Ukrainian woman opens children's publishing house "Le Petit Canard" in France
Photo: Chytomo
Ukrainian publisher Nataliia Mospan has founded a children's book publishing house called Le Petit Canard ("The Little Duckling") in France, Rubryka reports, citing Chytomo.
What's the problem?
Many Ukrainians had to flee Ukraine after Russia started its full-scale war against its peaceful neighbor in 2022. According to the UNHCR, nearly 6.5 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded globally as of February 2024.
Nataliia Mospan, a publisher from Ukraine, was no exception and was also forced to leave the country due to the full-scale Russian invasion and start over her life in a new place.
What's the solution?
Nataliia Mospan has established a children's literature publishing house in France called "Le Petit Canard," which focuses on creating unique children's books with "Ukrainian flair" and promotes deepening international cultural cooperation between Ukraine and France.
The European publishing house will release works by Ukrainian authors and illustrators. French website, identity, and the first children's books already on the shelves of French bookstores were also created by Ukrainians. Besides bookstores, books are sold on the publisher's website and Amazon.
"I try to do what I love where I am. We are currently negotiating to join the Occitanie Publishers Association for the exchange of experience and support," said the publisher.
How does it work?
Nataliia Mospan announced that she is preparing the promotional part of the publishing house's activities: participation in exhibitions, festivals, and holding events des diccess. The latter means that the bookstore hosts an author with their books. Guests and writers communicate and learn about new books and publishers.
"It's you — our friends, guests, readers — who inspire us to develop and create new brands, products, and especially books. Le Petit Canard is our way of supporting and developing Ukrainian culture in Europe," said the announcement of "My Bookshelf," Mospan's publishing company in Ukraine.
Photo: Chytomo
The "Le Petit Canard" was opened in July 2023. According to Mospan, she has only started promoting the publishing house because her endeavor has just released the first books, completed all administrative procedures, and begun sales.
"We started cooperating with French bookstores. We are gradually moving forward: all administrative procedures have been completed, we have registered at all distribution resources, held a lot of negotiations with distributors, and now we are at the stage of signing a contract," said the publisher in a comment to Chytomo. "We are considering whether this is the optimal solution for us. So far, we are moving independently and collecting data."
Mospan noted that the name of her well-known Ukrainian brand, "My Bookshelf," sounds terrible in French, so her French publishing house is called Le Petit Canard, which translates to "The Little Duckling."
"I have long explored the French children's book market — it is significantly larger, more saturated than the Ukrainian one. Still, the ambitious and honest goal of creating Le Petit Canard is to support book publishing in Ukraine," said the founder. "We actively cooperate with Ukrainian authors and illustrators. I am convinced that Ukrainians have great creative potential — we can invent and develop, and our illustrators have a unique style. We can give a lot to Europe."
Recently, Ukrainian and French publishers released the book "Mamzelle-Ville" by French author Christophe Jamard. Ukrainian artist Sofia Tomilenko created the illustrations for the book. They also released the book "Une Baguette" in French — a fun story about baguettes for children by Nataliia Mospan, with illustrations by Natalia Kudliak. Two more books are to be released soon.
"The stories we tell in our books are light and funny on the one hand and full of kindness and meaning on the other. I believe that a children's book is a safe space for a child, a kind of protective bubble that can shield the childhood and carefree life of our children — both in France and in Ukraine," said the publisher.
According to Mospan, the book market in France is very developed and saturated, so it "reluctantly accepts new players."
"The segment we decided to work in is actually very crowded. But this is what we like the most, so we don't give up," said the publisher.
The "Le Petit Canard" founder added:
"I believe that our 'little duckling,' created by the unique Natalia KudlIak, will definitely grow big wings! Books from Le Petit Canard are already on the shelves of French bookstores, and plans include entering the country's largest book networks."
In related news, on International Mother Language Day, the International Institute of Education presented a manual on Ukrainian as a foreign language for children.
The American publishing house HarperCollins Publishers received the right to publish and sell the book "War Voices of Children" from the charitable foundation "Voices of Children."
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