French writers and their works marked this year's 18th International Podgorica Book and Education Fair, which from May 10 to 17 in the garage of the "Big Fashion" shopping center in Podgorica, provided book and literature lovers with a rich program and interesting guests, along with dozens well-known publishers from the country and region with more than 100.000 books on display.
The traditional ceremony and awarding of prizes and special recognitions put an end to another edition of the event, which symbolically marked the coming of age this year, announcing even more mature and lavish editions in the coming period.
Director of the publishing house "Nova knjiga" and president of the program council of the Book Fair, Predrag Uljarević assessed that this was the most successful edition of the Fair, taking into account the largest number of publishers and programs so far. He also pointed out that preparations for the next year have already begun.
"Even though due to our coming of age, this Fair obliged us and required special organizational dedication, it seems to me that I can now say that it was worth every effort. I saw that every day of the fair, meeting visitors from Podgorica and other Montenegrin cities. Gaining sure visitors, a cultural event, and thus the Book Fair fulfills its destiny. Those visitors, together with many who were at the Fair for the first time this year, will be the biggest incentive for us in the preparation of the next 19th International Podgorica Book and Education Fair," announced Uljarević.
The fact that France, as the guest of honor, gave a special stamp to this year's Fair was also noticed by the jury that decided on the awards, consisting of: president, academician Siniša Jelušić and members of prof. Ph.D Slavica Perović and an academic painter Marina Vesovic. They noted the high-quality and significant program with which France magnified this year's Fair and set new standards on several levels.
Ambassador of France in Montenegro Anne-Marie Maske a special award was given for the contribution to international cultural cooperation and the exchange of the greatest publishing values.
"The stand of the Embassy of the Republic of France at the Fair and the various activities that took place at the stand and around it were initiated, supported or inspired by Mrs. Anne-Marie Maske in the role of ambassador and cultural ambassador of the country with one of the greatest literatures in the world. With the experience of a career diplomat and the ability to aggregate good energy and gather lovers of the French language and literature, she encouraged many activities related to publishing, French literature or French poetry", the jury stated in its explanation, and Maske responded with gratitude.
"I am honored by this award and I am very grateful for the words you sent me. This was an exceptional fair from the perspective of the French Embassy and the French stand. Being the guest of honor was really important for us and a great honor to be here and contribute to the good relations between France and Montenegro," said Ambassador Maska.
The jury pointed out that thanks to the high-quality and diverse offer, it had a difficult task when making decisions about the best.
"As long as there are books and reading, there is also hope to preserve that priceless essence of our being, to be beings with meaning, with understanding, imagination and creation, love and self-development that we reach with books and that we pass on to others with books. If the idea of the existence of the Podgorica Book Fair could be formulated most succinctly, then it is contained in this message. Therefore, we should wish the organizers to be steadfast in their will and determination and to endure to the end despite all the challenges. With many speeches, contacts, dialogues about books, everything was very significant and valuable for the things of the spirit which, unfortunately, we are losing more and more every day", pointed out Jelušić before the awardees were announced.
THE BOOK IS NOT DEAD, IT WILL SURVIVE ALL CHALLENGES
The publishing house "Agora" from Zrenjanin is the best publisher when it comes to complete publishing production, the jury judged.
"The idea of the 'Agora' Library itself is to publish high-quality contemporary prose by important contemporary foreign and domestic writers. Classic writers of our time have their place in it, as well as innovative and already proven writers of the younger generation who have not yet been translated into the Serbian language. The library tries to present some of the important literary toponyms of our time in the form of a kind of anthological selection not only to the Serbian audience, but also to a much wider audience," the jury stated in its explanation.
Šaponja noted that the International Podgorica Book Fair is "incredible, magical, different", and that this year it showed "its specific flavor", but also that it is developing in a specific way.
The prize for the publishing venture was shared by the Historical Institute of Montenegro of the University of Montenegro with the book "Montenegro Gaser" and the Archive of Vojvodina from Novi Sad, for "Collected Works". Mir Vuksanović.
