Ukrainian literature is often discovered backwards: people start reading it because of the war and stay because of the books. Behind the headlines there are two centuries of poets, novelists and essayists who argued about freedom, language, love and dignity long before the rest of Europe was paying attention. Here are ten authors to start with — five names from the classics and five voices of the last decades — with a first book for each.
The classics
1. Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861)
Born a serf and freed thanks to friends who raised the money for his release, Shevchenko became the poet a whole nation recognises itself in. His collection Kobzar (1840) is so central that in Ukrainian the word kobzar is almost a synonym for Shevchenko himself. A good first step is one of his narrative poems, such as The Princess — then move on to the Kobzar.
2. Lesya Ukrainka (1871–1913)
A poet and playwright who read in many languages and wrote with a modern, almost European sharpness despite lifelong illness. Her verse drama The Forest Song (1911), about the forest spirit Mavka who falls in love with a human, is the best entry point: a fairy tale on the surface, a story about freedom and compromise underneath.
3. Ivan Franko (1856–1916)
Novelist, poet, scholar, translator — Franko seemed to write everything. «Захар Беркут» (1883), a historical novel about a mountain community defending its freedom against Mongol invaders and its own traitors, is still a gripping read.
4. Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1864–1913)
A master of impressionist prose. «Тіні забутих предків» (1911), a love story set among the Hutsuls of the Carpathians, became world-famous through Sergei Parajanov's 1965 film — but the book is even more hypnotic.
5. Mykola Khvylovy (1893–1933) and Valerian Pidmohylny (1901–1937)
Two key names of the "Executed Renaissance" — the generation of Ukrainian writers of the 1920s, many of whom were later shot or died in Stalin's repressions. Khvylovy's short story «Я (Романтика)» is a few pages long and impossible to forget. Pidmohylny's novel The City (1928), about a young man from the countryside conquering Kyiv, reads like a Ukrainian Bel-Ami.
Contemporary voices
6. Vasyl Stus (1938–1985)
A poet who spent much of his adult life in Soviet prisons and labour camps and died in one. His poems are dense, demanding and full of inner freedom. Start with «Палімпсести».
7. Oksana Zabuzhko (b. 1960)
One of the most influential Ukrainian intellectuals of our time. Her novel Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex (1996) shook Ukrainian literature; her epic «Музей покинутих секретів» (2009) follows Ukrainian history through several generations. Both are available in English translation.
8. Serhiy Zhadan (b. 1974)
Poet, novelist and rock musician from eastern Ukraine, winner of the 2022 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. His novel «Інтернат» (2017) follows a teacher crossing a war zone in Donbas to bring his nephew home from a boarding school. It is also the easiest Zhadan to find in Spanish: Orfanato (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2022). If you prefer poetry, try his collection of love poems.
9. Yevheniia Kuznietsova
One of the brightest new names in Ukrainian prose. Her novel «Драбина», BBC News Ukraine's Book of the Year 2023, follows a big Ukrainian family that flees the war and ends up in a small Spanish town — so for readers here it feels uncomfortably and wonderfully close. It's sad and very funny at the same time.
10. Victoria Amelina (1986–2023)
A novelist and children's writer who, after 2022, began documenting Russian war crimes and was killed by a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk in 2023. Her unfinished non-fiction book about Ukrainian women at war was published after her death; we have it in English as Looking at Women, Looking at War. For children she wrote funny stories about Eka the excavator.
If you only read in Spanish
More Ukrainian books are translated every year. Besides Zhadan's Orfanato, a good start is Abejas grises by Andrey Kurkov (Alfaguara, 2022) — a beekeeper in the "grey zone" of Donbas, funny and sad at once. And if you are learning Ukrainian, try reading the same book in both languages: the original next to the translation is one of the best language lessons there is.
Where to start, in practice
- You want one short read tonight: Khvylovy's «Я (Романтика)».
- You want a big novel: Zabuzhko's «Музей покинутих секретів».
- You want to understand today's war: Zhadan's «Інтернат» and Amelina's last book.
- You live in Spain and want to laugh and cry: Kuznietsova's «Драбина».
- You want something to share with children: Kotsiubynsky's Carpathian world, Lesya Ukrainka's Mavka — and, for little ones, Amelina's Eka.
Browse more in our Ukrainian Literature and Ukrainian Classics collections and our selection of poetry.
FAQ
Who is the most important Ukrainian writer?
Most Ukrainians would name Taras Shevchenko. Among living authors, Oksana Zabuzhko and Serhiy Zhadan are the best known internationally.
Which Ukrainian books are translated into Spanish?
Among others, Zhadan's Orfanato (Galaxia Gutenberg) and Kurkov's Abejas grises (Alfaguara). The list grows every year.
Where can I buy Ukrainian literature in Spain?
At booklya.shop — we ship from Spain in 2–3 working days to the mainland, free from €50 — or at our bookstore-café in Valencia, C/ del Túria, 30.