Children's Book Festival, annual Tbilisi Book Festival coming together in celebration of literature
The festival will host meetings with authors, with poet, translator and publisher Gvantsa Jobava set to present the book Another School with Natia Rostiashvili on day one of the event. Photo via Tbilisi International Book Festival
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A three-day Tbilisi International Book Festival will bring its customary New Year's Eve edition together with Children's Book Festival and offer releases, talks and supporting events to both adult and young visitors starting this Friday.
Hosts from the Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association and Union of Tbilisi Municipality Multifunctional Libraries will set up the festival at the Expo Georgia fairgrounds in the capital, with "nearly all publishers and sellers" set to offer their releases to literature enthusiasts, organisers said.
Meetings with authors will join book presentations, reading of children's books, theatre shows and workshops for the youth in the celebration, with the event concluding with the awards for the Nakaduli children's literature contest.
This year's event will have a particular focus on children's literature and authors. Photo via Tbilisi International Book Festival
On the main stage of the fairgrounds, day one of the festival will bring readers together with authors Guram Petriashvili, Lela Tsutskiridze, Guram Megrelishvili and Natia Rostiashvili, while illustrator Ninia Sadghobelashvili will introduce her work for classic literature by Georgia's medieval national poet Vazha-Pshavela.
Translators Maia Panjikidze and Mzia Galdavadze will also be on the stage to present their Georgian edition of Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees, an international bestseller from the author and forester known for introducing environmental themes in his popular books.
On day two, more author talks will feature children's author Mariam Japaridze, with a reading of English-language children's books also hosted at the venue. Authors Givi Chighvinadze, Lia Shalvashvili, Toresa Mossy will also meet those interested in learning about their new releases.
A series of workshops will teach children a range of creative work on producing illustrations, miniatures and more. Photo via Tbilisi International Book Festival
Translator Ia Koroshinadze will discuss her work on making P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins available in Georgian, while Bidzina and Ana Makashvili's work on translating Patti Smith's Just Kids will also be discussed. Illustrator Keti Matabeli will present the book Universe 0+.
In other events, children's psychologist Keti Osiashvili will discuss the theme "upbringing without prohibitions?" and Nato Davitashvili and Lela Kotorashvili will discuss teaching characters of Georgian literary mythology at school.
The Orbeliani Academy will host adolescents for a session offering a series of life advices, and a theatre troupe formed by Shemetsneba Publishing will host a show for young visitors.
Illustrator and animation filmmaker Ana Chubinidze (pictured right) will lead a workshop for young visitors on creating accessories. Photo via Tbilisi International Book Festival
On the closing day of the festival, latest books by Irma Malatsidze, Murad Mtvarelidze, Tatia Nadareishvili, Marta Urushadze, Salome Benidze, Mishiko Sulakauri and Nato Davitashvili will be highlighted in meetings with readers.
A new release of Georgian children's tales will involve illustrator Varlam Jmukhadze and editor Tamar Londaridze, while both young and adult visitors will be invited to a literature-based game, before the Nakaduli awards close the three-day celebration in the run-up to the holiday season.
Beside the book presentations and literary discussions, the programme will also invite visitors to workshops guiding them through creation of miniatures, New Year's Eve illustrations and accessories, under the mentorship of Giorgi Liparishvili, Eka Tabliashvili and Ana Chubinidze respectively.
Tbilisi International Book Fair will return in public form for its 2022 edition in Georgia's capital city, while Nikozi Animation Festival will host visitors for the first time since the start of the pandemic in the customary location in central Georgia.
Georgian illustrators and children’s writers, along with a stand organised by the UNESCO programme Tbilisi - World Book Capital, will be hosted at this year’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair - an international event dedicated to children's publishing and multimedia industry - between March 21-24 in Italy.
The pandemic-hit years have impacted the Georgian publishers and booksellers through reduced sales and released books, with the first year of Covid resulting in a 25 percent reduction of new releases and the past two years showing a 40 percent decrease in book sales, a new study of the sector shows.
Georgian and foreign publishers will again bring their stands to Tbilisi's Expo Georgia fairgrounds starting this Thursday to mark the return of Tbilisi Book Festival in its first post-pandemic run.
Georgia’s capital Tbilisi is hosting the 25th edition of the International Book Festival over the weekend in Expo Georgia fairgrounds, featuring both Georgian and foreign publishers, as well as various organisations at the 11th pavilion.