Svitlana Yakovenko is a professional translator and writer who has dedicated her work to sharing Ukrainian literature and traditions with a wider audience. She has translated several significant Ukrainian works into English, including:

📚 Marko the Damned,
📚 Zhanna the Battalion Member,
📚 Aphorisms by Skovoroda: Ukrainian Explorations of Love and Life, and
📚 The Journey of the Learned Doctor Leonardo and his Future Lover, the Beauteous Alceste, to the Switzerland of Slobozhanshchyna, introducing readers to the depth and richness of Ukrainian storytelling and philosophy.

Yakovenko is also the author of the award-winning Taste of Ukraine, a book that explores Ukrainian culinary traditions. She further developed this theme in the Tradition on a Plate series, which includes Ukrainian Christmas Eve Supper, Traditional Velykden, and Ancient Grain.

Originally from central Ukraine, Yakovenko moved to Sydney, Australia, in the 1990s, where she studied Literature and Law. Her experience of living between two cultures gives her a unique lens through which she brings Ukrainian heritage to life, offering readers both an authentic and accessible connection to its traditions.