Ukrainian comics presented at Bologna Children's Book Fair

Yahoo

01-04-2025

The International Children's Book Fair started in Bologna on Monday 31 March, and Ukraine is being represented by 25 publishing houses.
Source: Ukrainian Book Institute
Details: The Ukrainian national stand, like last year, is decorated with illustrations by Oleksandr Shatokhin from the "quiet book" The Yellow Butterfly. All this is accompanied by leaflets with information about Ukrainian children killed or deported by Russia, as well as about destroyed libraries.
Leaflets for visitors
Photo: Tetiana Petrenko
Olena Odynoka, Ukrainian Book Institute Deputy Director for International Cooperation, said that during the first day of the fair, the Ukrainian stand was visited by representatives of the Federation of European Publishers, representatives of the Creative Europe financial fund that finances cultural projects, and partners of the Ukrainian Book Institute from European countries.
"We strive to inform the international audience as much as possible about the challenges faced by Ukraine and, in particular, the Ukrainian book sector. It is important for us to involve partners in supporting Ukrainian culture, as this is also a contribution to our struggle," commented Olena Odynoka.
This year, the organisers have brought together twentieth-century illustrators with contemporary artists, creating pairings that demonstrate the continuity and influence of previous generations.
"We have a powerful school of illustration that our 'neighbours' [Russia - ed.] have repeatedly tried to appropriate. Our task is therefore to restore and popularise this heritage, to show that Ukrainian culture is rich and original," said Olena Staranchuk, co-curator of Pictoric, which together with Book Arsenal created the exhibition for the Bologna Fair.
At the exhibition, the organisers combined twentieth-century illustrators with contemporary artists
Photo: Tetiana Petrenko
"As for the stand design itself, it was my project. We tried to make it bright and relevant to our reality. It worked because it attracted attention. Of course, the topic of war remains key for us. At the same time, we understand that it is important to tell the international audience not only about the war but also to acquaint them with Ukrainian culture in general,'" Staranchuk added.
On the first day of the Bologna Book Fair, a panel discussion titled "Maliopys: Ukrainian Comics in Wartime" took place. During the panel, the speakers spoke about the history of comics in Ukraine and discussed Mariam Nayem's cartoon, A Short History of a Long War.
Anna Karnaukh's book Telegraf Magazine is presented at the book fair
Photo: Tetiana Petrenko
"Ukrainian comics are still a new phenomenon for the international audience. No one knows what to expect from them. We brought very different projects - children's, adult, historical and even scientific. So now we are looking at how they will be perceived. We are also actively promoting the name 'maliopys', explaining to foreigners what it means [comic strip] and how Ukrainian comics are different to show their uniqueness. After all, many countries have their own terms: bande dessinée, manga, fumetti. It's good that this name 'maliopys' has already been established in Ukraine, and now we are trying to bring it to an international level," explained Hanna Tkach, literary manager at the OVO literary agency.
Tkach noted that the panellists also said that Ukrainians are aware of their trauma and work with it.
"I can't say that Europeans are sceptical about Ukrainian narratives, but they often perceive them as being told through the prism of our trauma. That is, there is an opinion that our optics may be hypertrophied because of the events we have experienced - that we may be exaggerating or presenting events in overly dramatic tones. That is why it is important for us to talk about this with an international audience," the literary manager concluded.
Many partners visited the Ukrainian stand during the first half day of the fair
Photo: Tetiana Petrenko
Reference: The Bologna Children's Book Fair was founded in 1964. Since then, the fair has become a creative hub for publishers, illustrators, designers, translators, librarians and other representatives of the publishing business.
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