The Polish Book Institute

On Wednesday, 22^nd August, an international book fair in Beijing begins. The Beijing International Book Fair is the largest book fair in Asia. Each year, over two and a half thousand publishers from 90 countries worldwide showcase their books here, and the event is visited by over 300,000 readers.

In June, the book Jak to działa? Zwierzęta (How Does It Work? Animals) translated by Iryna Tuchapska was published. The publication was supported by the Book Institute as part of the ©POLAND Translation Programme

In May, the Chinese translation of O.G.R.Ó.D. (G.A.R.D.E.N.) was published. The book was translated by Mi Zhang and Bartosz Gauza. The publication of the work by Ewa Kołaczyńska and Adam Wójcicki was supported by the Book Institute as part of the © POLAND Translation Programme.

In June, the book Refugees translated by Lothar Quinkenstein was published. The publication of the work by Henryk Grynberg was supported by the Book Institute as part of the © POLAND Translation Programme.

Karin Wolff passed away on 29^th July after a short, serious illness. The translator’s funeral took place yesterday at the main cemetery in Frankfurt (Oder).

In Croatia, Olga Tokarczuk’s “The Books of Jacob” translated by Mladen Martić has just been published. The publication was supported by the Book Institute as part of the ©POLAND Translation Programme.

In Romania, the selection of poems by Cyprian Norwid translated by Constantin Geambaşu has just been published. The publication was supported by the Book Institute as part of the ©POLAND Translation Programme.

Magdalena Parys received the Literary Award of the City of Quimper for the novel Tunel (‘Tunnel’), which was published last year in French under the title 188 mètres sous Berlin. The publication of the novel was supported by The Polish Book Institute as part of the © POLAND Translation Programme.

Three translations of Polish books have been nominated for the prestigious National Translation Awards (NTA) administered by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). Among the nominees, there are Clare Cavanagh for the translation of Ryszard Krynicki, Bill Johnston, the winner of the Transatlantic Award, for the translation of Julia Fiedorczuk, as well as Eliza Marciniak for the translation of Wioletta Grzegorzewska.

Tor Books, a part of Macmillan Publishers, acquired the rights to the English-language editions of Elżbieta Cherezińska’s novels Harda (“The Widow Queen”) and Królowa (“The Queen”). In recent years, the writer was actively supported by the Polish Book Institute, which promoted her works in the Books from Poland catalogue in Frankfurt, whereas the writer herself was present at the Institute's stand at the Svět Knihy book fair in Prague. The Widow Queen will be released in January 2021.

The seventh seminar for foreign publishers that took place in Kraków on June 22-23 under the auspices of the Book Institute, was devoted to children's and young adult literature. The guests of the seminar told us about the promotion of the literature for young readers in their countries.

Over the past Friday and Saturday, the seventh edition of the seminar for foreign publishers took place in Cracow. The two-day event was devoted to children’s and youth literature. Twenty publishers from around the world had an opportunity to meet Polish editors and illustrators.

The Transatlantyk Prize ceremony took place on Friday 22 June at 19.00. Antonia Lloyd-Jones became the 14^th edition's prizewinner. The laurel was presented in the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków.

Antonia Lloyd Jones, the winner of Transatlantyk Prize for 2018, studied Russian and Ancient Greek at Oxford. She received also the prestigious Found in Translation Award twice – in 2009 for the transaltion of The Last Supper by Paweł Huelle, and a lifetime achievement award in 2012. She was interested in foreign languages since childhood, but she has only learnt Polish as an adult.

The most prestigious award for distinguished ambassadors of Polish literature abroad was this year presented to Antonia Lloyd-Jones, one of the most important translators of Polish literature into English. The prize was awarded by a board led by the Polish Book Institute director Dariusz Jaworski.

The seventh Seminar for Foreign Publishers has just begun. The two-day event was opened by the Book Institute director, Dariusz Jaworski. The seminar is devoted to children's and young adult literature.

This Friday and Saturday, the 7^th edition of the seminar for foreign publishers will take place in Cracow. During the seminar, the Polish Book Institute presents foreign editors and literary agents with the most interesting phenomena of the Polish publishing market. For the second time, the seminar will be devoted to children’s and youth literature.

This Friday, June 22^nd, at 7.00 pm at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Cracow, the Transatlantyk Prize will be presented for the fourteenth time – it is the annual award of the Polish Book Institute for an eminent promoter of Polish literature abroad. Its laureate can be a translator, publisher, critic, or the animator of cultural life

The Polish Book Institute, together with a group of experts, prepared the catalogue ‘Polish Books for Children & Young Adults’, which includes the most interesting works in the field of native children’s and young adults’ literature. The catalogue will have its premiere during the 7^th seminar for foreign publishers organised by the Polish Book Institute. This is the second time youth literature will be discussed there.

On 9^th June in the Streatham Tate Library in London took place the second edition of ‘Night in the Library’ organised by the project Poles Connect in collaboration with the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London. This year, the Polish Institute of Culture, which took patronage over the event, joined the campaign, and the Book Institute donated a set of books for children.

At the end of May, during the Kyiv’s Book Arsenal, the biggest literary festival in Ukraine, Ukrainian edition of Professor Włodzimierz Suleja’s book Józef Piłsudski had its premiere. The translation of the Marshal’s popularizing biography was published with support from the Polish Institute in Kyiv.

Thirty-three children aged 8 to 13 years took part in the “Library Night” organised by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Toronto. This form of reading incentive was offered to the children from Polish families for the first time.

The next round of submissions for the ©Poland Translation Program will
take place from 1 September to 31 October.

Poland, the Guest of Honour Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) 2018 was the first to take the stand at the Business Club with a presentation of the Polish Book Market – Rights, the Polish Market in Practise, by the director of Poland's State Publishing Dr. Lukasz Michalski.

Nobel Prize laureates' literature, award winning illustrators ancient Islamic manuscripts and Polish cuisine presented by the Polish delegation at the seven days fair.

The Man Booker International Prize today reveals the shortlist of six books in contention for the 2018 prize, which celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world. The £50,000 prize for the winning book will be divided equally between its author and translator.

Between April 25 and May 1, Poland will be the guest of honor at the 28th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, one of the biggest events of its kind in the Middle East.

British libraries have received over a thousand copies of books by Polish authors. This is part of the “Polish Bookshelf Project,” carried out by the Book Institute, the Polish Embassy, and the Polish Institute in London, in cooperation with the Literka Association, European Welfare Association, and the Polish Educational Society.