"Filipenka's 'The Elephant' was bought more willingly in Belarusian than in Russian". Which books are currently topping the charts? Interview with the head of Gutenberg Publisher
They re-release contemporary Belarusian prose, launched a series of children's books, discover new names in Belarusian literature, and translate bestsellers into their native language — in two years, Gutenberg Publisher has managed to release 55 books and five board games. The team hopes this is just the beginning.
Valentina Andreeva. Editor-in-chief of Gutenberg Publisher. Photo: Nasha Niva
"Nasha Niva" spoke with Valentina Andreeva, the editor-in-chief of the publishing house. About ambitions, failures, burnout, children's literature, artificial intelligence, the most expensive project, and what books Belarusians are missing — in our conversation.
"We want to release even more books for children's reading motivation and practice"
Nasha Niva: You said that books became your best friends in early childhood, and that's why you went to study publishing after school. Who and how instilled in you a love for reading?
Valentina Andreeva: In our family, both mom and dad read a lot. Dad, moreover, was a compulsive reader: he could read day and night. Mom, though also fond of books, rarely managed to read compulsively as a woman. Because when you have children, a family, responsibilities, you can't afford it (or very rarely).
Probably for the same reasons, in my memory, dad read aloud to me a bit more often, especially after my younger brother was born.
NN: Previously, it was easier for children to immerse themselves in a book because there were no gadgets or social networks. How did you get your children used to reading?
VA: First and foremost, my husband and I also read aloud to them. For me, this is a very important practice. Although lately I often get tired and there's very little time left to put aside all affairs before the children go to bed — nevertheless, I try to set aside time for it. I even read to my eldest daughter, who will soon turn 15. She started reading quite naturally herself — we simply often brought her different books.
My son also has no problems with this, and he tackles very thick editions. I myself am currently reading him "The Secret Garden" by Frances Eliza Burnett, which was recently released by Papuri publishing house. And here's a life hack: I stop at the end of a chapter where, for example, someone is crying in the hallway. And then he reacts with annoyance: "Well, of course, why do you always have to finish at the most interesting point where I want to know 'what happens next?'"
It was the same with Svetlana Audzeichyk's "The Book of the Talented": it was impossible to stop, because she is a master of cliffhangers! Such artistic breaks at the most interesting parts and various authorial techniques provoke children to pick up the book themselves.
It was similar with Kornel Makuszyński's "The Devil from the Seventh Grade" — I first put on the audiobook on "Knižny Voz", and then I took the phone away because we had to leave, and my son begged: "Just give me the paper one, I must know what happens next."
My son's reading ability also owes credit to his primary school teacher from the Polish school. They use the so-called "Boston system" here to develop reading habits. Children read a book aloud for 10 minutes during class, and independent reading at home is also introduced. Parents must daily record how many minutes their child read (in the first grade, schoolchildren had to read a minimum of 10 minutes a day, in the second — 20, and in the third already 30).
I wouldn't say that reading is more interesting for my son than gadgets. But as soon as the allotted time for the tablet ends, in his free time he runs to a book.
It is precisely for children who are just starting to read that we at the publishing house created a special series "I Read Myself" for three different levels — with a special font for dyslexics, with accents and colored syllables. This project was my dream and is a mission — I want to release even more books for motivation and reading practice. I persistently follow this path because I consider it very important.
Books published by the publishing house. Photo: Nasha Niva
"Our book business is not like in Europe, where you can make predictions"
NN: Do book publishers today compete primarily for attention with colleagues, or with media, social networks, or even Netflix?
VA: In my opinion, Belarusian culture competes within the entire information space available to Belarusians. For everyone, it can be their own: for some — Russian, for some — Polish or Lithuanian, Georgian. For Belarusians in America — American.
That is, we compete in a common, very large field of culture, where there aren't even many translations of world-renowned classics into Belarusian.
It's not that it's critically important for me for absolutely everything around to be in Belarusian. But I myself live in Belarusian and want to live comfortably in this world with my Belarusian language. So that at the moment when I want to read a book in Belarusian or watch a movie with our voice-over, I can do it. Without pretense, without struggle, without overcoming circumstances, but simply because it's the language of my life, the language I live by. This is extremely difficult today, but nonetheless.
Unfortunately, our book business is not like in Europe, where you can predict: "Okay, we'll print three thousand copies and somehow sell three thousand, and divide this pie like that." Our risks are very high. And if of a book for which we printed a thousand copies, only 150 are sold, and it lies for a year and a half, taking up a good part of the warehouse — this creates a big problem for the publishing house.
