Vikhola

Vikhola (Віхола) is a Ukrainian independent publishing house founded in 2020 by former employees of the publisher Nash Format. It specializes in books by Ukrainian authors, initially focusing on non-fiction and later expanding into literary fiction. The house is known for its 'Naukpop' (popular science) series launched in 2020 and the 'Non-canonical Canon' series of Ukrainian literary classics with scholarly commentary, started in 2022. Vikhola's books have won major Ukrainian literary awards, including the BBC Book of the Year 2022 for Andriy Semiankiv's 'Dances with Bones'. The publisher actively participates in international book fairs and has sold translation rights to Polish and German publishers. It operates primarily in Ukraine and collaborates with popular science communicators and bloggers as authors.

Vikhola was founded in July 2020 by former employees of the Ukrainian publishing house Nash Format. The founding team included Ilona Zamotsna (former director of Nash Format), Olha Dubchak (former editor-in-chief), Iryna Shchepina (translation rights manager), Maryna Zakharchuk (marketing director), Viktoriia Shelest (editorial head), and Natalia Shnyr (SMM manager). The decision to create a new publishing house followed a controversy in May 2020 when Nash Format announced the release of a book by Russian scientist Ancha Baranova titled 'Coronavirus: Instructions for Survival', which caused outrage among some employees. Olha Dubchak resigned, citing improper communication and humiliation by the owner, Vladyslav Kyrychenko. The new publishing house was announced on 28 July 2020. Initially, Vikhola was created as a non-fiction publisher, but later expanded into literary fiction. In 2020, it launched the 'Naukpop' series, featuring contemporary Ukrainian popular science authors. By 2023, the series had published 14 books on topics ranging from GMOs and embryology to botany and religious studies. In 2021, the publisher released 23 books with a total print run of over 133,000 copies. Two books became bestsellers: 'Matera is Not Your Servant, or Why Children Are Wonderful...' by Katia Blyostka and 'Evidence-Based and Not-So-Evidence-Based Medicine' by Andriy Semiankiv. Another book by Semiankiv, 'Dances with Bones', won the BBC Book of the Year award in 2022. In 2022, Vikhola started the 'Non-canonical Canon' series of Ukrainian literary classics with commentary by literary scholars, including works by Marko Vovchok, Iryna Vilde, Ahatanhel Krymsky, Yevhen Pluzhnyk, and others. In 2023, the publisher began releasing Ukrainian classics in gift format with forewords by Ukrainian literary scholars and film experts, and afterwords by artists, critics, and experts discussing how the classic text has been embodied in other art forms such as cinema, theater, and painting. Among the published works are 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' and 'The Kaidash Family'. Vikhola is a regular participant in major Ukrainian book festivals, including Book Arsenal and the Publishers' Forum, as well as regional festivals like Book Space in Dnipro, 'Frontier' in Lutsk, and 'Poruch' in Odesa. Internationally, Vikhola was one of 40 Ukrainian publishers representing Ukraine at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022 and participated in the London Book Fair 2023. In 2023, the publisher was selected for the FILI (Finnish Literature Exchange) program, within which Ukrainian publishers visited Helsinki to meet Finnish colleagues and participate in events on translation grant opportunities. In 2022, Vikhola signed a contract to translate a selection of essays by Vira Aheieva, 'Behind the Scenes of the Empire', into Polish with the Polish publisher Znak Horyzont, and a contract for English translation with the German ibidem-Verlag. The publisher's books have received numerous awards, including the BBC Book of the Year 2022, the Ukrainian PEN Best Books of 2022 (8 books listed, winning 6 of 12 non-fiction nominations), the All-Ukrainian 'Book of the Year-2022' rating (winners in several categories), and the Yuriy Shevelov Prize 2022 longlist (4 books). In 2023, author and editor-in-chief Olha Dubchak was shortlisted for the Shevchenko Prize for her books 'Hearing in Ukrainian' and 'Seeing in Ukrainian'.

• 2023

  Participated in the London Book Fair.

• 2023

  Selected for the FILI (Finnish Literature Exchange) program.

• 2023

  Began publishing Ukrainian classics in gift format.

• 2022

  Launched the 'Non-canonical Canon' series of Ukrainian literary classics.

• 2022

  Andriy Semiankiv's 'Dances with Bones' won the BBC Book of the Year award.

• 2022

  Signed translation contracts with Polish publisher Znak Horyzont and German ibidem-Verlag.

• 2022

  Participated in the Frankfurt Book Fair as one of 40 Ukrainian publishers.

• 2021

  Published 23 books with a total print run of over 133,000 copies.

• 2020

  Vikhola publishing house founded by former employees of Nash Format.

• 2020

  Launched the 'Naukpop' popular science series.

Independent Ukrainian publisher focused on contemporary Ukrainian authors and popular science, with a strong emphasis on quality non-fiction and literary classics.

• Naukpop series

  Popular science series featuring contemporary Ukrainian science communicators, with 14 books published by 2023.

• Non-canonical Canon series

  Series of Ukrainian literary classics with commentary by literary scholars, launched in 2022.

• Dances with Bones

  Medical thriller by Andriy Semiankiv, won BBC Book of the Year 2022.

• Matera is Not Your Servant, or Why Children Are Wonderful...

  Bestseller by Katia Blyostka.

• Evidence-Based and Not-So-Evidence-Based Medicine

  Bestseller by Andriy Semiankiv.

• Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

  Gift edition of a Ukrainian classic.

• The Kaidash Family

  Gift edition of a Ukrainian classic.

1. 1Vikhola on Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Віхола (видавництво) - Ukrainian Wikipediauk.wikipedia.org