The event is supported by the Manchester Library Festival and the Manchester – City of Literature initiative. The evening will be moderated by Hugh Roberts, a professor at the University of Exeter and a supporter of Ukrainian poetry, according to Yuliya Musakovska.
The readings will be held in Ukrainian and English. The poets will read both their own works and poems by military poets. Funds raised during the event will be donated to the Hospitaliers Medical Battalion.
Yuliya Musakovska is a Ukrainian poet, writer and translator. She is a member of Ukrainian PEN. She is the author of six poetry collections and the recipient of numerous literary awards in Ukraine, including the DICTUM Prize (2013), the Smoloskyp Publishing House Competition (2010), the Bohdan-Ihor Antonych Prize (2009), among others.
Yuliya Musakovska’s poems have been translated into more than 30 languages and widely published in anthologies and literary journals abroad. In English, they have appeared in prestigious publications such as The Southern Review, Tupelo Quarterly, The Common and AGNI. Collections of her poetry have also been published in Poland: Wiersze kłopotliwe (2025) and Żelazo (2022), translated by Aneta Kaminska, as well as in Sweden: Stenar och spik / Stones and Nails (2024), translated by Mikael Nydaland Susanna Witt.
Olena Huseynova is a poet and radio presenter. She is the author of three poetry collections and also writes short prose and essays. Until January 2025, she served as editor-in-chief of UA: Radio Culture. From 26 February 2022, she was one of the voices of the 24-hour news marathon on Ukrainian Radio. In 2024, she was writer-in-residence at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. In January 2025, she became the creative producer of Radio Khartiya.