyna (published by Ukrainian Press Group).
Return to Tsarhorod will definitely find grateful readers among school seniors, students, and scientists – among those who are interested in our own history. It explores the topics, that have not yet been researched fully. The issues you find in the book are the ones being thoroughly discussed now in academy circles,” says Serhii Fedaka, professor of Uzhhorod National University. “The book was published at a very difficult, critical period of contemporary Ukrainian history. Much of that what is analyzed on these pages echoes the things we are experiencing now, as we acquire this tough experience. Consider the article by Vadym Ryzhkov ‘How separatists doomed the Kyievan Rus’.’ Thus, the book is quite timely. Among other things, it is apparently destined to become a factor in modern Ukrainian state building effort.”
The presentation of diplomas to the contest winners will be held at the opening ceremony of the 6th International Book Exhibition “Book Contracts.”
