Books by Bernadine Evaristo and Maggie O’Farrell feature in Ukraine appeal

Proceeds from sales will be donated to Oxfam’s humanitarian appeal.
Maggie O’Farrell (Ian West/PA)
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Laura Harding19 April 2022

Books by authors including Bernadine Evaristo, Maggie O’Farrell and Simon Jenkins will be part of a fundraising effort for Oxfam’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

The Read for Ukraine initiative aims to raise £1 million for charity. It will see Waterstones offer a curated selection of books, donated by publishers and their authors, with 100% of the sales going to the cause.

There will be a dedicated table in the front of all Waterstones branches, as well as Hatchards, Hodges Figgis, Foyles and Blackwell’s shops for the participating books, as well as an online section.

Among the books included are Evaristo’s Mr Loverman, O’Farrell’s This Must Be The Place and Jenkins’ A Short History Of Europe, as well as Ben Aitken’s A Chip Shop In Poznan, Felicity Cloake’s One More Croissant For The Road and Marina Lewycka’s A Short History Of Tractors In The Ukrainian.

Bernadine Evaristo (left) is among the authors included (Ian West/PA)
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The Read for Ukraine campaign is expected to run for some months to raise as much money as possible and the book selection will be regularly reviewed and refreshed.

The bookseller will also offer a special charity edition of Andrey Kurkov’s Death And The Penguin with a new introduction by the author, placing the novel in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.

Publisher Vintage and Waterstones will jointly donate £10 for every copy sold to Oxfam’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

James Daunt, chief executive of Waterstones, said: “We are very proud as booksellers to be able to work with authors and publishers to make this collective contribution to help the humanitarian effort to support those affected by the crisis in Ukraine.

“We thank the authors and publishers for their generosity. This is a compelling selection of books, with every penny from their sale going to support this urgent work.”

Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of Oxfam GB, added: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone involved in the Read for Ukraine initiative for their support to people fleeing devastating conflict in Ukraine.

“As humanitarian needs continue to grow, the money raised will help Oxfam and partner organisations in Eastern Europe to provide vital support to people who have already lost so much.

“With so many people displaced by the conflict, we are also working to set up safe travel routes for refugees and advocating for governments to honour their international commitments to the rights of all refugees.”

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