The Ukraine Shelf: What to Read about Ukraine | Edinburgh International Book Festival
Date and time:
Wednesday 26 August, 2026
15:30 - 16:30
Location:
Edinburgh Futures Institute
Edinburgh
In the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, The Ukraine Shelf podcast brings together leading writers and thinkers for lively, informed discussion on what we should be reading to better understand Ukraine during this crucial period. Today, the hosts – Olesya Khromeychuk (director of the Ukrainian Institute London and author of The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister) and literary translator and scholar Uilleam Blacker – chat to Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Culture and journalist Bohdana Laiuk, and Guardian chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins, author of Ukrainian Lessons: Art in a Time of War.
The Ukraine Shelf is a podcast presented by Dr Olesya Khromeychuk and Dr Uilleam Blacker, in which they speak to leading authors, intellectuals, scholars and journalists about Ukraine and its place in the world.
Ukraine is at the centre of world events today, and understanding the country’s politics, history and culture has never been more important. The Ukraine Shelf talks to leading authors, intellectuals, scholars and journalists about what we should be reading to understand Ukraine and its place in the world. The Ukraine Shelf is co-sponsored by the UCL European Institute, the Ukrainian Institute London, and the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, with the support of the British Academy.
Speaker
Bohdana Laiuk
Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Culture, journalist, and editor. Educated as a lawyer, Bohdana Laiuk has ten years of experience working for media and cultural institutions. In her work, she focuses on culture and its influence on society. With experience in cultural diplomacy and management, she also runs a podcast about culture and researches the connection between reading practices and democracy.
Speaker
Charlotte Higgins
Charlotte Higgins is the Guardian’s chief culture writer. As an author, most of her books touch on the aspects of the ancient world. She is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a past winner of the UK’s Classical Association Prize.
Speaker
Olesya Khromeychuk
Olesya Khromeychuk is a historian and writer. She is the author of The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister (2022). Khromeychuk has written for The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Prospect and The New Statesman, and has delivered a TED talk on ‘What the World Can Learn From Ukraine’s Fight for Democracy’. She has taught the history of East-Central Europe at several British universities and is currently the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London.
Speaker
Uilleam Blacker
Uilleam Blacker is Associate Professor of Ukrainian and East European Culture at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European studies and a translator of Ukrainian literature. He is the author of Memory, the City and the Legacy of World War II in East Central Europe (2019). He has written on Ukraine for The Guardian, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Times Literary Supplement and others, and his translations have appeared in The Guardian, The White Review, Words without Borders and others.