NN: Are you talking about a specific book? You won't name it?
VA: Yes. I won't name it: I really don't want to upset the author, because the book is wonderful, very well done. But it's this confluence of circumstances and the demands of Belarusian readers. You can't blame people for not needing something (or needing it in small quantities).
In the publishing house office. Photo: Nasha Niva
NN: I'd like to ask about your own work at Gutenberg publishing house — it seems to take up all your time, with nothing left for yourself — is that true?
VA: Yes, today Gutenberg takes up most of my life. And what I'm struggling with is to establish a work-life balance. To stop working after leaving work and going home. The next stage will be the task of finding energy within myself and taking up a hobby.
The reason why the work-life balance hasn't been resolved yet is that so far our work is more like a mission or volunteering. This isn't stable work from which you can take a vacation, nor are these salaries enough to at least stop worrying about tomorrow. We are, of course, working on this.
We want to pay the entire team at least a minimum, but stable salary and not make rash decisions that would require colleagues to sacrifice. Because if you constantly sacrifice, it will lead to burnout. And that's what we need least, as there's already a shortage of professionals in the field.
In the publishing house office. Photo: Nasha Niva
NN: How many people are on your team today?
VA: There are four of us in the permanent staff. Several people are not part of the core team but have already found their very important place in the publishing house. A few more are looking for their place in our team, and the team is growing. And it must grow if we want to release everything we plan.
"People who bought Filipenka's 'The Elephant' said it was their first Belarusian book since school"
NN: Tell us, what results are you ending 2025 with — how many books have you managed to publish, how many of them sold?
VA: We prepared 27 books. Four of them were non-public — these are purely commercial editions with which we try to cover our work.
Among the notable publications is Sasha Filipenka's novel "The Elephant". People who bought it said it was the first book in Belarusian they had picked up and intended to read since school. The Belarusian-language version was bought even more eagerly than the Russian-language one, and this is very gratifying. It means that people can and want to read in Belarusian. It's just that for now, we don't always manage to give them what they want.
"The Elephant" was released in May, and the second print run was printed literally two weeks after sales began. All two thousand copies of this book are almost sold out.
NN: It looks like "The Elephant" is number 1 in sales. Who else is among the leaders for 2025?
Valentina: The second best-selling book is "Cold Lands" by Aliaksandr Karnaŭkh — it receives a lot of positive feedback. The author is new, not widely promoted. And this book, in my opinion, has the absolute potential to become a bestseller on the level of "The Elephant". And I very much hope that "Cold Lands" will soon be translated into other languages — we are working on that too. And the author himself has already signed an agreement with a European agency.
Mystical Belarusian detective thriller "Cold Lands" with Umberto Eco vibes released
Third in the top is Artsiom Shukanau's book "Pentaquantor". This is a techno-thriller by an IT specialist, very well-crafted and written in Belarusian. The book could have been published in any language in the world, but it turned out this way because it was written by a Belarusian who was born in Mazyr and danced foxtrot in Minsk. "Pentaquantor" raises very deep questions, while being easy to read.
Another fresh novelty from Gutenberg — the book "Christmas-1992" by Natallia Kharytaniuk and Volia Kuzmich
"While we were printing this book, its Russian version was recognized as banned in Belarus"
NN: When you talk about translations, do you mean English primarily?
VA: You know, I've already abandoned the idea that we should primarily look towards English. Yes, if we translate into English, we'll be heard more. But so much is released in English that translating Belarusian literature will require super-professional promotion — expensive and not easy. Because the English-speaking market is very saturated, and it's difficult to win over an audience there.
I believe that, where possible, we should work as much as possible on translations into Polish, Ukrainian, and the languages of the Baltic countries. It's no coincidence that books by Sasha Filipenka and Alhierd Bacharevič are also translated into German — there's good contact there and an understanding of who will read them.
Personally, I intend to direct my efforts towards what is geographically closer to us, what is more understandable to us, and with whom we can communicate more easily.
The English language will come naturally when we establish high-quality intercultural communication in our region.
NN: And what planned projects didn't work out in 2025?
VA: Two books. The first is "The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business" by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch. We sent it to the factory a long time ago, but first their printing machine broke down, then a wheel fell off the delivery truck. The book should have arrived already, but now they promise December 25th, which is unlikely, as holiday weekends will start in Poland.
