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Smuggling wonderful books around the world.

11/12/2024

Just back from South Korea, where I sneaked into the first Busan Children's Book Fair with my book smuggler bag to showcase great Lithuanian children's books.

The fair had a warm, lively atmosphere reminiscent of Montreuil in France and promises to grow as an important event. Visitors were enthusiastic, book presentations drew crowds, and authors were celebrated like stars—despite publishers' concerns about South Korea having the lowest birth rate in the world.

This year I visited a total of ten book fairs around the world to smuggle books by Lithuanian authors. I hope Lithuanian literature will continue to travel and reach new readers.

13/11/2024

Every autumn, I wander to book fairs worldwide in my dark green book-smuggler jacket, but mid-November draws me back to Vilnius. That’s when CREATOR ISLAND appears.

It’s three days of talks, workshops, and networking for anyone in the children’s book industry. This year, we’re diving into censorship, with speakers from Catalonia, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Latvia, and, of course, Lithuania.

Inspired by this theme, tomorrow I’ll share stories from my book-smuggling life, including the rugged path of bringing local books to the international markets, in a provocative talk called "A Hundred Ways to Say NO to Lithuanian Children's Books."

31/10/2024

FROM THE MODERN-DAY BOOK SMUGGLER #2
Kęstutis Kasparavičius' Book in Undiscovered Albania

Kęstutis Kasparavičius is probably as well known in the book world as Arvydas Sabonis is in basketball. He is Lithuania's most internationally acclaimed children's author, recently nominated for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for the sixth time.

Kęstutis Kasparavičius' books have been translated into almost three dozen languages, so naturally, discovering new territories is not easy. However, almost five years ago, I met an Albanian publisher for the first time, and shortly after, the book "About Animals. Short Stories"—likely the first Lithuanian children’s book translated into Albanian—was published. I was reminded of this significant edition this summer when Marius Zelenius, Head of Communications at Lithuanian Airports, happened to spot it in a stationery shop during a trip to Albania.

In September, I visited Albania for the first time myself. The book is definitely still available in bookshops. In Tirana, I met the publisher again and discussed another book by Kęstutis over Albanian coffee. By the way, during my time as an agent, five new languages have been added to Kęstutis's impressive collection of translations.

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In this series of posts, I am sharing how the books I represent travel the globe, the paths they lead authors on, and stories from the life of the literary agent. Follow for more from the Book Smugglers Agency!

23/10/2024

The Frankfurter Buchmesse has come to a close, and as always, it was filled with great meetings and engaging conversations – not just about books, but about so much more.

This year, the Lithuanian national stand was larger than ever, and I had a little debut as a book smuggler for adult fiction, in addition to my beloved books for young readers. Looks exciting!

Next stop: the Helsinki Book Fair.

Lietuvos leidėjų asociacija | Lietuvos kultūros institutas / Lithuanian Culture Institute

10/10/2024

It's that exciting time of the year when the Internationale Jugendbibliothek, International Youth Library based in Munich compiles a catalogue called "The White Ravens", featuring the most significant books for young readers published worldwide in the previous year.

This year, among 216 books from 62 countries and 44 languages, these three books by Lithuanian authors were selected:

DOG THAT GOES OUT AT NIGHT by Jurga Vilė and Valentina Černiauskaitė (published by 700 eilučių)
AGAINST THE STREAM by Vytenė Muschick, Marius Marcinkevičius, and Lina Itagaki (published by Aukso žuvys)
THE MOMENT TO DECIDE by Zigmas Vitkus (published by Alma littera)

Congratulations to the authors, illustrators, and publishers!

30/09/2024

FROM THE MODERN-DAY BOOK SMUGGLER #1
Kotryna Zylė and Her Horror Stories in the Crypt of Saint Sebastian

When books travel, so do their authors. At the beginning of September, Kotryna Zylė, whom I represent, attended the renowned Festivaletteratura in Mantua, Italy, which has attracted many well-known authors since 1997. Her event took place in the macabre setting of the crypt of Saint Sebastian, yet she noted that children were more frightened by the Lithuanian laumės—mysterious fairies known for swapping babies—than by the actual martyrs' bodies in the chest behind them.

Kotryna's journey was made possible by the Italian translation of her book "The Soul in the Sandwich Box," published last year as "Storie quasi di paura". The collection received positive feedback, praised for its wisdom and elegance, and described as perfect for an alternative Halloween. The Italian publisher was captivated by its originality, particularly noting that Kotryna was inspired by the stories her father told in childhood. This collection of ten mythological horror stories has also been translated into Latvian.