"The Historical Institute published the book 'Montenegro Gasser - illustrated monograph with the Protocol on the sale of revolvers for the years 1894-1895-1896-1897' Branko Bogdanović and others Radoslav Raspopović. The book deals with the history of one of the most popular revolvers of the 1873th century. This weapon enjoyed equal fame in Europe as Colt, Smith & Wesson. However, the famous "Montenegro Gasser" was especially important, either in the original version or as one of the copies of the famous Belgian manufacturers. The bottom line is that since XNUMX, every Montenegrin of military age had a legal obligation to own a Gaser revolver with an extended barrel, with the monogram of the ruler - Prince and King Nikola I. This is how we come to an important cultural dimension in the research of Montenegrin heritage, and thus this weapon it belongs to tradition, ethnology and ethnography", the jury pointed out.
The collected works of academic Mir Vuksanović in 20 volumes contain novels, short stories, poems, notes, travel diaries and autopoetic narratives (with dictionaries and bibliography). The titles are linked both chronologically and by affinity.
Director of the Archives of Vojvodina Nebojsa Kuzmanović he expressed his gratitude for the recognition.
"I have to say that this is a very pleasant surprise and my gratitude goes to the jury and the Podgorica Book Fair. This is an opportunity for all of us to see the importance of books, because in the digital age young people have no time and sensibility for books. Your fair shows that the book is not dead and will survive all challenges", stated Kuzmanović.
The award for the best edition went to Archipelago from Belgrade for the "Kapital" edition, as well as Jesenski - Turk from Zagreb for the "Filozofije" library.
"Jesenski i Turk publishing house was founded in 1997. Through more than 600 titles published so far, capital works of social sciences and humanities, current and already classic works from the field of popular science and valuable essays, journalism and literary works are covered. In their repertoire, they have a number of libraries that contain thematically or conceptually related titles," the jury wrote.
Monograph dedicated to Voj Stanić in the edition of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts, it was awarded as the best equipped, as well as the Monograph University of Montenegro 1974-2024 in their edition.
"Monograph "Vojo Stanić" whose author is an academician Niko Martinovic, was published recently in the CANU edition. The monograph is an expression of CANU's deep respect for its member, but at the same time it is another testimony to the extent to which academician Niko Martinović has a sovereign knowledge of the artistic expression and expression of the great Voj Stanić. In addition, the monograph contains reproductions of Stanić's works, which are expressed at the highest level in design and graphic language," explained the jury.
They stated that the monograph dedicated to the fiftieth anniversary of the existence of the state university summarizes the publishing and all other efforts.
The award for contribution to the improvement of children's creativity, i.e. creativity for children, went to the Creative Center from Belgrade, as well as the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids from Podgorica for the book "Green Cow" by the author Jelena Vukić.
"This is a book that received an award at the competition of the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids for a book in the field of children's literature. The book contains seven poems, which treat topics of interest to children in an interesting and humorous way. The book is richly and qualitatively illustrated, and therefore we had the pleasure of proposing it for an award", the explanation points out.
The award for contribution to the improvement of publishing and cultural exchange in the region went to the International Center for Peace from Sarajevo, of which he is the founder and president. Ibrahim Spahic, as well as the publishing house HERA edu from Belgrade, which is recognizable for its authentic and original titles in the field of humanities and social sciences, and which focused its publishing concept on publishing books in the fields of history, geopolitics, economics, psychology, art and documentary prose...
THE BEST STANDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA AND THE MUNICIPALITY OF PLJEVLA
By signing the Podgorica Charter on Thursday, France handed over the baton of the country of honor to Bulgaria, which will present its literature, culture and language during the 19th International Podgorica Book Fair and bring many important names of Bulgarian literature to the fair. That we can expect a representative program is also confirmed by the award that the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria received for the best equipped stand this year.
"Our attention was drawn to the stand of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria, which stood out with a convincing exhibition of posters, with prominently shaped symbols that have deep meanings, which contribute to the recognition of the Bulgarian national identity," the jury pointed out.
The stand of Bulgaria shares the prize with the Municipality of Pljevlja, whose "minimalist solution is enriched with an original and witty allusion to the coloristic process of Roy Lichtstein, which particularly attracted our attention", according to the jury.
