The Books That Made the Headlines

On March 10 Kyiv’s Operetta Theater hosted an awards ceremony for the winners of the 4th national rating campaign “Book of the Year 2004” organized by the Elite- Profi center of rating studies, the Art Development Support Foundation, and the editorial board of the journal Knyzhnyk Review . This is one of the most prestigious book competitions in Ukraine, aimed at boosting the image of Ukrainian book publishers and popularizing Ukrainian books that have been in the headlines.

This year’s winners were selected from books issued in the Ukrainian language between December 2003 and December 2004 by national publishers independently or in collaboration with foreign partners. For the past 12 months, experts, including poets, prose writers, academics, and journalists, evaluated the quality of text, printing design, and subject-related significance in order to find the leaders of the first and second half of the year. Out of 6,000 publications, 140 were short-listed after acquiring the largest number of points. There were 10 nomination categories: “Sophia,” “The Past,” “Basic Political Education,” “Figures,” “Children’s Feast,” “Reader,” “Calligraphy,” “Visiting Card,” “Voices,” and “Horizons.” Each of them had two sub-nominations, with 7 books competing for the top 3 places. There were also several contenders for the Grand Prix.

“As soon as the organizers summed up the results, I saw that there were many books among the winners for which I did not vote as an expert,” says project manager Kostiantyn Rodyk. “I still have no doubt that they are all of great cultural importance.” There being about a total of 30 winners, I will only dwell on the most interesting ones from my viewpoint. The Grand Prix was won by Dmytro Stus’s book Vasyl Stus: a Life Full of Creation. Among the winners of the first and second prizes there are several winners of this year’s Shevchenko Prize, who, incidentally, contribute to our newspaper: My Horizons by Mykhailyna Kotsiubynska, Sweet Darusia by Maria Matios, and The Challenges of Philosophical Senses by Serhiy Krymsky. The project’s patron, Anatoly Tolstoukhov, emphasized in his speech that “Book of the Year” winners often go on to win Shevchenko Prizes.

Awards were won by poets Natalka Bilotserkivets (Hotel Central) and Petro Midianka (Silver Primash). Second and third prizes were awarded to Sweet Darusia by Maria Matios, as well as the prose works Depeche Mode by Serhiy Zhadan and Worshipping the Lizard by Liubka Deresh. Classics were on top in the “Reader” nomination: the selected works of Mykola Vinhranovsky in three volumes, Taras Shevchenko’s Kobzar, and Lesia Ukrayinka’s Biographical Materials, Documents, and Iconography. In “Basic Political Education,” the first prize went to Andrew Wilson’s Ukrainians: an Unexpected Nation. The children’s books Christmas Glove by Ivan Malkovych and Toreadors from Vasiukivka by Vsevolod Nestaiko shared the prize.

We are extremely pleased that Den/The Day Library books Ukraina Incognita, Dvi Rusi, and Wars and Peace won the first prize in the sub-nomination “History of the 19th-21st Centuries: the Past.” Our books competed with some serious rivals, especially the works of Viktor Horobets, Stanislav Kulchytsky, and the other authors of Ukraine and Russia in Historical Retrospective, which came second. Incidentally, last year the organizers of the literary contest “Coronation of Word” awarded an honorary diploma to the books Ukraina Incognita (2002) and Dvi Rusi (2003) for their cultural importance and fostering public outreach. At last year’s forum in Lviv, president Oleksandra Koval conferred an honorary certificate on the book Wars and Peace (in Ukrainian and Polish) which we presented for the first time at that exhibition. “A warts-and-all account of history for and from the viewpoint of contemporaries is a very successful concept for this triptych,” Ms. Koval says. “Publications like this would be bestsellers abroad. In this country, though, people often and unjustifiably ignore them, unaware that they are, so to speak, a remedial course in history for the public.” The books Ukraina Incognita, Dvi Rusi, and Wars and Peace were issued by the newspaper’s own publishing house, Ukrainian Press Group.

