French-language version of Chapter Ukraine launches, a digital platform that compiles complete information on Ukrainian books available in foreign-language translation. This is already the catalogue’s fourth language edition.
The new French section opens with more than 100 titles from 34 Ukrainian publishers.
According to one of the project’s initiators, Iryna Baturevych, the Ukrainian Desjardins Fund helped to create and test the catalogue by supporting Ukraine’s presence at the Montreal Book Fair:
“Thanks to this project, not only us but everyone else can easily find Ukrainian-language titles that can be ordered through local libraries or bookshops.”
The catalogue is curated by experts who select titles according to clear criteria: a professional translation; availability of print runs and open distribution; reader feedback on international platforms such as Goodreads; published critical reviews; and a transparent distribution system.
The organisers are calling on Ukrainian communities to send lists of selected publications to French-language libraries and bookshops so that thematic shelves with Ukrainian literature will appear in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada by the anniversary of the full-scale invasion on 24 February.
“We have already seen how this works: thanks to the catalogue, libraries in Montreal have introduced Ukrainian selections. It proves that one active community can change a country’s visibility within a major book ecosystem,” stresses Olha Holovko, co-founder of the Ukrainian Club of Montreal.
Alongside the French version, the platform already operates in English, German, and Spanish.
The project’s expert team includes: Olha Holovko, Iryna Baturevych, Yevheniya Vyatchaninova and Nataliya Pylypchuk.