WORKSHOPS OF CULTURE PUBLISHING

ABOUT THE PUBLISHING HOUSE

Workshops of Culture Publishing, run by the Workshops of Culture in Lublin, is a small, niche publisher focused on the literature and culture of Central and Eastern European countries. It was founded in 2014 as a continuation of the earlier Eastern Express project, which had been suspended a few years prior and was originally prepared as part of Lublin’s bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2016. The name was meant to reference, among others, the Orient Express—the luxurious train that once ran from west to east across Europe—and the Literaturexpress Europa initiative, during which, in 2000, one hundred poets from 43 countries traveled by train across the old continent for six weeks.

The project’s main goal was to create a space for countries and cultures that had not previously had a platform to express themselves on the international stage. Another important aspect was the promotion of the languages and cultures of Poland’s neighboring countries. A series of meetings with writers and translators was to be an integral part of the project. The idea was initially abandoned after Lublin lost its bid for the European Capital of Culture 2016, but a few years later it was revived.

Beyond those initial goals, the publishing house was also tasked with publishing contemporary authors of diverse genres—from poetry to fiction, drama, young adult literature, and comics. It also aimed to spread knowledge about multicultural richness and broadly promote the literature, culture, and art of Eastern and Central Europe, as well as support democratic and civic values.

The first title published by the Lublin-based publishing house in 2014 was Barricades at the Cross by the late Ukrainian poet Yuri Gudz, translated by Andrij Saweneć. Written several years earlier, this long poem foresaw the events of the Euromaidan in Kyiv. This publication became the foundation for the continuation of the Eastern Express project. The first book that defined the visual style of the series’ covers was 50 Percent Right by Oleksandr Boichenko, translated by Bohdan and Marek Zadura.

A key figure in the founding and later development of the publishing house was Bohdan Zadura, a poet, novelist, and translator from Puławy. It was he who, in 2016, convinced the Workshops of Culture to publish Carbide by Andriy Lyubka—a story about a desperate attempt to bring Ukraine into Europe by digging a tunnel.

The publishing house later expanded its scope with the Anchored series, also published by Warsztaty Kultury. In this series, in addition to Polish authors, translations from Yiddish and English are included. It was launched in 2021 in response to new needs arising during the breakdown of communities, human connections, and everyday ways of functioning — a time when the concept of geopoe­tics also began to change. The series features literature that attempts to explain current global transformations and question entrenched paradigms.

Today, the publishing catalog of Warsztaty Kultury features lesser-known but ambitious prose in Poland, bilingual poetry editions, essays, comics, and children’s books. Their authors are acclaimed writers from Belarus, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and above all Ukraine—a country that, in the face of its ongoing war with Russia, needs space for its language and the opportunity to highlight the richness of its culture.

Complementing and expanding the activities of the Eastern Express series is the Literary Eastern Express (LEE) project, implemented with support from the European Union under the Creative Europe program. The project aims to promote the literature, culture, and art of Eastern Europe through high-quality literary publications by contemporary Ukrainian authors, issued both in print and as e-books and audiobooks.

These efforts aim to introduce Polish readers to previously little-known authors, support cultural and linguistic diversity, and provide Ukrainian refugees with access to high-quality literature. One important aspect of the project is elevating the role of the translator, who is regarded in contemporary translation studies as a co-author.

Between 2024 and 2026, sixteen works will be translated from Ukrainian into Polish. The selection includes poetry, prose, children’s literature, young adult fiction, and comics by well-known writers. All works will be translated by recognized translators.

AWARDS

Publications by Warsztaty Kultury have been nominated multiple times for the Angelus Award—the most prestigious prize for prose translated into Polish. Notable nominations include: Lives by Oleh Sentsov (trans. Bohdan Zadura), Lithuanian Sketches by Herkus Kunčius (trans. Kamil Pecela), Absolute Zero by Artem Chekh (trans. Marek S. Zadura), Frau Müller Doesn’t Intend to Pay More by Natalka Sniadanko (trans. Bohdan Zadura), Yours, Ours, and the Others by Oleksandr Boichenko (trans. Natalia Bryżko-Zapór), A Room for Sadness and Carbide by Andriy Lyubka (trans. Bohdan Zadura).

A major success for the publishing house was the Angelus Award granted in 2021 for My Grandfather Danced Better Than Anyone by Kateryna Babkina. The novel also received the Natalya Gorbanevskya Readers’ Choice Award through an online vote. The following year, this success was repeated by Daniel Warmuz, who received the prestigious distinction for his translation from Hungarian of The Devil’s Spawn by Zoltán Mihály Nagy. The novel reached the final shortlist of seven works for the award.

Another major moment for the publishing house was when Absolute Zero by Artem Chekh, translated by Marek S. Zadura, made it to the final round of the Ryszard Kapuściński Award in 2020.

That same year, the Eastern Express series was honored by the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine, which awarded Grzegorz Rzepecki the Mykola Hohol Literary Award “for publishing activities and initiatives aimed at overcoming cultural barriers and breaking stereotypes through the Eastern Express book series promoting the literature of Central and Eastern European countries.” Editorial staff members Aleksandra Zińczuk, Andrij Saweneć, and Przemysław Głuchowski have also received international literary awards for their editorial work.

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The publishing catalog includes ambitious prose, bilingual poetry editions, essays, comics, and children’s books by authors from Belarus, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and above all Ukraine, which today especially needs space for its language and culture.