The Old Lion Publishing House

The Old Lion Publishing House (Ukrainian: Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva, abbreviated VSL) is a Ukrainian publishing house founded on 13 December 2001 in Lviv by Mariana Savka and Yuriy Chopyk. It describes itself as a publishing house for the whole family, issuing fiction, poetry, educational and popular-science books for children, motivational and business literature, cookbooks and album editions, distinguished by print quality and a recognisable visual style. It is one of the most active publishers in the Ukrainian media space and maintains representative offices in Lviv, Kyiv, Dnipro and Odesa. Until 2013 the house focused mainly on literature for children and teenagers by contemporary Ukrainian and foreign authors. In 2013 it launched the "Adult Literature" series, significantly widening its themes and audience. Today it publishes children's and adult literature, educational books for children, cookbooks, business literature and album editions, among others. In 2016 it was ranked first among Ukrainian publishing brands in a rating by the business magazine Forbes, and it has the largest Facebook following among Ukrainian publishers, helped by a website that is run more actively than those of other participants in the rating, carrying not only news of its own releases but also industry news and reports from publishing forums and fairs in Ukraine and abroad. Mariana Savka has been the house's editor-in-chief throughout; she is a poet, a member of the Association of Ukrainian Writers and the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, and a laureate of the V. Stus International Journalism Prize in poetry. Co-founder Yuriy Chopyk is a guitarist of the Lviv band "Mertvyi Piven" (Dead Rooster). In 2012 Chopyk left the publishing house and Mykola Sheiko became its director; the first adult titles — contemporary poetry and prose, business literature and non-fiction — appeared that year. From 2013 the pace of output accelerated sharply, and the house opened a Kyiv representative office in January 2013, its first bookshop in Lviv in 2015, a loyalty programme called the Old Lion Community in September 2015, and bookshop-cafés in Dnipro and central Kyiv in 2017 and in Odesa in 2018. The Old Lion positions itself as a new model of publishing built on communication: it treats communication not only as a marketing tool but as a way of building partnerships and dialogue with readers, who act as effective "marketers" and "promoters" and often suggest original ideas. It runs book presentations, author meetings, author tours around Ukrainian cities, literary evenings, holiday events, master classes with authors and illustrators, promotions, sales and giveaways. In 2016 it won the "Face of the City" promotion competition in the "Lviv of Publishing" nomination, run annually by Lviv City Council and the Lviv Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Old Lion Publishing House was founded on 13 December 2001 in Lviv by Mariana Savka and Yuriy Chopyk. Its first publication was "For Little Ones and Parents" (2002) by the famous Galician culinary expert Daria Tsviek, a book about the art of preparing festive dishes and setting the table. That same year the book received a laureate diploma at the IX All-Ukrainian Publishers' Forum in Lviv and was named "Book of the Year 2002". Until 2013 the publishing house's main activity was literature for children and teenagers by contemporary Ukrainian and foreign authors. In 2010 the Lviv emotion holding "!Fest" became a partner of the publishing house, providing financial support. In 2012 Yuriy Chopyk left the publishing house, and Mykola Sheiko became its director; he had previously been a media manager at the magazine and publishing house "Krytyka", general director of the publishing house "Galician Contracts" and general director of the magazine "Ukrainian Week". The first adult titles appeared — contemporary poetry and prose, business literature and non-fiction. From 2013 the publishing house actively accelerated its output. The number of new titles issued per year was: 2011 — 18; 2012 — 18; 2013 — 45; 2014 — 54; 2015 — 74; 2016 — 115; 2017 — 137; 2018 — 138. In January 2013 a representative office of The Old Lion Publishing House was created in Kyiv. In 2013 the house also founded the "Adult Literature" series, significantly expanding the themes and audience of its publications. In 2015 the first Old Lion bookshop opened in Lviv; by 2019 there were two in the city. In September 2015 the publishing house launched a loyalty system, the Old Lion Community, creating a shared space with the reader, allowing the publisher to better understand readers' needs and offering participants discounts, gifts and the like. In July 2017 the publishing house opened an Old Lion bookshop-café in Dnipro, and in October of the same year one in central Kyiv. In 2018 an Old Lion bookshop-café opened in Odesa. In 2016 The Old Lion Publishing House was recognised as first among Ukrainian publishing brands in a rating by the business magazine Forbes. It has the largest number of Facebook followers among Ukrainian publishers, largely thanks to a website run more actively than those of other participants in the rating; the resource is filled not only with posts about the publishing house's new releases but also with industry news and reports from publishing forums and exhibitions in Ukraine and the world. In 2016 the house also won the "Face of the City" 2016 promotion competition in the "Lviv of Publishing" nomination, run annually by Lviv City Council and the Lviv Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The publishing house has carried out notable publishing projects. In 2013, together with the radio station "Lviv Wave", it presented the project "Tales Under the Pillow" — a collection of seven Christmas stories by radio hosts of "Lviv Wave" (Vlodko Luchyshyn, Volodymyr Behlov, Lesia Horoshko) and stars of the Ukrainian stage (Kuzma "Skriabin", Viktor Broniuk of the band "TIK", Pavlo Tabakov, Viktor Vynnyk of the band "Meri"). In 2014 the project continued with "New Tales Under the Pillow" — eight Christmas stories by radio hosts and their musician friends, including Sashko Lirnyk, Natalka Karpa, "Piccardian Tertsiya", Taras Topolia of the band "Antitila" and Iryna Panchyshyn of the band "Patrytsiia". In 2014, with the first children's book by Kateryna Babkina, "Pumpkin Year", the publishing house began cooperation with the international charitable foundation "Tabletochky"; every 5 hryvnias from the book's price is transferred to the fund helping children with blood cancer, and sales of the books raised more than 52 thousand hryvnias. In 2015 The Old Lion Publishing House released Babkina's second children's book, "The Hat and the Whale", about an eight-year-old boy named The Hat who is ill with leukaemia; the aim of this publishing project was to raise 1 million hryvnias to help children with cancer under the care of the "Tabletochky" fund. The house's concept has remained consistent since its founding: it cares about a particular literary-artistic and printing level of its editions, working with highly professional Ukrainian authors, translators and artists who help create the publishing house's recognisable face. It presents itself as a new model of publishing built on organisational approaches to communication, treating communication not only as a marketing tool but as a way of establishing partnerships and dialogue with the reader; its readers are effective "marketers" and "promoters" who often suggest original ideas. It actively uses various forms of communication and promotion to stay in contact with its readership: book presentations, meetings with authors, author tours around Ukrainian cities, literary evenings, holiday events, master classes by authors and artists, and various promotions, sales and giveaways.

