Foreign Rights
Ukrainian novelist, nonfiction author and creative writing teacher
Tais Zolotkovska is a Ukrainian writer from Kharkiv. She lives and writes on Zakynthos, Greece, where she has been based since 2018. She writes novels, memoir, books on creative writing and stories for children. In her fiction, she returns to the ways family stories shape our choices and to what it takes to make a home in a new place.
Her debut novel, The Line of Effort, was first published in 2016. Its 2024 edition was longlisted for the 2025 Encounter Ukrainian–Jewish Literary Prize. Off-Season received the International Choice distinction for Greece at the 2021 Koronatsiya Slova literary competition.
Tais has taught creative writing since 2015 through courses, masterclasses, writing retreats and one-to-one mentoring. She works with people starting their first story and with writers developing or revising a manuscript. Her classes cover plot, character, emotional depth, reading as a writer and revision.
In Kharkiv, she founded the Anonymous Authors Club, which grew into a network of local writing groups. On Zakynthos, she founded Author’s House, a residency for writers and artists.
The novels, memoir, books on writing and children’s books below are open to translation enquiries. Rights availability varies by title, language and territory.
Anna is born on Zakynthos on the day of the 1953 earthquake. Raised by her grandparents, she grows up longing for her mother. Her story takes her from Zakynthos to London and India and back again, as she builds a life of her own. When a Ukrainian writer comes to record Anna’s story, she discovers how the choices of three generations of women have shaped it.
English reading sample and synopsis available on request.
Nina, a writer from Kharkiv, arrives on Zakynthos in winter to record Anna’s life story. She meets Adam, who has come from Rome after the death of his wife. As the island settles into its quietest months, their conversations make room for an intimacy neither expected. A companion to Barefoot on the Olive Tree, it can also be read independently.
Three lives intersect in contemporary Ukraine. Herman struggles to understand what he wants from love. His mother, Hanna, tries to make a life of her own within a Jewish religious community. Vira returns to her hometown to investigate a family secret. Their choices test the loyalties that have held their lives together.
On Zakynthos, Tais cares for a rescued owl while undergoing fertility treatment and trying to become a mother. After a pregnancy loss, the daily work of caring for the owl gives shape to days marked by grief. Written in fragments, the memoir follows her relationship with the bird and her gradual return to writing.
Rights enquiries are coordinated through the Ukrainian publisher.
Developed from letters to readers, this book pairs stories from the author’s life with creative and reflective writing exercises. It invites readers to use writing to pay closer attention to their daily lives and find words for experiences they are still making sense of.
A 62-day workbook for building a writing practice. Short reflections and prompts give readers a place to start each day and room to experiment as they find a rhythm of their own.
A practical guide for writers working on a first book. Exercises take readers from developing an idea through drafting, sustaining the work and shaping a complete manuscript.
Tais also co-authored the collective guide Анатомія письменниці. Як творити живі тексти (Creative Women Publishing, 2021).
Lesya has just learned to brush her teeth by herself and is eager to show someone else how. A preschool read-aloud about the pleasure of learning to do something on your own and sharing it with others.
English reading text available on request.
Lesya’s dislike of ice cream leads her to a surprising discovery about her father.
When Max moves from the city to the countryside, he finds a dog named Rosa waiting at the new house. Once his tablet runs out of charge, he has to find his own way to get to know her.
Rudyk may look like a cat who spends her days asleep under a cherry tree, but she is often the first to help when something goes wrong.
An illustrated story about illness, grief and the everyday details through which a girl remembers her aunt. Shortlisted for the 2019 Top BaraBooka award.
Mira likes to draw snowmen in May. When someone tells her to be more serious, she has to find her way back to the pleasure of imagining what could be.
I represent my own work and handle translation rights enquiries directly. I hold the translation rights to Barefoot on the Olive Tree, Off-Season and my three books on writing. If a publisher holds the rights to a title you’re interested in, you can still contact me. I can put you in touch with the rights holder.
To request reading materials or discuss acquiring translation rights, please let me know which book, language and territory you’re interested in.