Since I only had a few hours to explore the book forum during this bazaar, I will share a personal impression rather than a “report”. This year, due to Bulgaria’s presidency of the EU, the National Palace of Culture has become an occupied zone, which did not allow the traditional fair to be held in the building. However, the tented areas in the garden in front of the “palace” look much more spring-like and fresh, some of which are in place of Starchev’s polygonal… “masterpiece”. The weather also turned out to be kind to the publishers and did not drown them, although some shared that the hot sun is not a plus for their books either.
Some of the merchants were genuinely disappointed with the situation, as their loyal readers did not know where and when this year’s edition would be held, and their participation was more Olympic than market-like. For others, however, the decision to hold this fair appeared like a deus ex machina, because it put them on an equal footing with everyone else, and not on the fourth floor of the dreary NDK. While I was walking towards the garden, I overheard a few random conversations. One was between two security guards who wisely concluded: “Let the people read!”, and the other between two adult women, one of whom did not know exactly what was going on in the tents, but said: “Let’s go see!” In this line of thought, did the “Spring Open-Air Book Bazaar” manage to attract random passersby, or did it lose a large part of its reading audience, turning into a street event?
My gaze only flew through the stands, but I can't help but notice several publications filled with illustrations by Bulgarian artists that are worth paying attention to.
At the colorful stand B7 we find two baby books – Maya Bocheva's latest book "Who Messed Up the Room" and "Monster Boo Loves to Eat" by Stanimira Petrova.
Katya Antonova presented her latest book at the fair – “Princess Stories” with illustrations by the young artist Mira Miroslavova. The stand is B16, and the publisher (of course!) is Rybka.
"List" Publishing House (tent 1) is releasing its eleventh book in the series "Children's Masterpieces by Great Writers", authored by Edward Cummings and illustrated by Julian Tabakov.
One of the latest surprises in the field of illustration was from Enthusiast Publishing House (tent 4), a work by Sotir Gelev (author and illustrator) - "How Laura Learned to Count to Ten".
The new book by Radostina Nikolova, author of the series about the mottos, which introduces us to "Kiko without wings" and the illustrations by Mateya Arkova, is also quite "fresh". The publisher is Marmot, under the umbrella of the Mottos (to avoid confusion, B17).
Recently, the new adventures of "Lupo and Tumba, Part 1" by writer Petya Kokudeva were released with illustrations by Romina Beneventi, realized by "Jeanette 45" (A15). The publishing house also presented the book by Viktor Samuilov "Natchki", of course with illustrations by Lyuba Haleva.
I also met Nikola Raykov at stand B10, whose latest book, "A Tale of Two Worlds," we recently told you about. The first print run is probably already sold out!
And last but not least, we should mention the exhibition “Joy, Sadness and Hope” – 16 illustrations for children’s books by Bulgarian artists, curated by Anton Staykov, in tent B. It was presented during the International Literary Festival for Children and Youth, which was held as part of the Cultural Programme for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2018.
Text and photos: Milena Radeva
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