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Americans’ Interest in Ukrainian Books Spikes After Russian Invasion
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((TITLE: TV UKRAINE US BOOKS – Shynkarenko
HEAD: Americans’ Interest in Ukrainian Books Spikes After Russian Invasion
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 08/23/2023, 10:15a
BYLINE: Iryna Shynkarenko
CONTRIBUTOR: Iryna Matviichuk
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Oleksii Osyka
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS: TV only
COPY EDITOR: KEnochs; MAS
TRT: 3:14
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR’S NOTE:
UPDATE:
((INTRO))
[[At least one local bookstore in Washington says people want to read more Ukrainian books. Such interest rose dramatically after the start of Russia’s invasion and hasn’t faded, they add. Iryna Shynkarenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]]
((NARRATION))
((NATS)) ((Fowler shows a book))
“This one, Lucky Breaks, by Yevgenia Belorusets… It’s a new short-story collection, and it’s very popular!”
((NARRATION))
Llalan Fowler with Kramers bookstore in the heart of Washington DC proudly shows one of the latest store arrivals – the English translation of a book by Ukrainian photographer and writer Evgenia Belorusets telling the stories of Ukrainians after Russia’s invasion. There are many more titles like this – a myriad of books by Ukrainian authors, translated into English.
((Llalan Fowler, Kramers Bookstore)) ((ENG))
“In the past year, there’s been a lot more interest in Ukrainian authors. We have one book that is an anthology of fiction, written by Ukrainians, and it’s very popular – people are just interested in what life is like there.”
((NARRATION))
Fowler is head book buyer at Kramers, and she says there are a few authors whose books keep going out of stock. One of them is Ukrainian historian Serhii Plokhy.
((Llalan Fowler, Kramers Bookstore)) ((ENG))
“They really wanted to know about the background, so they bought The Gates of Europe a lot, to know the background of the relationship between the two countries.”
((NARRATION))
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Kramers had a special display dedicated to the war. As a result, the store managers like Andrew Jones say books about Russia’s history and Putin have also been popular lately.
((Andrew Jones, Kramers Bookstore)) ((ENG))
“We made a display of Ukrainian history books, as well as many Russian history books – specifically, ones that focus on the cult of personality of Putin, and it sold very well for about three months.”
((NARRATION))
Fowler says, before the war, the store wasn’t selling books by Ukrainian authors at all. Today, however, they pay close attention to the authors they pick.
((Llalan Fowler, Kramers Bookstore)) ((ENG))
“Before the invasion, I didn’t think about where an author was from – Russia or Ukraine. I didn’t think about nationality, just thought about the book. Afterwards, I started thinking about nationality, because I knew that would be of interest to my customers.”
((NARRATION))
As a result, Ukrainian authors have gained access to a relatively closed US book market, says Oleh Kotsyuba with the Harvard University's Ukrainian Research Institute.
((Oleh Kotsyuba, Harvard University's Ukrainian Research Institute)) ((UKR)) ((Skype))
"First of all, until recently people knew very little about Ukraine. They didn’t know Ukraine has a rich and diverse culture of literature and books, etc. On top of that, the Ukrainian government hasn’t done much to popularize Ukrainian writers and Ukrainian literature. Only recently, there has been work done to change that.”
((NARRATION))
It’s unclear if the popularity of Ukrainian authors translates outside of the diplomatic and political hub of Washington DC, but at least here, Americans want to know more about the country that continues to defy a Russian invasion.
((For Iryna Shynkarenko and Iryna Matviichuk in Washington, Anna Rice, VOA News))
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