And while we were printing this book, its Russian version was recognized as banned in Belarus. Therefore, people from inside the country will most likely not buy it from us, which is very unfortunate.
The second book that we just can't seem to get right is Mariam Petrosyan's "The House, In Which…".
We even had to extend the copyright agreement because we didn't meet the two-year timeframe allotted for its creation. The book is simply of a very large volume and carries just as much responsibility, as for many children of the 2010s, it was critically important because it talked about things that resonated with the inner world of these people. And that's why we want to do it very well.
We hope to release it in the spring: we've finally received the book layout. But as of now, it is our longest and most expensive project.
Top buyers — Poland, Lithuania, America, Germany
NN: You mentioned that the year saw no new board games — is this due to lack of funding, because games are several times more expensive to produce than books? Or were there no interesting projects in sight?
VA: We have two great board games in our portfolio. And both of them are, in principle, at a high stage of readiness; they could be brought to the printing stage in literally a month. But printing each requires about 10 thousand euros. So far, we haven't managed to gather a pool of investors for such an amount. And we've allowed ourselves not to worry about it.
The year 2025 was important in another way. Although "Gutenberg" for me personally is the ninth publishing house I've worked in, nevertheless, our work as a separate, independent enterprise requires completely different, new experience — the management of all processes, for example. And it is with the building of this enterprise that we were occupied this year.
Specifically, we delegated responsibilities, because at the beginning, I personally proofread and edited most of the books, and my colleague and partner did the covers — in short, everything was done within the team. Today, we have assembled a staff of people with whom I calmly and confidently work on both proofreading and editing. We also found a person who creates layouts at a level that satisfies us.
Thanks to the growth of the team, I think next year we will be able to increase the number of products. Another task we are solving is finding team members who understand PR and media, because so far we have the problem that not everyone knows about us even in Krakow.
NN: To which countries do your books most often travel by mail?
VA: Poland, Lithuania, America, Germany. Belarus is quite low on this list — we send less than 2% of total orders there. I think this is primarily due to the fact that people from Belarus are forced to play it safe.
Many do not risk paying by card on the website, because who knows: today the publishing house is not extremist, but tomorrow, perhaps, it will be. I perfectly understand these people; they need to protect themselves. But overall, books not banned in Belarus arrive very quickly — within two weeks at most.
Also, there might be fewer orders from Belarus due to cost. Working in Europe, we are forced to set quite high prices for our books, and delivery is added to that. And in Belarus, salaries are not high enough to easily afford buying many books.
NN: Janushkevich publishing house was on the verge of ceasing new book publications last year. Did you have such a crisis moment during your years of work when you might have thought: that's it, we'll go bankrupt tomorrow?
VA: For some time, I lived with the thought: we're working this month, but what about the next — it's unknown. We lived like that for almost all of 2024. This intensified especially when we ran into an unpleasant situation with a Polish accounting company that took our money but didn't submit reports.
And we were forced to pay a new company money for all the work since the beginning of our activity; it was a very large sum for us — about 10 thousand euros.
At that time, people supported us greatly, sincere thanks to everyone. This situation was a very difficult moment for us, but we have not yet lost hope of suing that company and are working on it.
A colossal event for us was the approved grant from ArtPower for organizational sustainability. After confirmation, I finally went to the store and bought two pots of heather and planted them on the office window, which had been without flowers for two years. Well, I just breathed a little easier, because I understood that for the next six months we would be doing what needs to be done — creating a sustainable publishing house, and at the same time, we wouldn't be tearing our hair out wondering how to pay everyone at least minimum wages.
NN: The creation of the publishing house began with the idea of releasing the calendar "Language of the Free", which contained Belarusian words and their translations into various languages, but the project went bankrupt. Are you planning to repeat something like that? And do you have any tests or analyses before launching new projects to understand the demand for a future publication?
VA: After that, we approach seasonal projects with great caution. Yes, we really want a new calendar, and every spring we even start nudging partners to see if they're ready to join. For now, we stop in time.
The criterion is this: until we see that we can reliably distribute a book's print run among partners and reach readers with information — we don't undertake such risky projects.
NN: You said you receive quite a lot of manuscripts — is that still the case? And what are they mostly about — what themes and genres?
VA: Lately, fewer texts have been coming in — about five a week. The other thing is that every manuscript needs work — it would be good if authors themselves repeatedly reread the manuscript through the eyes of an editor and proofreader before it reaches us.
