Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries
The application deadline has expired.
The Special Programme for Publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries is an intensive training and networking programme for publishers, editors, foreign rights managers and literary agents from Armenia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine.
The Special Programme for Publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries is supported by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, and curated and organised by Frankfurter Buchmesse GmbH in cooperation with International Book Arsenal Festival and Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
Participation requirements are at least two years of professional experience in publishing with a focus on rights and licensing trade and a good command of English.
The participants 2023

ARI Literary and Talent Agency, Foreign Rights Manager
ARI Literary and Talent Agency, Foreign Rights Manager
Established in 2016, ARI Literary and Talent Agency represents around 20 Armenian writers
worldwide including several names of the Generation Independence and acquires translation rights
for numerous independent local publishers. Annually, we have around 5-6 sales and more than 50
purchase deals. ARI is the Armenian co-agent for several literary agencies and publishing houses.

Siesta, Chief Editor
Siesta, Chief Editor
Siesta is a small independent publishing house that has been successfully operating in Georgia since
2004. One of the main goals of the company has always been to introduce the best foreign authors
to the Georgian audience, to promote western values in a society, a major part of which considers
itself European but due to the 200-year long Russian hegemony finds itself in a rather complicated
situation.
The list of Siesta’s publications is quite long and includes, among others, titles by James Joyce,
Hermann Hesse, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Somerset Maugham, Miguel de Unamuno, Heinrich Böll, Herta Müller, to name but a few.
Siesta is currently intensifying efforts in the field of non-fiction as well as literature for young adults and children.

Pagony Kiadó, Editor-in-Chief
Pagony Kiadó, Editor-in-Chief
Open, progressive, innovative children's culture with fun, humour and that touch of magic - that's Pagony.
Over the years, since established in 2001, with more than 1000 titles published to date, Pagony has taken a leading and complex role in the quality cultural offering available to children with books that cover the whole spectrum from toddler to teen.
Our 13 Pagony bookstores became the go-to place for books, fun, interactive programs, even exit room experience or coffee time.
We continue in our efforts to publish quality children’s writing with contemporary illustration bringing the very best of local and international literature to our large and growing audience.

Wydawnictwo Karakter, Owner and Managing Director
Wydawnictwo Karakter, Owner and Managing Director
Founded in 2008, Karakter is an independent publishing house based in Krakow, Poland. Karakter publishes ca. 20 new titles per year in the fields of literary fiction and non-fiction, essays, as well as books on design, architecture and art. The list of authors includes Rebecca Solnit, Marcin Wicha, Susan Sontag, Raymond Chandler, Agneta Pleijel, Mona Chollet, Denis Johnson, Jason Hickel, Angela Y. Davis et. al.

Publica Com, Rights Manager
Publica Com, Rights Manager
Publica is a publishing house specialized in non-fiction books encompassing a wide range of subjects including business, social sciences, economics, and science, as well as biographies and works of creative non-fiction.

FACE, Director
FACE, Director
FACE - Forum for Alternative Culture and Education is a publishing house associating professionals from the academic and professional arts environment. Since 2011 it has been committed to the creation and dissemination of literary culture. FACE focuses on three main areas: perspectives on contemporary literature and culture, a return to the roots and pillars of Slovak literature (including regional research) and the bridging of Slovak culture with world literature.

Artbooks Publishing House, CEO
Artbooks Publishing House, CEO
Artbooks: books for which both children and adults are waiting!
We are proud that since the funding of the publishing house in 2015, we have created a whole community of reading ambassadors who believe in the power of books and cannot imagine their lives without reading. The main direction is the publication of books of world brands for children and adults. Currently, the publishing house continues its work despite the full-scale war in Ukraine. After all, we have a single goal – to continue publishing books for children who became victims of this terrible war.

Blym-Blym Publishing, Owner
Blym-Blym Publishing, Owner
Our purpose is to popularize children's reading. The main focus of the publishing house is modern children's fiction, graphic novels, and comics. We are looking for new forms, new approaches, new expressions for children's stories.

Crocus Publishing LCC, Co-founder, Foreign Rights Manager
Crocus Publishing LCC, Co-founder, Foreign Rights Manager
Crocus Publishers is a small independent Ukrainian publisher founded in 2019 by Nargis Gafurova and Anna Tiurina in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Crocus publishes illustrated fiction, non-fiction and poetry books for children and young readers in Ukrainian language by Ukrainian authors and illustrators as well as translations from various European languages.

