“You can’t wait for handouts from the government. You have to grab a pitchfork and fight for freedom for Ukrainian books,” say the publishing duo, the Kapranov brothers. Book-publishing is not a sphere that the Ukrainian government is concerned with or one in which you can rely on someone besides yourself.
Every year several hundred thousand books are published in Ukraine. Unfortunately, Ukrainian publications comprise only a tiny fraction of all these publications. Anyone visiting a book bazaar can see that the number of readers has not decreased. There are buyers, but there are not enough Ukrainian books.
How do you turn a Ukrainian book from a rarity into a competitive product? How do you attract the government’s attention and encourage the younger generation to read books? These and other issues were discussed last week by individuals involved in book publishing at the Institute of Strategic Studies.
BEWARE OF IMPORTS!
The book-publishing business in Ukraine is in a state of systemic crisis stemming from a number of interrelated causes. “These are the destroyed book-distribution infrastructure and weak domestic market mechanisms against the backdrop of the monopolist expansion of Russian products; an ineffective government policy in the book-publishing domain and the lessening of motivation to read books,” explains Mykola Skyba, a senior consultant with the institute’s Ethnopolitics Department. “Above all, it is important to develop a comprehensive national program aimed at supporting Ukrainian authors and publishers, rejuvenating the book trade network, encouraging reading, and planning publicity campaigns to promote Ukrainian books.”
“Here you can draw a parallel to medicine, because in an intensive care unit a patient’s lungs and heart are checked first, then his hands and legs. The same applies to the book-publishing business. Here you first have to create adequate legislative conditions,” says Oleksandr Afonin, president of the Association of Book Publishers and Distributors of Ukraine.
The Kapranov brothers have come up with the most detailed and effective project aimed at overcoming the overwhelming influx of Russian books. According to Dmytro Kapranov, who is both a publisher and a writer, there are legal ways to curb book imports from Russia and Belarus, for example by instituting a complete ban on their importation, like the ban on Georgian wine in Russia or on Russian cars in Ukraine. In addition, excise and other customs duties and import limitations could be effective. “The former approach doesn’t suit us because it would result in a market collapse, people would still smuggle in books. We can’t institute an excise tax, either, for this would mean an increase in prices on all products, regardless of its provenance, including Ukrainian books,” explains Kapranov.
Instituting a state duty appears to be a far more realistic but more complicated way, because CIS customs limitations are regulated by a number of legislative acts and several hundred addenda to laws and agreements. Introducing a customs limitation on the importation of a certain product is a rather complicated and lengthy procedure that book publishers can ill afford to undertake without help from the Verkhovna Rada or the Cabinet of Ministers.
“Therefore, we believe that limiting the quantity of imported goods is the most effective approach. This requires a separate bill to be passed in parliament by at least 226 votes. It would be even simpler to prove that imported goods will harm our national producers. In this case we wouldn’t need a vote, just a directive issued by the Ministry of Economy,” argues Kapranov.
Be that as it may, Russian publishers will find it easier to bypass the law and “collect” books sold in Ukraine by setting up branches, bringing in texts and paper, or by using the resources of Ukrainian printing companies. Surprisingly, our printing companies do not seem to notice such market opportunities when they are lining up for paper to print posters and labels.
THE BEST FOR CHILDREN?
Children’s books are another sensitive issue for book publishers because the numbers of books being released are far from what is actually required. Moreover, even new publications that appear in Ukraine are often too expensive for the average Ukrainian. All you have to do is take a short walk down Khreshchatyk Street and visit some bookstores to find out that a Ukrainian-language children’s book costs 16-20 hryvnias. Similar Russian books are even more expensive, but they are more attractive in terms of paper quality and number of illustrations.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian children’s books are no longer such a rarity, as Ukrainian publishing companies are trying to focus attention on contemporary writers and children’s classics. The three-volume Adventures of the Mumitrolls or The Adventures of Neznaika and His Friends in paperback format are a great purchase. Many grade-school students can be seen with copies of The Green Dog, which they read under their desks during class.
There is, however, another reason for raising the alarm. With every passing year the number of Ukrainian children who read books dramatically decreases. Researchers studying this problem believe that this is largely explained by the popularity of television and computer games, as well as lack of attention on the part of schoolteachers and parents. Indeed, publishers rather than teachers appear to be most concerned about reviving children’s interest in books.
Last month the National Forum of Publishers launched an action aimed at popularizing reading in Ukraine, and the first round of the All-Ukraine Contest “Best Reader of the Year” recently ended as part of the 5th “Book Mania” children’s reading festival. The final results of organizational work and the variety of children’s literature were summed up during Kyiv’s children’s book fair, which opened on June 1. Its organizers are hoping for record book sales with all proceeds going to orphanages. The fair also featured a contest for “Best Reader of the Year,” master classes designed to teach children the right way to read, write, and paint; an exhibit of illustrations by the artists of the A-BA-BA-HALA-MAHA publishing house, and many other interesting events. The organizers hope the fair is another opportunity to get more Ukrainians interested in reading.
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As the Kapranov brothers recently admitted after critically analyzing their second “invention” — there would be only one objection to their proposed quota from the authorities, namely, Ukrainian publishers are unable to supply the whole Ukrainian market. “There are no other objections. These quotas will really not decrease revenues to the budget and will not infringe on any national minority rights. It’s also true that hearing about our alleged inability to supply our people with enough books is rather insulting. But it’s hard to argue with this, because the needs of the Ukrainian commercial market may be roughly estimated at 100 million books. In 2003 we were able to produce only nine million copies.
“Simple calculations show that if we implement the quota idea in 2005, the book deficit will amount to some 70 million books. No one would be able to bridge this gap because no sector can grow nine times in one year. How about nine years? We are, after all, Ukrainians, which means we are terribly clever. Suppose we propose a program aimed at gradually increasing the output of books until 2015. In 2006 we will allow the importation of 600 percent of books published in Ukraine before 2006, then 500 percent, then 300 percent. Then it’s just simple arithmetic. Will all of us be able to prepare and master the liberated territories according to this schedule?
“Therefore, allow us to announce our action program for the next election campaign. Everyone should grab the nearest parliamentary candidate by the collar and start hypnotizing him. If the candidate doesn’t understand what the word “culture” means, then you should tell him that it means “protection of the national producer.” If this candidate turns out to be a Ukrainophobe, tell him that the law will be in effect regardless of the language of the publication.
If he understands economic arguments better, tell him that this will help improve the state of the printing industry (which is true), increase the GDP, and so on. Write letters; convince them; threaten them. On our part we promise not to ease our pressure on Kyiv’s centers of power. They are afraid to polemicize with cultural activists. We have a chance to survive only by combining our efforts and adopting a realistic program.”