We have a local meme when authors send manuscripts and write: "Everything is ready here. You just need to print it." And often these are the most complex texts. But I try not to refuse anyone until I'm absolutely sure that we don't have the resources to bring the manuscript up to scratch. Because, strictly speaking, most books and projects that come to us can be worked on.
Many children's books are sent. At the same time, it seems to me that people underestimate the complexity of this genre.
Books published by the publishing house. Photo: Nasha Niva
After visiting the Frankfurt Book Fair, I walked through the stands of various publishers, paying special attention to children's books. And I mentally divided children's literature into two directions. The first is everyday books (entertaining stories, adventures, Minecraft, and for the youngest — pictures with colors) — a fair number of these are needed to educate a child. The second direction is value-based books that carry a specific idea, solve, and explain complex issues to a child: death, disability, relationships with friends. And it is among these latter books that international awards are distributed, with illustrations playing a large role. Such publications also usually stand on national stands.
And when I look at Belarusian children's books, I realize that we don't yet have such a clear division. On the one hand, we lack everyday books that are simple enough but effectively address the problem of education. On the other hand, value-based books are not so common for us either.
NN: Have there been cases where someone tried to "push" a manuscript that was clearly written with the help of artificial intelligence?
VA: You know, we introduced our "No AI content" sign not because we don't work with AI at all, but to mark books created exclusively by humans. We think this is important. But many interpreted this sign as a general publishing policy. And some authors specifically state: "if I translated something, at a specific moment I used AI," or "when I create such a picture, I consult with AI, and then redraw it." That is, people are justifying themselves. But there's no need: it's a useful tool, it just needs to remain one.
Among the nominees for the Giedroyc Prize shortlist is the book "Murder on Makayonka Street" by Kleka Shtuchnaga, which is said to have been written using AI capabilities. I read it, and I also got the impression that the author actively used AI, and for me as a reader, this did not benefit the book.
"We still lack good quality non-fiction literature"
NN: Not long ago, a survey was launched on the topic of what books Belarusians are missing. Can you share the initial results?
VA: Oh, it seems Belarusians lack platforms to express themselves, which is why they write to us so much (smiles). And it feels like Belarusians are missing everything all at once: historical books (although this is the most developed area in Belarusian books), and romance novels are lacking, and adult fantasy, and translations from foreign languages of everything imaginable (including popular science books about transport, space, and all spheres of life that could be explained to a child in this way).
I personally believe that we still lack good quality non-fiction literature, where a person would be knowledgeable in their subject and could describe it well.
NN: A dream question — if you had a magic wand, what would you change first in the book publishing ecosystem and on the Belarusian book market?
VA: The first thing that comes to mind, and here, it seems,
we don't need a magic wand, but rather an actual additional piece of work from our Cabinet, Office, or ABBA, or some politician, so that Google finally allows advertising websites in Belarusian. That would help a lot.
Otherwise, for us, it's certainly very inconvenient that there are banking sanctions, but here it's a two-sided issue: even if payments with any Belarusian card went through on our website, it still wouldn't remove the problem of repression.
It would also be great if someone from our country became a world-famous star, like Israeli actress Gal Gadot. And at that level, said that my native language is Belarusian.
NN: Tell us, how are things with e-books? How in demand are they, and what is your strategy for them next year?
VA: E-books are very much needed; we are purposefully working on them and will do more, yes. The strategy is to convert everything we can into e-books. Primarily for Belarusians inside Belarus.
NN: Share which of your books are not selling very actively now, but definitely deserve more attention?
VA: There are a few such books, and I don't fully understand why they don't find reader's love, because they completely deserve it. I ultimately blame myself: perhaps a different format or cover could have been found…
For me, both books by Siarhiej Kalenda definitely deserve attention — "Boy Tomchik" and "Boy Thomas" — children really like them; they are not fantasy but real-life problems, the communication between a dad and his son. I read them to my already quite grown-up son, and he praised them highly. I believe such books are simply essential to have on the shelf for children's reading. Moreover, they immediately come with an English version — a useful bonus.
Since the start of sales a year ago, we have sold very few copies of Marci Shore's book "Ukrainian Night. Very Personal Stories of Revolution". Literally 70 copies were sold, despite many people saying: we need non-fiction! This book by a Yale University professor describes the social processes that took place in Ukraine in 2008, and then on the Maidan.
It's precisely about what people lived through during that time, what they expected. The book is objectively written very interestingly and is inexpensive at the same time.
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