DIGITALIZATION OF CONTENT IS A STEP FORWARD IN EDUCATION
The award for the improvement of electronic publishing went to ZUNS for the e-reading book "The Little Red Riding Hood".
"ZUNS from Podgorica is growing into a modern publishing house with a rich production that follows the educational requirements of the new era. Through its publishing productivity, the Institute has shown professional awareness that textbooks represent the cultural basis of education, as well as that they set the standards of intellectual work. High methodological, didactic and art-graphic standards are a recognizable feature of the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids. The team work of authors, designers, illustrators, proofreaders contributes to this, the latter are very important, in order to design and produce modern contents of textbooks and their artistic identity", the jury pointed out.
During this year's Fair, the e-reading book "Little Red Riding Hood" was presented to visitors. It is a multimedia reading book for the first grade of primary school and is adapted for children who do not yet know how to read. The "culprit" is famous for the visual opulence of the Little Red Riding Hood Greetings Bob Zivkovic, a legendary illustrator from our area, and behind the project stands the company "Kodelab" and its executive director Aleksandar Dlabac.
"I would say that the digitization of educational content that we are working on and will work on in the future is a serious step forward for Montenegrin education for several reasons. We started with "Little Red Riding Hood", and soon we will be able to present some other contents. I must also mention those without whom this would not be possible, who are our partners in this business, namely the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Podgorica company Codelab", said the editor-in-chief of the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids. Radula Novović.
A SERIES OF SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
In addition to the regular and expected awards, the jury also awarded a number of special awards. To create new readers, they singled out the publishing house "Darkwood" from Belgrade, which is revitalizing domestic comics publishing and introducing younger generations of readers to comics as a medium.
A special recognition for the improvement of the educational process went to the Library for the Blind from Podgorica, for the audio edition of "Mountain Wreath", as well as the University of Montenegro for its 50th anniversary, the JPU "Đina Vrbica" and "Ljubica Popović" from Podgorica, and the kindergarten "Maša". .
Special recognition for fostering cultural heritage and culture of memory SPKD Prosvjeta Sarajevo for the book Đok Mazalić "Antiquities of Bosnia".
Special recognition for the affirmation of literary culture was given to the Serbian Literary Association from Belgrade as the oldest, permanently active library in European publishing.
The National Library of Budva received a special award for nurturing cultural heritage and the culture of memory for the book "Medieval Statute of the City of Budva - Critical Edition". Special recognition for an original approach to literary hermeneutics went to the publishing house "Albatros" plus from Belgrade for three books by Prof. Ph.D Alessandra Jerkova.
"Slobodan Škerović" Gymnasium from Podgorica received special recognition for its contribution to the organization of the Book Fair.
To bring Bulgarian literature and culture closer to the Montenegrin audience
The Minister of Culture of Bulgaria, Najden Todorov, the director of the French Institute in Montenegro, Johann Uhres, and the director of the publishing house Nova knjiga and the president of the Program Council of the Book Fair, Predrag Uljarević, signed the Podgorica Charter during the Fair. It is the first time that the Charter is signed between the current and the next country of the guest of honor of the International Podgorica Book Fair, which the organizers plan to turn into a tradition.
Uljarević pointed out that some of the significant moments in the development of the Podgorica Book and Education Fair were marked by the performances of the countries of the honored guests. This was also the case during this year's edition, where France, as the country of honor, set new standards in the performance of the guest country.
"As a country of honor, we hosted French authors and presented books that have been translated or will be translated into your language, which will be very important for the Montenegrin audience," said the director of the French Institute in Montenegro, Johann Uhres.
He "handed over the baton" of the country of the guest of honor to the Minister of Culture of Bulgaria, Najden Todorova, so it became official that Bulgaria will carry that "title" at the next edition.
"I believe that this way we will get to know contemporary Bulgarian literature and culture better, meet many Bulgarian writers of different generations and genres, and translate and read more Bulgarian books in Montenegro," Uljarević said.
We should wish the organizers to be steadfast in their will and determination and to endure to the end despite all the challenges. With many speeches, contacts, dialogues about books, everything was very significant and valuable for the things of the spirit, which, unfortunately, we are losing more and more every day," Jelušić pointed out.
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