Мотанка

Author: Olena Rybka, Tamara Horikha Zernya, Iryna Hrabovska,  Nataliya Dovhopol, Olena Zakharchenko, Dara Korniy, Olena Kuzmina, Nataliia Matolinets, Nastia Baidachenko,  Oresta Osyichuk, Daria Piskozub, Yulita Ran, Svitlana Taratorina, Inna Deliieva 

Publisher: Vivat

Number of Pages: 304

Cover: Hardcover

Reader Age: Adult

Year of Publication: 2024

The book Motanka is a collection of women’s speculative fiction by Ukrainian authors. The idea to create a book about the experience of living through war came from the authors of the YouTube channel Fantastychni talk(s). The edition contains twelve authentic stories by contemporary women writers that immerse the reader in an atmosphere of mysticism and mystery. Each captivating story begins with an illustration by Inna Deliieva, whose style clearly reflects a motif of folk tradition combined with eccentric modernity. In the collection, magical realism stands alongside post-apocalypse and steampunk: the plots unfold in completely different time periods. This allows readers to open a portal into a space-time where the central theme remains — women defending their homeland, loved ones, and their own dignity.

Contents of the speculative fiction collection Motanka

• Editorial foreword (with a scholarly commentary by sociocultural anthropologist Mariia Kuriacha)
• Tamara Horikha Zernia “The Train”
• Iryna Hrabovska “Fiery Hearts”
• Nataliia Dovhopol “Levke”
• Olena Zakharchenko “The Warrior and the River”
• Dara Kornii “Morelk Tea”
• Olena Kuzmina “Hold the Earth!”
• Nataliia Matolinets “The Distant Chambers”
• Anastasiia Nikulina “Three. Four. Zero”
• Oresta Osiichuk “Seeds in My Pocket”
• Dariia Piskozub “Deathglass”
• Yulita Ran “Call Sign ‘Mavka’”
• Svitlana Taratorina “Lives of Maria and Olha. Apocrypha of a New World”