Safran Publishing

Safran Publishing
Native name
Сафран
TypeBooks
IndustryPublishing industry
Founded2018
Headquarters
Kyiv Edit this on Wikidata
,
Ukraine Edit this on Wikidata
Key people
Svitlana Pryzynchuk
ProductsTranslating Asian publications
Revenue4,552,900 hryvnia (2025) Edit this on Wikidata
Total assets4,008,300 hryvnia (2025) Edit this on Wikidata
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Safran Publishing (Ukrainian: Сафран) is a Ukrainian publishing house that was founded in 2018 by Svitlana Pryzynchuk. Safran translates Asian publications into Ukrainian. It is the first publishing house in Ukraine to focus on Asian publications.[1] It primarily publishes classical literature, modern literature, and Asian comics. The company's translations received awards from PEN Ukraine and Book Forum Lviv.

History

Svitlana Pryzynchuk developed the idea of publishing historical Asian works from earlier times. Her initial plan was to launch a magazine focused on Asia, distribute it in public spaces such as airports, and attract investment from Asian companies through advertising as the magazine's primary business model. It did not realise because the Maidan Revolution halted her idea.[2] When Pryzynchuk rethought her idea of publishing in 2016, she noticed the lack of Ukrainian publications in Ukraine, especially Asian literature. She therefore decided to start a publishing house that focuses on Asian publications and researched various publishing houses in Europe.[1][2][3]

Pryzynchuk established Safran Publishing in 2018, named after saffron, with the goal of "introducing Asian culture to Ukraine", and "bringing Ukraine into the world and foster global exchange".[1][2] The company has some full-time staff, including a director and an accountant. The rest of the staff primarily work on a freelance basis, with each project consisting of an independent team chosen by the company. Translators are primarily experts in Oriental Studies, and will switch in each project. As of 2024, Safran Publishing has collaborated with 80 experts.[4]

There are three core fields that Safran Publishing works on: classical literature, modern literature, and Asian comics, including manga, manhwa, and manhua. It mainly translates works that have not yet been translated into Ukrainian. The most popular fields are Taiwanese manhua and The Classic of Tea, while classical literature, modern literature, and non-fiction are relatively unpopular. Most readers are over 18 years old and have no background in Asia (such as doing business with Asian companies).[4] Its book selection is primarily based on editorial preferences.[3]

In 2019, Safran Publishing attended the Arsenal Book Festival with the flagship translation of Zhuangzi and The Classic of Tea. That same year, Zhuangzi was named one of the best books in 2019 by PEN Ukraine,[5] while The Classic of Tea won a special prize at the Book Forum Lviv.[6] At a book fair in that year, Pryzynchuk met Yu-Hsuan Hsu (徐裕軒), director of the Taiwan Trade Center in Kyiv. The meeting sparked her interest in Taiwanese literature, with the support of the Taiwanese government for translation projects. After translating The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-yi, Pryzynchuk became interested in Guardienne by Nownow and began translating the work. Taiwanese manhua and Korean manhwa subsequently became the main focus of the company's translations.[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 陳怡靜 (2024-04-08). "在無盡瘋狂的星斗之上，文化作為一種武器──不被磨滅的烏克蘭出版人與藝術家". 報導者 The Reporter (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  2. 1 2 3 "Засновниця сходознавчого видавництва Safran Book: про переклад з китайської, казки з Тибету та символічний шафран - Блог YAKABOO". Блог Yakaboo.ua (in Ukrainian). 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  3. 1 2 3 "Amanogawa: інтерв'ю з Safran Book". UAGEEK (in Ukrainian). 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  4. 1 2 "Як працюють нішеві українські видавництва - AIN.Business". ain.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  5. ↑ "Найкращі українські книжки 2019 року за верcією ПЕН". PEN Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2026-04-07. 5. Джвандзи / Переклад Вон Гака (Сафран)
  6. ↑ "Оголосили переможців BookForum Best Book Award" (in Ukrainian). 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2026-04-07. Спецвідзнака Малого журі (Київ) – Лу Юй «Чайний канон», видавництво «Сафран»

Further reading

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