"Ukes.In.Print" book fair organized in Toronto by Ukrainian National Federation (11/08/98)

"Ukes.In.Print" book fair organized in Toronto by Ukrainian National Federation

by Yuriy Diakunchak

TORONTO - I awoke to a clap of thunder on the morning of September 27 once as the skies opened up to release an ocean of rain, I looked at the crates of books I had packed for the "Ukes.In.Print" book fair and sighed.

Despite this inauspicious start to the day, by the time the Ukrainian National Federation's first Ukrainian book fair started at noon, the rain had retreated.

The UNF event, at which I represented both Zdorov! magazine and the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, was held on the same day as Toronto's well-known "Word on the Street" book fair, and attracted about 200 people. Vendors ranged from the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, which was selling art books, to Koota-Ooma, a publishing/merchandising collective with a wide selection of children's books.

Journalist and author Victor Malarek, Canada's top investigative reporter, was scheduled to be the keynote speaker. However, because of a bizarre event involving Canadian and U.S. military pilots who had apparently been zapped by a laser mounted on a Russian trawler, Mr. Malarek, who went to cover the story, was unavailable. "It was unfortunate because he was looking forward to it," said Nell Nakoneczny, chairperson of the "Ukes.In.Print" organizing committee.

Writer and literature professor Janice Kulyk Keefer, whose latest book "Honey and Ashes," was recently published by HarperCollins of Canada, dropped by the fair on her way from the "Word on the Street" festival, taking place a few blocks south of the Ukrainian event. "Our community is very strong, Ukrainian writers are a great force in our community," said Ms. Nakoneczny, "But sometimes we need to give it a push. And I think that's what we did today."

Twenty vendors exhibited their books, CDs, videos and periodicals under an outdoor tent set up in the UNF parking lot near the corner of Spadina and College streets in downtown Toronto. Authors read from their works. Lesja Shanta read children's stories in Ukrainian and Genya Hunchak, who has not yet published her works, read in English.

For adult readers, there was Vasyl Veryha, who specializes in politics and history; poet and novelist Stephania Hurko, humorist Ada Horhota and poet Svitlana Kuzmenko offered selections from their works. Other entertainment included a rather shrill clown and an off-key duet singing Ukrainian folk songs. A raffle was held, with prizes being donated by the various vendors at the event. "I think the fair was a very good exhibit of what the literary situation is in the community today. There was lots of stuff in English and Ukrainian," said Ms. Nakoneczny.

Plans are already on for next year. UNF's organizing committee, which included six core members and an additional 20 volunteers during the fair, hopes to expand the event to include more authors from outside Toronto and a workshop for neophyte writers. They are also looking for someone who sells Ukrainian antiquarian books.

Reactions among the vendors were mixed. "For the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation it was a great opportunity to get out and meet the public and disseminate information about our events. It wasn't that great for sales, but it was the first year. These things tend to grow," said Petro Lopata, a young artist from the Toronto area.

Another vendor, apparently disappointed by the turnout, wondered How much advertising was done for the event.

On the more positive side, CIUS's director Maxim Tarnawsky was pleasantly surprised by the results of the fair and had a positive reaction when informed of the total sales for the day.

Tania Onyschuk, who is a partner in Koota-Ooma, is already planning to return next year. "Financially, this was middle of the road for us, but I think this is an event that is very necessary and good for the community. [Unfortunately] not a lot of people heard about it."

Proceeds from the fair will go to the UNF library, which has no steady source of funding. Though Ms. Nakoneczny wasn't able to provide final figures for the event, proceeds of $1,400 to $1,600 are expected.

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