The Chytomo Awards celebrated achievements in Ukrainian publishing at a January 31 ceremony in Kyiv, highlighting innovations in digital publishing, cultural advocacy, and children's literature during wartime.
Anton Martynov received the Book Publishing Market Trendsetter award. Martynov is the founder of the publishing house Laboratoria, which specializes in modern fiction and nonfiction, and the reading application Librarius, a platform through which readers can purchase or rent books. Despite joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine in May 2024 to aid in the country's ongoing war against Russia, Martynov continues to support both projects remotely.
PEN Ukraine earned the Ukrainian Book Ambassador award for its extensive international outreach. Since 2022, the organization has documented Russian crimes against media and culture while supporting imprisoned journalists. Their "In Solidarity with Ukraine" program brought 65 writers from 18 countries to Ukraine for author visits to frontline territories. The organization has also distributed 52,000 English-language books through a partnership with Book Aid International.
BaraBooka won the Book Initiative That Promotes Reading award for its comprehensive children's literature programming. Founded 11 year ago, the project, which maintains library spaces at Mystetskyi Arsenal and the Museum of Science, runs #NaukaBarabuka, a series of training courses for writers and editors, as well as the influential TOP Barabuka rating program for books. Over the course of the was, BaraBooka launched multiple successful online initiatives focused on reading and education, including #LiveReading and #HowToTalkToChildrenAboutWar.
Each of the winners received a $3,000 cash prize.
Creative Women Publishing, Ukraine's first feminist publishing house, received the Frankfurter Buchmesse Special Award, which includes a free stand at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Faire. The publisher focuses on women's literature and experiences, recently launching the #proyavlyaysya series for debut authors. It areiscurrently restoring the House of Natalia Kobrynska in Bolekhiv as a cultural center and writers' residence.
The awards were organized in partnership with the International Renaissance Foundation, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, and Frankfurt Book Fair. Chytomo is the primary media and advocacy organization covering Ukrainian publishing and literature for the world.
