One of the tings I enjoy about the LBF is visiting stands from many of the European countries – Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, etc. Aside from a great selection of titles in their own language, there’s also lots of fascinating material in translation, particularly collections of stories and literary magazines. The collections of illustrations for children’s books is my favourite.
My first stop is always The Polish Book Institute stand – not because I speak a word of their language – but because they come armed every year with apples! Not like the grape-sized wonders we get locally, but real mammoth versions (see picture). They had some wonderful books for all ages including beautifully bound (and expensive) classics.
Twenty four Polish exhibitors were represented through their New Books from Poland 2023 and Polish Books from Children & Young Adults 2023 catalogues. They were also celebrating the 100th anniversary of Wladyslaw Reymont’s winner of the 1924 Nobel Prize for Literature. Best known for his award-winning four-volume novel The Peasants.
The longlist of nominations for this year’s International Booker Prize – the most prestigious award given to authors of the best English-language books – includes a collection from Polish writer Urszula Honek. Her short stories White Nights, translated by Kate Webster, was promoted at LBF in 2022. The final 13 were selected from among 149 books written in 32 languages. White Nights is a series of thirteen interconnected stories concerning the various tragedies and misfortunes that befall a group of people who all grew up and live(d) in the same village in the Beskid Niski region, in southern Poland.
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