Alina Surnaite's Blog: Vilnius Book Fair 2013

Here's my review of the annual book fair in Vilnius, which I visited last week together with my sister. We didn't stay too long at the fair, but looked through various stands and exhibitions. Below I'll mention publishers and artists whose books were exhibited at the fair.

There were lots of interesting picture books on display including those by Le immagini della fantasia and Corraini from Italy and Les Trois Ourses from France. Minedition featured the playful books of the Czech illustrator Květa Pacovská, subtly illustrated books by Austrian illustrator Lisbeth Zverger and a collection of small interactive books by Yusuke Yonezu, most of which you can flip through on their website. Among the guests of the fair was the Italian children's book illustrator Eva Montanari who had a workshop with kids on Friday; however, we didn't get to meet her.

We chose to go on Saturday because of the lectures about Polish comics. As a form of storytelling, comics excite me just as much as picture books or animation and I haven't stopped reading them since I was a kid. During these lectures I discovered that comics are very popular in Poland. They collaborate with comics artists from different countries in the international project called City Stories. I got a free copy of their latest book with Ukrainian comics artists for asking a question. They also hold the International Festival of Comics and Game every year. The largest comics festival in Europe is in Angoulême, France.

Another guest at the fair was the French illustrator Alexandre Clérisse presenting his latest comic book, which was translated into Lithuanian. We had a meeting with this artist at our academy, where he talked about the history of comics, creation of his comic books and did a demo of his digital collage-like illustrating technique. His recently published comic book Souvenirs de l’empire de l’Atome is a collaboration, but Clerisse's got some interesting ones written and illustrated by himself. Jazz Club, for example, was created for a website as a comic improvisation without a script. Very interesting, indeed.

Here's what caught my attention during the Vilnius Book Fair this year:

Book projects by Graphics students of Vilnius Academy of Arts