Award-Winning Publication Series
Our best-of publication series promoting Hungarian literature and children’s literature abroad have won silver award at Hungary’s most prestigious advertising competition, Hipnózis, by Kreatív. The Petőfi Literary Fund nominated the series in the CRAFT – photo and illustration category.
The Fund has prepared a four-part series of publications which presents Hungarian literature and children’s literature by authors from Hungary and the Hungarian communities in the surrounding countries.
New Hungarian Fiction 12,5 Books presents samples from thirteen major works of contemporary Hungarian literature to the world.
A distinctive title might well have a better chance of catching the eye of a major international publishing house. The choice of a caption was clear and emphatic: “Our stories make histories!” This subtitle, which has the ring of a mantra, eloquently captures the trends in writing that are fashionable today, for instance, the way in which personal stories have gained ground, not to mention the general impression an international reader has of Hungary: that one stumbles across history on every street corner.
The careful consideration that was given to the selection of works was coupled with attentively thought-out graphic design work. With its captivating design and typesetting, New Hungarian Fiction 12,5 Books offers a good cross-section of contemporary Hungarian literature. It also reflects on very complex questions of Hungarian identity and introduces readers to prominent trends in Hungarian literature today. Our hope is that the publication will help foster further interest in Hungarian literature abroad and lead to larger numbers of works of Hungarian literature being published in good translation.
Innovative solutions to the promotion of Hungarian children’s literature abroad
Market research was done before the design stages began. In the course of this research, the Fund examined the children’s literature publications presented on the international stage by numerous different countries. Our primary intention was to ensure that, from the perspectives of content and visual presentation, the Fund’s publications held their ground in the admittedly very competitive international arena. We decided in favor of a progressive and minimalist style, and we broke our communication efforts down into three groups:
• a presentation of Hungarian illustrators
• a presentation of some of the finest Hungarian children’s books
• a presentation of Hungarian and Hungarian-language children’s literature
A coherent, easily identifiable series of publications was created as a result of these efforts and endeavors, the individuals works of which are also well-suited for presentation on their own.
Design
The materials with which we are presenting contemporary Hungarian children’s literature offer examples of exciting design and typographical innovations. The clear structuring of the contents and the minimalist design, which is playful and captivating, make the Petőfi Literary Fund’s publications eye-catching and distinctive at international fairs.
The individual elements and, indeed, the whole of the illustrations in the publications are arranged in a manner so as best visually to capture the selected elements of text. Pages which are not devoted entirely or largely to illustrations are embellished with visual elements which harmonize with the covers of the books and the story and bear humorous implications or interplay between text and image.
New Hungarian Childlit 10,0 Tales - a selection of the best of contemporary Hungarian children’s literature.
Puts the spotlight on ten Hungarian children’s books and young adult novels which have strong potential for major success on the international stage. From the perspective of its design, this is the most complicated of the publications. The presentation of works which are different in genre was the most challenging task, as it was important to draw attention to each work as a distinctive composition while also presenting them as a whole. The genres included (1) picture books with no text, (2) young adult novels with no illustrations, and (3) works which combine text and illustration. The publication, which was created as a dynamic combination of illustrations, textual excerpts, and innovative solutions, is perhaps the most elaborate and many-faced in the series.
Best Hungarian Artists 11,1 Illustrators - a selection of works by the best illustrators active today in contemporary Hungarian children’s literature.
We have put the focus on works by eleven Hungarian illustrators. We have incorporated the varying and distinctive styles of these illustrators into the visual conception of the series while also making sure to preserve and place emphasis on the most distinctive elements of their styles, which in some cases we have playfully enlarged or called attention to in some other way.
Hungarian Children’s Books - Publishers’ Selection -selections from works of Hungarian and Hungarian-language children’s literature offered by publishing houses.
The publication, which presents more than 70 Hungarian children’s books, is a sort of IKEA catalogue of Hungarian children’s literature. From the perspective of design, the most daunting challenge was finding a playful way to include the wealth of data provided by the 22 publishing houses invited to participate while at the same time giving the publication a consistent, easily navigable structure and ensuring that it remain informative.