Incidentally, most of the winning books were printed by the same few publishing houses as in 2003: Folio (Kharkiv), Piramida, Kalvariya (Lviv), Lileya-NV (Ivano-Frankivsk), Dnipro, Krytyka, Heneza, Dukh i Litera, and Fakt (Kyiv).

This time the organizers handed out ribbons of distinction to all nominees for the “Book of the Year 2004” with which they will go on sale. “This is a common practice among book sellers in all countries,” says Halyna Rodina, director of the Elite-Profi center of rating studies. “Sociological surveys show that these books sell five-six times better. Readers are always interested in buying something that has received an award.” To help the reader find his bearings in Ukraine’s book market, Ukraine’s Best, a mini-encyclopedia of last year’s most interesting literary events, was published just in time for the awards ceremony. In general, the all-Ukrainian rating campaign “Book of the Year” helps the reader set higher standards. Experience shows that readers’ tastes are gradually changing and in many respects they coincide with those of book experts. For example, Mykhailyna Kotsiubynska’s My Horizons and Den/The Day’s books all sell very well. Ukraina Incognita and Dvi Rusi have been republished.

The “Book of the Year” event stands every chance of becoming a sort of Ukrainian book Oscar if it receives a fair share of public attention. When a publishers’ forum was held last summer in Lviv, our editorial staff wondered why the television networks did not cover this event at all, while Den/The Day spotlighted it in several consecutive issues. Some will say that the event occurred very far away, in Lviv. But “Book of the Year” was held close by, in Kyiv.

We asked some of the organizers, experts, and guests to comment on the ratings and awards given to the books of Den/The Day’s Library.

Kostiantyn RODYK, project manager, “Book of the Year:”

“I was very impressed by the competition. I noticed, for example, that authors are now writing more memoirs and biographies. This is a very popular genre in the world. This year saw a lot of interesting books on historical subjects. We conducted a poll some time ago and found that historical literature ranks third among readers. I feel happy for the newspaper Den/The Day. You have found a niche for the greatest number of today’s readers. These are people who would like to know history but will never force themselves to study the works of Hrushevsky or Petliura. So they will read with pleasure an easy-to-understand description of history.”

Volodymyr PANCHENKO, Vice-President of National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy; editor and author of articles for the Den/The Day Library book series:

“I am glad that the three-volume series of the Den/The Day Library has been recognized. This is not just important for the team of authors and Larysa Ivshyna, who was the moving force behind these books; these publications are also important for our society. At a time when a new political nation is emerging, you cannot do without deep reflections on Ukrainian history, without extrapolating this history on today and tomorrow, while the books Ukraina Incognita, Dvi Rusi and Wars and Peace interpret events and personalities precisely from the angle of today.

“As for the presentation of last year’s best achievements in Ukrainian book publishing, which still exists not thanks to but despite our realities, I was again witness to the fact that Ukrainian books are still vital and interesting. In my opinion, it is just that the Grand Prix was awarded to Dmytro Stus’s work about his father Vasyl Stus.”

Larysa IVSHYNA, editor-in-chief, Den/The Day:

“I have a feeling of rare justice, so to speak. The past three years, when we were working on our project, were years of keen interest in history. I am pleased that some of our contributors, experts, and journalists were rated highly. This proves that society likes innovation and quality. Dvi Rusi was published in two languages within a rather short period of time. The book made quite a splash at a Moscow exhibition. Wars and Peace was perhaps the only intellectual product of Ukraine in the Year of Poland that was produced with Ukrainian funds rather than with the aid of foreign grants, in two languages, Ukrainian and Polish. I am very happy for all those who participated in the launch of the Den/The Day Library series.

“As for my general impression of the competition, I must say that the selfless enthusiasts Halyna Rodina and Kostiantyn Rodyk deserve the highest praise, as do the patrons who support this noble cause. The ‘Book of the Year’ campaign under the slogan ‘Read the books that made the headlines’ protects our society from downgraded values.”