News

‘Democracy’, the graphic novel by Alekos Papadatos, Avraam Kawa and Annie Di Donna, just a few days after receiving an award from the Greek Section of the IBBY – Greek Children’s Book Circle with the Award for Author of a Book for Adolescents and Young Adults, for teenagers and young adults, has won the awards for Best Script and Best Comic by Wacom at the 2016 Greek Comics Awards!The Greek Comics Awards, the only awards of their kind in the Greek comics scene, took place on 15 April in the auditorium of the French Institute and form part of the Comicdom Con Athens Festival. The event was hosted by stand-up comedian Byron Theodoropoulos, who entertained the audience and set the tone for the event.The graphic novel, released a few months ago, shows us how democracy was forged as much by chance and historical circumstances as by the actions and courage of resourceful people dedicated to their cause.“Democracy” is a superb example of the kind of comic we want to read again and again, a beautiful historical fairy tale, at a time when we need it most.” Nikos Giakoumelos, Smassing Culture

On Sunday 24 April at 20:30 at the Benaki Museum (138 Piraeus Street), Filippos Tsalachouris’s oratorio ‘The Passion According to Mark, Opus 94’ will be performed, featuring interludes of poetry written by the poet Giorgos Psaltis.The work, which is being staged as part of the 2016 Greek Music Festival, is based on the Gospel of Mark and recounts the final hours of Jesus, from his arrest in Gethsemane to the Crucifixion.Giorgos Psaltis comments on his collaboration with Filippos Tsalachouris and on the way he worked on ‘The Passion According to Mark’, Opus 94: ‘In July 2015, Filippos Tsalachouris suggested that I write the stanzas to be sung as interludes in his oratorio The Passion According to Mark. They struck me as a continuation of the libretto I had written for his liturgical drama The Hour of the Last Supper (Benaki Museum, 2012) and as an interesting departure from what I had planned to write that summer. He wanted them by the end of September. However, the general state of the country, the poems and other texts I was working on, and my own state of mind did not allow me to immerse myself in the Gospel according to Mark in order to write something useful for the structure of the narrative from the arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane to the crucifixion.In September, he sent me the structure of the work — the passages from the Gospel with the points where the stasima would be heard. I put aside whatever I was writing at the time, and read one passage from Mark at a time, then struggled to convey the need that Jesus’s experience described in that passage evoked in me. I wanted each song to constitute a poetic commentary on the narrative of the Passion, without prematurely giving away the twists and turns of the story, even though the cock that crows twice, Pilate, Barabbas and so many others are etched in everyone’s memory. I worked in complete silence, or in bars, or to the sound of a compressor from a building site next to my home. One song at a time, towards a single point of human experience. Five soloists, two choirs and an instrumental ensemble take part, conducted by the composer. The work lasts 80 minutes. Further information about the event can be found on the Benaki Museum website. Books by Giorgos Psaltis published by Ikaros:Panagies Elenes (2014), poetry; Please don’t dig here, a dog is buried here (2011), poetry; Return to the United Country (2008), poetry

The Public Book Awards “Pens of the Year” welcome readers for yet another year! The first phase of voting has begun and will conclude on 26 April. Once again this year, readers are invited to highlight the books that stood out from last year’s publications, choosing from eight different award categories. In addition to these, there will also be four special awards, in which readers do not participate by voting (Guest Country Award: France, Publishing Imprint Award, Illustration Award and Public Bookshops Award).Ikaros Publications’ books are nominated in five different award categories. View our nominations (by category) along with the links for each one and vote for your favourite books: Greek poetry: Alexis Kyritsopoulos - A Walk in the Clouds - http://bit.ly/PigainelaStaSinnefa2016PoiisiΛέλη Bey - The Smoky Metropolis - http://bit.ly/IKapnismeniMitropoliΜεταφρασμένο Novel: George Saunders - The Tenth of December (Translation: Giorgos-Ikaros Babasakis) - http://bit.ly/DekatiDekembriou2016Michele Serra - The Lazy Ones (Translation: Dimitra Dotsi) - http://bit.ly/OiAraxtoi2016Colm Tóibín - Nora Webster (Translation: Giorgos-Ikaros Babasakis) - http://bit.ly/NoraWebster2016Juan Gabriel Vásquez - The Informers (Translation: Achilleas Kyriakidis) - http://bit.ly/OiPliroforiodotes2016Δοκίμιο, Study, Biography, Testimony: Christos Giannaras - Europe was born of the "schism" - http://bit.ly/IEvropiGennithikeApoToSxisma2016Αλέκος Papadatos - Democracy - http://bit.ly/Dimokratia2016Χαρίδημος K. Tsoukas - The tragedy of the commons - http://bit.ly/ITragodiaTonKoinon2016Ελληνικό Novel: Dimitris Nollas - Marbles in the middle - http://bit.ly/MarmaraStiMesiΔημήτρης Oikonomou - The Trapped – http://bit.ly/OiEgklovismenoi2016Παιδική Literature: Alexis Kyritsopoulos - A Trip to the Clouds – http://bit.ly/PigainelaStaSinnefa2016PΘοδωρής Papaioannou / Iris Samartzi - Across the Way – http://bit.ly/Apenanti2016Η The second phase of voting will begin after the announcement of the 10 most popular books in each category. Readers will then be invited to vote among these to select the most popular book between 2 and 22 May. The winning books will be announced at a special event. Good luck to the nominees!

To mark the celebration of World Children’s Book Day 2016, the Greek Section of IBBY – the Greek Children’s Book Circle – organised the annual awards ceremony on Saturday 2 April 2016 at Technopolis in the Municipality of Athens, honouring individuals and organisations whose work promotes a love of reading, as well as awards to creators for the writing, illustration and translation of literary books for children and young people (books published in 2015).On this significant evening, the graphic novel ‘Democracy’ by Alekos Papadatos, Avraam Kawa and Annie di Donna won the award in the category ‘Award for an author of a book for teenagers and young adults’!&The book, which was published last October, offers a contemporary perspective on how one of the greatest inventions in world political history came about, thrilling readers and critics alike: “An amazing book that unravels all aspects of democracy, touching on the points we usually overlook in historical accounts. The element of chance, the circumstances, the risk and the perseverance of the enlightened people of every historical period.”Argyro Bozoni (http://www.thetoc.gr) ‘The contributors to this volume have not embellished reality. On the contrary, they have often chosen its darker versions, in order to show a human Athens rather than a city shrouded in the mist of myth. Private reasons are often stronger than public ones; base motives overshadow the noble.” Giorgos N. Perantonakis (http://www.bookpress.gr)During the award ceremony, the launch of the major campaign by the Hellenic Book Association (ENELVI) for World Book Day (23 April) was also announced, with the slogan ‘I Read & I Change”, in which the Greek Section of the IBBY is participating as a partner organisation alongside the Society of Authors.