First Zelensky biography written for a Western audience
Posted on August 10 2022
8th July 2022
The first biography of Ukraine’s President Volydymyr Zelensky to be written for a Western audience is to be published by Canbury Press in August 2022.
Zelensky: Ukraine’s President and His Country by Steven Derix and Marina
Shelkunova reveals the dramatic life story of the Ukrainian head of state, with
some surprises for British readers.
Translated by Brent Annable, the book is a Highlight in The Bookseller‘s
forthcoming Buyer’s Guide to Non-fiction Buyers Guide (August 2022 - January
2023.)
Canbury Press secured World English language rights excluding North America to the book from the Dutch publisher Alfabet. German and Norwegian publishers have also acquired translation rights.
The authors have the expertise and cultural knowledge to tell the story well. From 2014 to 2020, the lead author, Steven Derix, was Russia, Belarus and Ukraine correspondent for the Dutch quality newspaper NRC, for which Russian-speaker Marina Shelkunova is a researcher and coordinator.
At 256 pages, the book reveals Zelensky’s battle to free his country from oligarch control, having risen to power off the back of a TV show playing a history teacher who wants to end corruption.
It also deals with allegations against the Ukrainian president that he kowtowed to US President Donald Trump and was involved in the secret offshoring of millions of dollars.
Martin Hickman, Managing Director of Canbury Press said: ‘This is a concise, high- quality biography of a hero of the free world. The authors have done a superb job in weaving together Zelensky’s extraordinary life story with the wider history of Ukraine and its vexed relationship with Russia.
‘Zelensky is far from a hagiography, but Ukraine’s leader nonetheless comes
across as an inspiring figure. This is an ideal ‘start here’ book for anyone who
wants to know more about this charismatic head of state and why Russia would
invade his country.’
ISBN: 9781912454778 (print hardback)
9781912454785 (ebook)
TITLE: Zelensky
SUBTITLE: Ukraine’s President
and His Country
AUTHOR: Steven Derix
with Marina Shelkunova
PUB DATE: 4th August 2022
PRICE: £16.99 / £9.99
EXTENT: 256p
FORMAT: DEMY hardback
(216mm x 138mm)
CATEGORY: POLITICS/HISTORY
THEMA CODE: DNBH/JP
BIC CODE: BGH/HB