A BOOK'S JOURNEY - FROM THE AUTHOR TO THE READER looks at the process of how a book is created. A short story as a comic written by Žiga X. Gombač and illustrated by David Krančan guides us through the world of books with the help of a likeable hero, the Bookworm. The first presentation of A Book’s Journey was staged in cooperation with influential Slovenian stakeholders from the book production industry that attended the 2016 Cultural Bazaar in Ljubljana.

In collaboration with the Slovenian Reading Society (BDS), the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK RS) launched a brochure and posters guiding us through A Book’s Journey through individual conceptual topics:

• A BOOK’S BIRTH – presentation of individual authors, publishers, prints, e-books
• BOOK MEETS READER – presentation of individual bookstores and libraries
• HEAD OVER HEELS IN BOOKS – acquainting readers with book promotion tools, book promotion campaigns, and related activities, awards and projects
• EMBRACED BY WORDS – meetings between book producers and readers or “How the Bookworm Finds Its Nest”.

The title of the second short story, also in comic-book form written by Žiga X. Gombač and illustrated by David Krančan is THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING LETTERS. The main character, the Bookworm, faces a difficult task – all letters of this world have disappeared. Did someone steal them? Eat them? Did they just vanish? The Bookworm, trying to find the missing letters, tells us how important reading and writing are, and through the excellent illustrations takes us along on a true adventure. The comic is designed to be interactive; the story offers 10 educational mottos about reading.

A Book's Journey is also supported by a travelling poster exhibition. The poster exhibition is accessible to schools, libraries and other interested institutions throughout Slovenia.

Both comics, A Book's Journey and The Mystery of The Missing Letters, are available in  English (translated by Gregor Timothy Čeh), German (translated by Liza Linde) and Italian (translated by Lucia Gaja Scuteri).  We also published multilingual poster A Book's Journey  and a travelling poster exhibitionA Book's Journey in English, German and Italian.

The project A Book's Journey will be presented at the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair, where Slovenia is Guest of Honour, as well as the Children's and Youth Bookfair in Bologna in April 2024 where Slovenia is also Guest of Honour.

For more information about the project A BOOK'S JOURNEY, please contact Tjaša Urankar, T: +386 1 369 58 25, E: tjasa.urankar@jakrs.si 

FOTO: Archive JAK