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Trade condemns ‘heartbreaking’ bombing on Ukrainian printer Factor-Druk and publisher Vivat
A missile strike at a Ukrainian printer Factor-Druk has led to the deaths of seven employees, 22 people being injured, and the halting of all work at “one of the largest industrial printing facilities in eastern Europe”.
The bombing in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv took place last Thursday (23rd May) and now Factor-Druk and its subsidiary publisher Vivat are appealing for support from colleagues across the world.
Tatiana Grinyuk, chief executive officer at Factor-Druk, wrote a letter circulated to UK clients and contacts: "On the morning of 23rd Мау Russian rockets hit the production premises of the Factor-Druk printing соmраnу. Seven еmрlоуееs wеrе killed and 22 people received injuries of varying degrees as а result of the impact. The rocket hit in the middle of the workshop, out of four thousand square meters of production аrеа mоrе than а thousand were destroyed, unique equipment was damaged, mоrе than 50,000 printed books were destroyed, all losses amounting to €4,970,000.”
Grinyuk added: “The printing house continued to operate during wartime. Factor-Druk has been producing books fоr more than 30 Ukrainian publishers, which is аbоut а third of the total пumbеr of books in Ukraine.”
Grinyuk said that following the missile strike, production at Factor-Druk stopped. “The consequences will inevitably affect the publishing industry and educational processes in the country,” she wrote. “Now the company needs support in restoring its production facilities. We аrе calling оп the whole of the Ukrainian and international соmmunity.”
Yuliya Orlova, the chief executive of Vivat, released a statement in which she said: “Factor-Druk is one of the largest full-cycle industrial printing facilities in eastern Europe, producing books for all but a few Ukrainian publishers, a company established in 1996. It is one of the key companies in the publishing industry.
“A printing press of this magnitude stopping its work can affect Ukraine’s entire book publishing field since it printed everything from school textbooks and children’s literature to books on the current war to publications in language and history."
The publishing industry in the UK has spoken of the impact of the situation. Tony Potter, creative director of children’s publisher iSeek, told The Bookseller: “I’ve worked with the factory over the past 10 years or so, until the Russian invasion. They produce good quality books and are an important newspaper and school book printer for Ukraine.
“After the attacks on Kharkiv in the early stages of the invasion, they managed to resume working, though export sales were, of course, very difficult. As well as a heartbreaking tragedy for the people working there who have lost their lives or been injured, it is a terrible attack on Ukrainian culture.”
Emma Shercliff, of Laxfield Literary Associates, described Factor-Druk as one of the largest printers in Europe.
“Almost all the leading publishers in Ukraine will have used it at some point," she told The Bookseller.
“Book Arsenal, Ukraine’s biggest book fair... opens in Kyiv this week, and many publishers were awaiting final delivery of their lead titles. Imagine Clays being destroyed in the lead-up to Super Thursday or LBF. It’s horrendous.
“The impact on both culture and business is devastating and yet another terrible chapter in this Russian aggression against civilian and cultural targets.”
Shercliff represents several Ukrainian authors including Oleksandr Mykhed, Mstyslav Chernov, Artem Chapeye and the estate of Victoria Amelina, the award-winning Ukrainian author who was killed in a bombing in July.
“As well as the human cost of the attack, I was sickened to see that the entire first print run of Words and Bullets, a collection of interviews with Ukrainian writers including Victoria and Artem had been destroyed,” Shercliff said. It was due to be published on 14th June by Vivat, who share the same parent company as Factor-Druk.
"But Vivat are not cancelling the release and it remains on pre-order. As soon as the damage can be assessed, the publisher will resume work."
She added: “I’ve been working with Natalie Miroshnyk, Vivat’s foreign rights manager, to promote the diary of Volodymyr Vakulenko, the Ukrainian children’s writer murdered by Russian forces and whose diary was found buried under a tree in his father’s orchard.
“Volodmyr was the posthumous winner of the IPA’s Prix Voltaire in 2023 and the award was collected on his behalf last year by my author Victoria Amelina, who wrote the foreword to the published version of his diaries and was herself then killed in a Russian missile attack. The cycle of horror continues."
But Shercliff urged the UK trade to keep engaging with companies in the Ukraine. “The most impactful thing any UK publishing company can do to support their Ukrainian colleagues is continue to do business with them, buy their rights and publish their authors."
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