Is publishing books a job or a hobby?

Iryna, mother
It's a passion for me!
Valeria, daughter
First of all, it's work, because I mostly do calculations.

How did the idea to create a publishing house come about?

Valeria
Five years ago, there were significantly fewer quality Ukrainian translations. Those books that were published in Ukraine were significantly behind those that were published abroad. And the first series of books inspired us exactly what we saw in Europe in museum shops. It turns out that you can do cool collaborations with museums, any beautiful aesthetic books can be sold there. And six years ago, there were very few aesthetically beautiful books. In general, many publishing houses that we consider cool today grew up over these years.

Who do you think is cool in Ukraine?

Valeria
In my opinion, these are "Stary Lev Publishing House", "Vivat" and "Artbuks" - they publish cool books. From the small publishing houses - "Black Sheep", they publish not many, but very cool books. These are those who are conceptually close to me.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a family business?

Iryna
It is easy and difficult for us at the same time. It's easy, because we work well together, we complement each other, but it's difficult because most of the family budget is involved in book publishing.
Valeria
I have another family business and it is more difficult for me to work there. Mom is very creative, and I am pragmatic, so we have a great tandem.
Iryna
And for me, in general, when Lera is not in the office, everything is different. She inspires me.

Why "Nebo"?

Iryna
Because my husband is a pilot and he has his own plane. And because the sky is so endless and unpredictable, the metaphors associated with it are very beautiful. It represents the limitlessness of horizons in creativity. But first of all, because of the association with the plane.

Have you had a moment in 5 years when you felt that all this was not in vain?

Iryna
Whenever people write to us about how much they love our books. Then we feel that everything is not in vain.
We greatly appreciate feedback and support from readers. We really like working at fairs, because there we see how people are happy about our books.

How do you stay in touch with your audience?

Iryna
Instagram, Facebook. We have very active followers, although not too many of them. We are in constant contact with them.

Tell the story of Majechka, how did she become a symbol of the publishing house?

Iryna
When Lyera went to study in England, we moved out of town, and on the way to our village we picked up a little puppy on the highway. She is weak and miserable, and the vet said she couldn't be saved, so it would be best to put the dog to sleep. But we found another doctor and still left her - that's how we got Majechka. And then it happened that we constantly began to encounter homeless dogs and cats - since then we did not buy, but only rescued animals.
We wanted to tell people that sheltering street dogs is not scary, it should be done. And so the first book about Majechka appeared - Yuliya Laktionova wrote the text, and Polina Doroshenko illustrated it.
Later, we created a Facebook page for Majechka, where she already has 17,000 fans, and many people admit that Majechka makes them happy every day.
In five years, Majechka grew into a large social project.

Which publishing house is your favorite book?

Iryna
"The Book of Dust" by Philip Pullman.
Valeria
And mine too.

And which one sells best?

Valeria
"Van Gogh's Starry Night". And "Mama", "My Whale Friend", "The Jungle Book" and "Nero Corleone" are our TOP-5. "Starry Night" is the best seller, because it is the only encyclopedia of its kind in the Ukrainian language - about art for children. And at the same time, it has a normal price, for a similar book in Russian you will have to pay twice as much.
The Jungle Book is popular for its cool illustrations and better translation than any we've seen before.
And there is no such book as mom anymore. It is very emotional: everyone first scrolls, cries and then buys. This is a 100% emotional purchase.

And what do you think is more important in a book: the form or its content?

Valeria
The shape is decisive for the purchase. Although I think the content is more important, if the book is not attractive, no one will notice it. I am in any case for aesthetics. We created the publishing house to promote the aesthetic education of the new generation. Beautiful illustrations and high-quality translation are for this. So that our readers flip through beautiful books and seek to surround themselves with beauty in everything, which means to make our country better. I am convinced that it starts with books.
Iryna
In general, everything starts with books.

How do you feel about the current trend of digitalization of books? Aren't you afraid that electronic and audio books will replace paper editions?

Valeria
No, we are not afraid, because according to world ratings, sales of paper books are not falling, but electronic books, since they appeared, are falling. In America, after the appearance of the e-book, the popularity of paper publications declined a little, then increased and remains stable. Therefore, real paper books will not go anywhere. All the more children's, and above all well illustrated.

People are reading more today than ever before, but do they have time for long, textured novels?

Iryna
Even when "Harry Potter" was published, skeptics said that children would never read such great novels. As we can see, they were wrong. Readers of all ages always find time for what interests them.
Valeria
Mostly, people read to escape from reality, to completely immerse themselves in a book and abstract from what is happening around them. In the conditions of a pandemic, people want it even more. Our world is becoming so cruel that sometimes you want to hide from it.
Iryna
Or, on the contrary, read something even more cruel and understand that you are not really so bad.
Valeria
According to statistics, thick novels are popular both among adults and among children in the world today - they sell well. And next year we will have many "fatties".

Do you like film adaptations? Do you think you should read the book first or watch the movie based on it?

Iryna
I love film adaptations. In general, I love everything related to books. Sometimes I come home and listen to booktube for another 3-4 hours, all the time I check what's new in the book world, who published what, who thinks what about it.
First, of course, it is better to read, but it is the screen adaptations that often prompt you to read the book.

What book have you read recently for pleasure?

Iryna
I haven't read just like that for a long time. But because we're going to be printing a lot of fantasy, I'm reading it right now and I'm really enjoying it. This is a new experience for me. Among the last ones I read is "Born of the Mist" by Sanderson.

What interesting projects are you planning to implement?

Valeria
Let's go win over an adult audience. We have big plans for next year: gothic, fantasy and 18+.
Iryna
These are very serious authors, but we can't talk until we sign the contracts. I can assure you that these are the top five world fantasy authors.
Valeria
We compete a little with our favorite publishing houses.

Which book do you consider to be the perfect gift for the New Year holidays?

Iryna
"Northern Lights" by Philip Pullman.
Valeria
Anything from Pullman. I am for thick books, and the New Year is a great opportunity to plunge into a magical world.
And if for children - Andersen's or Grimm's fairy tales.

Photo — Kostyantyn Zahariy