KNIGOLOVE LCC, Foreign Rights Manager
KNIGOLOVE LCC, Foreign Rights Manager
#knygolove translates world bestsellers and cooperates with top Ukrainian authors. Since the beginning, our books have topped sales charts and become hits in the Ukrainian market. We publish YA literature and adult fiction and non-fiction books. The main mission of #knygolove is to create books for people who seek to change themselves and the world around them!

Nash Format Publisher, Head of the Strategic Non-Fiction Department / Book Scout
Nash Format Publisher, Head of the Strategic Non-Fiction Department / Book Scout
Nash Format Publishers is a Ukrainian publishing company established in Kyiv in 2006. We focus on nonfiction in fields ranging from business and economics to psychology and personal development, biographies, and memoirs. We also have a robust fiction series. Our publishing house has brought more than 300 translations to the Ukrainian readers, including works by Nobel Prize laureates, The New York Times Bestsellers, and The Economist Bestsellers.

Nasha Idea, Responsible of Edition, manage finance, manage team of company and all freelance personal
Nasha Idea, Responsible of Edition, manage finance, manage team of company and all freelance personal
Publishing house Nasha Idea was created in 2018 in Ukraine, after noticing the limited offer of books for teenagers in Ukraine. We then decided to focus mainly on comics and manga.
After series such as Les Carnets de Cerise, Mortelle Adèle or Les p’tites poules, we are publishing in 2020, the first Japanese manga, Chi sweet home, which has been a real success in Ukraine.
In a few years, we have been able to set up a distribution network and a catalog which allows comics to be more and more accessible to Ukrainian readers. We wish to continue increasing the comics’ offer in Ukraine.
The founders of Nasha idea:
Iryna Oleshko, Ukrainian: Former Commercial Director
Gregory Peron, French: Consulting specialist in publishing
We work in particular with the following publishers:
Arena Verlag, AC Media, Ankama, Bamboo, Bayard, Delcourt, Didier Jeunesse, Drakoo, Dupuis, Glénat, Hachette, Le Lombard, Rue de Sèvres, Steinkis, and a lot of Japanese editors.

Spirit and Litera, Publishing rights and license manager
Spirit and Litera, Publishing rights and license manager
"Dukh i Litera" is a Ukrainian humanitarian publishing house that publishes translated literature and original Ukrainian non-fiction. We focus on philosophy, history, cultural studies, social sciences, Christianity and Judaism. Our activities are inspired by topics that we consider fundamental: the formation of identity and civil society, the work of memory and reconciliation, the dialogue of cultures, the study of the history and culture of Ukrainian Jewry, etc.

Tempora Publishing House, Editor / Project Manager
Tempora Publishing House, Editor / Project Manager
Tempora focuses on intellectual literature, both translations and original titles. We are trying to present the new names and fill the gaps in the representation of world literature for Ukrainian
readers. That is why we don’t focus on the commercial literature, but on the classics and high-level contemporary novels. We have the Flemish project, the American postmodern project, classical German and contemporary literature etc.

Zhorzh, Project Manager and Editor
Zhorzh, Project Manager and Editor
Publishing House Zhorzh was established in 2016. There are more than 200 titles in our portfolio. We publish fiction and non-fiction literature, children's books both Ukrainian and translated. Our objective is a commitment to quality and the creation of books with modern attractive design.
The programme offers
- Digital and on-site exchange of information
- Professional dialogue across national borders
- Matchmaking events
- Numerous networking opportunities at Frankfurter Buchmesse
FAQ on the Special Programme
The programme is open to publishers, editors, foreign rights managers, and literary agents from Ukraine, Armenia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine with at least two years of publishing experience and a good command of English.
If the programme can take place, the Frankfurter Buchmesse will cover accommodation and part of the catering in Frankfurt and participants will have the opportunity to apply for a travel allowance.
Before the programme starts, preparatory seminars are offered online, with market presentations and tips on how to prepare for the Frankfurter Buchmesse. On site, the programme consists of a one-day seminar with German experts, followed by participation in the official opening of the Frankfurter Buchmesse and numerous international networking opportunities until the Saturday of the fair.
Participants will also have free time to organise their own meeting schedules while at the fair.
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