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In this series of posts, I will share how the books I represent travel the globe, the paths they lead authors on, and stories from the life of the literary agent. Follow for more from the Book Smugglers Agency!

09/05/2024

This week, Vilnius UNESCO City of Literature is hosting an international congress aimed at presenting the vast and exciting field of Vilnius literature to an international community of professionals.

I was happy to meet them during their visit to our literary capital and I hope for new interesting collaborations in the near future.

14/04/2024

I had a fantastic Bologna Children's Book Fair smuggling Lithuanian books for young readers. 💚

Four days with almost 60 meetings and a lot of new foreign editions to come. I was also extremely happy for the DOG WHO GOES FOR A WALK AT NIGHT being featured at the Picturebook Makers / dPICTUS showcase.

And then of course there were the delicious dinners, the friendly faces in the streets and the late-night conversations. Already looking forward to next year's fair!

A special thanks to Lietuvos leidėjų asociacija and Lithuanian Culture Institute.

07/04/2024

While most of international book people were en route to Italy, yesterday I attended the IBBY Lithuania Awards ceremony in the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai, where I received the Vincas Auryla Award. Very happy that my book smuggling was recognized!

As the Bologna Children's Book Fair kicks off tomorrow, I can't wait to meet new and familiar faces and help more Lithuanian books to reach children around the world. A presto!

(Photo by Agga Fotostudija)

03/04/2024

THE PEBBLE, a picture book by Marius Marcinkevičius and Inga Dagile, originally published by Tikra knyga, wins a Greek IBBY- KYKLOS PAIDIKOY VIVLIOY award for the best translated book of the year in the category of titles for up to 12-year-olds!

26/03/2024

DOG WHO GOES FOR A WALK AT NIGHT is a Picturebook Makers / dPICTUS Outstanding Picture Book 2024!

It will be showcased in the upcoming Bologna Children's Book Fair with other 99 exceptional titles. May it mark the start of a remarkable journey.

Hooray for the authors Jurga Vilė and Valentina Černiauskaitė and the original publisher 700 eilučių!

25/03/2024

Are Lithuanian children's authors flocking to Latvia for good?

Fortunately no – they simply visited Riga last weekend for the Children's Jury Readers' Awards, where they received an array of medals:

🥇 BETTY AND THE FLYING BIRTHDAY PRESENT by Vitalija Maksvytė, Marius Marcinkevičius and Lina Itagaki (in Lithuanian by Alma littera, in Latvian by JĀNIS ROZE) was the best in the category of 9+.
🥈 THE BLACK WATER by Ignė Zarambaitė (in Lithuanian by Nieko Rimto, in Latvian by JĀNIS ROZE) was the runner-up in the category of 15+.
🥉 BROTHER WHO WAS NOT NECESSARY by Gaja Guna Eklė (in Lithuanian by Švieskime vaikus, in Latvian by Zvaigzne ABC) was the third in the category of 9+.

Congratulations to each and everyone who contributed and may the book smuggling continue!

05/03/2024

Wanna know which children's book received the most local recognition during the recently held Vilnius Book Fair?

It's AGAINST THE STREAM, a short graphic novel by Vytenė Saunoriūtė, Marius Marcinkevičius and Lina Itagaki about the Albanian ichthyologist and the friend of fish Sabiha Kasimati.

Let this list speak for itself:

🏅 Selected for the Best Children’s Book Of The Year Award 2023, the most significant award in Lithuania;
🏅 Nominated in the IBBY Lithuania Awards for the illustrations and the best illustrated/picture book overall;
🏅 Received Lithuanian Ministry of Culture Prize in the Book Art Competition;
🏅 Nominated for the "Book as an Event" by the Lithuanian Publishers' Association.

02/02/2024

This week's delight was the Cairo International Book Fair, the largest and oldest book fair in the Arab world.

Marking its 55th edition, this bustling book event runs for 14 days straight and welcomes around 3.5 million visitors, which is more than the total population of Lithuania. 🤯

26/01/2024

Last week I had a rare opportunity to smuggle my books to the Chennai International Book Fair 2024.

Just like India itself, this event was intriguing, spicy and otherworldly. I was happy to get to know the Tamil book market from up close and to introduce Lithuanian books to local publishers, as well as to share insights on our publishing scene during the panel called "Bringing the World to Tamil" along with colleagues from Germany, Tanzania and Vietnam.

What a start to the year!

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