Katarzyna Łoza is an expert in Ukrainian culture and a tour guide in Lviv. She moved there 18 years ago, fell in love with it and decided to show it to other people through books and sightseeing trips. Her newest release, “Ukraine. Sorochka and Pickled Watermelons” is a time capsule of Ukraine before the Russian aggression. The author will drive from Lviv to Warsaw to hold an interview in Big Book Café (April 12th, 7 P.M.) about the details of how the book was created and the events afterwards.
Katarzyna Łoza was born in Warsaw but moved to Lviv in 2004. She started her own travel agency, created a blog lwow.info and published a book about the Lychakiv Cemetery. Her publisher (Wydawnictwo Poznańskie/Poznan Publishing House) and she started working on a new book two years ago. It was supposed to be a normal guidebook for Lviv, explaining Ukrainian history, and traditions and showing unique places the tourists don’t often go to. As her publisher says, the novel was finished in December 2021, as Russian troops amassed near the borders, and expresses the uncertainty of that time. The book was sent for printing right before the Russian invasion on Ukraine. They decided not to change a word.
“We understood that it is not a travelogue anymore. Now it’s a story of what Ukrainians are fighting for: the history, identity, but also the normal life. We want to support them in that fight.”
For the next 6 months, the proceeds from the sales will be donated to SOS Ukraine, a foundation organized by Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH). You can buy a signed copy here or get an autograph during the event that will take place on April 12th in the Big Book Club in Warsaw at 7 P.M. The interviewer will be Weronika Marczuk and the event will last 1.5 hour.