(opinion essay)

A few weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, domestic publishers resumed work again, not only in relatively peaceful regions, but even in cities under constant shelling. Their teams have traveled around the country and the world, they not only work on new books, but also find the opportunity to send copies to their customers.

1.Kharkiv publishing house “ACCA” was the first to inform its readers about the resumption of the publishing house on March 24. The director of the publishing house, Svitlana Feldman, told Suspilne Kultura that books were sent from the city once a week. The head of the sales department, Roman Shevchuk, agreed with Nova Poshta.

They started sending a car to one of the warehouses of the publishing house, placed in a basement of a residential house. Also, the publishing house “ACCA” sends its books to Kharkiv – schools, churches, subways, so that children who are there could escape from the terrible war reality.

2.The books “Felix, Nat and Nick and the Gang of the Invisible” and “Amelia and Cuba. Cuba and Amelia. Ghost Hour” by Rafał Kosik were published by a Polish publishing house and distributed free of charge to Ukrainian children who temporarily moved to Poland.

3.Another children’s publishing house in Kharkiv – “Ranok” – works and sends books to its readers on a regular basis. Its range is somewhat limited, because its employees deliver orders from the warehouses of the company to just safe areas. Though, the main warehouse in Kharkiv remains blocked due to the constant shelling by the Russian occupiers.

The publishing house sends part of the funds from each book sold to support the National Guard and residents of its city. Electronic versions of textbooks and manuals for schoolchildren from grades 1 to 11 can be downloaded on the publisher’s website for free, as well as some new products that have so far been released only in a electronic format.

The publishing house “Ranok” also initiated a charity event “Good Book” for children of IDPs and refugees. Anyone can transfer the amount from 50 to 1000 hryvnias for the purchase of books for children whose parents cannot afford to buy a book. A similar action was launched by the Lviv “Old Lion Publishing House” too.

So, publishers have finally resumed working and sending books to readers, making enormous efforts to restore the publishing business and to fill the hearts of their Ukrainian readers with hope and optimism. They are also happy that Ukrainians want to keep on reading and buying new books published in the Ukrainian language.