From March 11 to 13, 2025, the London Book Fair took place – one of the largest and most prestigious business events in the book world. The London Book Fair is a powerful platform for international interaction and establishing contacts with literary professionals from around the globe. Participation in events of this level is an important aspect of cultural diplomacy, which gains special significance during wartime.

This year, the Ukrainian Book Institute coordinated the national stand for the third time. We are pleased that attention to the Ukrainian book sector continues to grow, and interest in it remains strong. As representatives of the relevant state institution, we are glad to continue fulfilling our mission to support interest in Ukraine and Ukrainian literature by fostering and developing new partnerships in this field.

The number of visitors to the London Book Fair this year exceeded 25,000 publishing professionals. As noted by Chytomo, the newly appointed director of the fair, Adam Ridgeway, paid special attention to the Ukrainian stand: "Having a Ukrainian stand is important not only for Ukraine but also for the London Book Fair — Ukraine has a long and distinguished history and extraordinarily creative literature. This event is truly for promoting creative writing from all around the world to the whole world. Ukraine must be present here."

The Ukrainian national stand was visited by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. He viewed the displayed books and met with Ukrainian publishers and Adam Ridgeway, the director of the London Book Fair.

“The Ukrainian national stand was highly successful at this year’s London Book Fair. Many visitors showed interest in Ukrainian books and publishers, demonstrating a steady and growing international interest in Ukrainian literature. It was especially heartening to receive many warm reviews and words of support from partners, which gave us strength and inspiration to move forward,” said Nadiya Tereba, head of the international department of the Ukrainian Book Institute.

The official opening of the Ukrainian national stand by the Ukrainian Book Institute took place on March 11. Fourteen Ukrainian publishers and literary agencies presented their books there: Samit-Knyha, ARTBOOKS, Navchalna Knyha – Bohdan, Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva, Vivat, Kalamar, punkt publishing, ASSA, Ranok, BookChef, Creative Publishing, Lit Grunt, and Ovo. Also, the Ukrainian national stand hosted meetings between Ukrainian and British publishers in a Speed Dating format organized by the initiative Support Ukrainian Publishers Resilience and Recovery.

Victoria Stepanets, foreign rights agent of the literary agency OVO, shared her impressions: “I am proud of our country and our people – despite everything, Ukraine participated once again in the London Book Fair. The literary agency OVO was glad to be part of this landmark cultural event, which undoubtedly contributes not only to promoting Ukrainian authors abroad but also to tracking international literary trends and establishing contacts to enrich the Ukrainian book market.”

The Ukrainian Book Institute expresses gratitude for the organizational support in Ukraine’s participation in the London Book Fair to the fair organizers and the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.