The international Ukrainian Book Challenge campaign is ongoing, and the novel The City by Valerian Pidmohylnyi is currently the undisputed leader of the initiative launched by the Ukrainian Institute at Harvard. The success of the English-language translation proves that every purchased and recommended book increases the visibility of Ukrainian culture. The campaign has received public support from historian Timothy Snyder, who named The City as his starting recommendation.
This was shared by Oleh Kotsiuba, Director of the Publishing Program at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, during a broadcast of Ukraine’s national telethon United News.
“We set ambitious goals for ourselves: to educate America and the world about Ukraine. To publish materials that help spread knowledge about Ukraine,” Oleh Kotsiuba emphasized.
In particular, he noted that Russia’s war against Ukraine is aimed not only at seizing territory but also at destroying Ukrainian culture and identity. That is why even the purchase of a single book about Ukraine or by a Ukrainian author carries significant weight today.
At the same time, there are challenges, as the market for English-language translations of Ukrainian books remains difficult: translations require substantial financial resources, and sales are hard to predict. According to Kotsiuba, sales data are one of the key factors international publishers consider when deciding whether to publish new books. This is precisely why the Ukrainian Book Challenge aims to create visible, independent demand that will allow publishers to say “yes” to Ukrainian topics and names with greater confidence.
Currently, the leader of the challenge is The City by Valerian Pidmohylnyi in an English translation by Maxim Tarnawsky. The edition, released at the end of 2025, has become one of the most widely discussed Ukrainian books on social media and within reading communities. It was this book that the renowned historian and friend of Ukraine, Timothy Snyder, recommended as a starting point, publicly supporting the initiative. Notably, this was the first work of Ukrainian literature that Timothy Snyder read in Ukrainian from beginning to end, back when he was learning the language.
“I urge you to take part in the Ukrainian Book Challenge. Read, give as a gift, buy for yourself, and recommend at least one Ukrainian book this month. For me, that book was The City by Valerian Pidmohylnyi — the first work I read in Ukrainian from beginning to end.”
In addition to The City, participants in the campaign are actively recommending other English-language editions by Ukrainian authors. Among them are the novel Love Life by Oksana Lutsyshyna, the drama Cassandra by Lesia Ukrainka, which, according to Kotsiuba, has powerful parallels with contemporary events and themes of cultural colonization, women’s rights, and the artist’s responsibility. Works by Olena Stiazhkina, Volodymyr Rafeienko, Marianna Kiyanovska, and Iia Kiva are also being recommended, as well as a number of non-fiction books about modern Ukrainian history, the war, society, and culture.
Overall, within the Harvard Library of Ukrainian Literature series, 16 volumes of translated works have already been published, with a number of new releases planned for 2026.
For reference
The campaign is a joint initiative of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA), and the HUCUS Foundation, launched in December 2025. Its main goal is to support publishers of books about Ukraine and Ukrainian authors in English, as well as to foster sustained interest in Ukrainian literature in the English-speaking world.
The campaign offers a simple participation mechanism: purchase, read, gift, or recommend at least one English-language book about Ukraine or by a Ukrainian author at least once a year; take a photo or short video with the book; post it on social media with the hashtag #UkrainianBookChallenge; and invite five friends to join.
In this way, small individual actions are transformed into a large-scale wave of support for Ukrainian culture. The organizers therefore encourage Ukrainians abroad and friends of Ukraine in English-speaking countries to actively join the initiative and support Ukrainian authors through reading and recommending books.
Photo: VM collage
Author: Danylo Pievchev