30 Years of "Fieldwork": Ukrainian Sex After the Empire

30 Years of "Fieldwork": Ukrainian Sex After the Empire

Thirty years ago, on February 29, 1996, a historic milestone took place: the launch of the first novel published in independent Ukraine by a contemporary female author about contemporary Ukrainian life. That book was Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex — the first true bestseller of independent Ukraine.

This single book ignited:

• A nationwide public discourse;

• The birth of a national book market;

• A new era of Ukrainian literature;

• A reimagined Ukrainian female identity.

Now, three decades later, it is time to reflect:

• How has Ukrainian society evolved since the book's debut in 1996?

• Why does it remain a top seller today, with translations into 25 languages?

On May 23, at the Kyiv Cultural Cluster "Krakiv," we gather the voices who witnessed the novel's 1996 release for a special talk show:

• Oksana Zabuzhko — Writer, scholar, and author of over 20 books;

• Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta — Director of Mystetskyi Arsenal;

• Rostyslav Semkiv — Writer, Director of Smoloskyp Publishing;

• Vitaliy Zhezhera — Journalist and theater critic;

• Larysa Denysenko — Human rights activist and author;

• Maryna Stepanska — Screenwriter and film director. Moderator: Myroslava Barchuk.

The event will also feature special video contributions from:

• Oksana Lutsyshyna — Writer and scholar, discussing the imagery of America within the novel;

• Beata Stasińska — Co-founder of W.A.B. Publishing (Poland), sharing her perspective as the book’s first Polish publisher and international agent.

A limited 30th-anniversary edition of Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex, along with other works by Oksana Zabuzhko, will be available for purchase at the event.