Ukraine's book industry surges to record highs in 2023 as print runs jump 203%

In 2023, 270 new publishers were registered in Ukraine. The output of book products increased by 73%, and circulation grew 203%, reported the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.

According to the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, in 2023, 302 such companies entered the State Register of Publishers, Manufacturers and Distributors of Publishing Products. 270 of them are new, and 32 had their certificates reissued.

For comparison: in the pre-war year 2021, 293 publishing-related businesses were entered into the State Register, in 2022 – 152 companies.

This year, five certificates were canceled due to the termination of publishers' activities. A total of 1,216 certificates were canceled during the 23 years of the State Register.

At the beginning of December, the Ukrainian Book Institute together with Kyiv Book Weekend compiled a list of bestsellers in four nominations in 2023. The "Unconditional leader" of the nomination was the "Non-canonical canon" book series of the Vikhola publishing house.

In June 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law banning the import and distribution of books from the Russian Federation and Belarus. The Verkhovna Rada adopted this law on June 19, 2022, and on June 20 of the same year, it was submitted to the president for signature.

Since the law was not signed for a long time, Ukrainians created a petition calling on Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign it.