• 2018

  Bookshop-café opened in Odesa.

• 2017

  Bookshop-café opened in Dnipro in July and in central Kyiv in October.

• 2016

  Ranked first among Ukrainian publishing brands by Forbes; won "Face of the City" in the "Lviv of Publishing" nomination.

• 2015

  First Old Lion bookshop opened in Lviv; Old Lion Community loyalty programme launched in September.

• 2013

  Kyiv representative office created; "Adult Literature" series founded.

• 2012

  Yuriy Chopyk left; Mykola Sheiko became director; first adult titles appeared.

• 2010

  Lviv emotion holding "!Fest" became a partner, providing financial support.

• 2002

  First publication, Daria Tsviek's "For Little Ones and Parents", named "Book of the Year 2002".

• 2001

  Founded on 13 December in Lviv by Mariana Savka and Yuriy Chopyk.

A family-oriented, design-conscious Ukrainian publisher built on dialogue and community with readers, spanning children's, adult, educational and business literature.

• "For Little Ones and Parents" by Daria Tsviek (2002)

• "Tales Under the Pillow" project (2013)

• "New Tales Under the Pillow" (2014)

• Kateryna Babkina, "Pumpkin Year" (2014)

• Kateryna Babkina, "The Hat and the Whale" (2015)

1. 1The Old Lion — Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Издательство Старого Льва — Wikipedia (Russian)ru.wikipedia.org
3. 3The Old Lion Publishing House official websitestarylev.com.ua