On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the BOP – Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year, organized by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and AIE – Italian Publishers Association in partnership with IPA – International Publishers Association, awarded publishers who have most distinguished themselves for their professional and intellectual skills in each of the six areas of the world: Africa, Central, and South America, North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. At the same time, the prize is designed to foster a mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas among different countries, areas, and cultural identities across the world.
The 202I BOP winners include: Africa: Mkuki na Nyota, Tanzania; Asia: TUTI Books, Iran; Central/South America: Tragaluz Editores, Colombia; Europe: La Joie de Lire, Switzerland; North America: Levine Querido, USA; and Oceania: Oratia Media, New Zealand.

About TUTI Books: TUTI is the Persian word for “Parrot”; a bird that is rooted deeply in Iranian literature and is known for uttering fascinating stories. Run by its director, Sahar Tarhandeh, TUTI Books (which is the children and YA books division at Fatemi Publishing Co.) is based in Tehran, Iran and is among a handful of publishes in Iran who are active in this field. and is solely dedicated to publishing high-quality content for children and young adults across the world. TUTI has won several prestigious awards for its titles and has been able to make a great connection with its readers.

TUTI’s content and quality: TUTI’s endeavours in this regard are backed by Iran’s rich history of culture and literature, which has always had a tremendous amount to offer. TUTI’s mission extends to introducing world literature to Iranian children and young adults, reflected in their actions of searching for and acquiring the rights to titles from all over the world, further tightening cultural ties between nations. Among Iranian publishers, when publishing translated titles, TUTI is among the handful of houses that – in the absence of copyright laws is committed to publishing books by respecting the rights of international publishers. They have acquired several titles from credible international publishers and are also working on creating several original titles, which will be published within the next few months or next year.
The first and main criteria when publishing a book by TUTI is the artistic quality of the illustrations and a well-written story. The artistic quality of the illustrations, well-written text, and preferably employing universal themes, to which children from any part of the world can connect. Also, TUTI Books always tries to include subjects like disability, preserving nature in its editorial choices.

Impact of the pandemic: When it comes to the impact of the pandemic, just like every other country, remote working during the early months of the pandemic made it very difficult to coordinate and move daily tasks forward. The bookstores, schools, and libraries were closed, and so the publishing and distribution of books was hugely challenging, saved only by the use of digital. As the Covid situation improves, they are trying to publish more books in a timely manner.

About the Bologna Children’s Book fair and the prize: The Bologna Book Fair is by far the biggest and best platform that makes it possible for children’s and young adults’ publishers to gather around and provide each other with brilliant books. TUTI Books has always made sure to participate in the fair and present its titles, along with looking for quality titles to bring back and publish within Iran. Sahar Tarhandeh, notes, “This year, we were honored to win the BOP Best Publisher of the Year Award in Asia. We are glad that TUTI’s efforts in creating high-quality content has been recognized in this scale and it pushes us further to keep making greater books. Considering the difficulties we deal with in Iran, whether it be the absence of international copyright laws, financial sanctions, or the unstable economy and currency value, we are glad that TUTI’s endeavors are being acknowledged through various awards and recognitions. The BOP award is the latest and probably the most important one. Being recognized in the Bologna Book Fair indicates that we are in the right path and gives TUTI Books incentive to continue creating high-quality titles for children and young adults.”

TUTI Books is the Winner of BOP Bologna Prize Best Children’s Publisher of the Year 2021 (Asia)

We are very honored to be among the winners of this year’s best children’s publishers in the Bologna Books Fair! After 5 years of activity, TUTI Books is determined more than ever to keep creating and publishing high-quality content for Children and YA. We would like to give our warmest regards to all the writers and illustrators whose works make the backbone of TUTI’s titles, and the Bologna Book Fair for arranging this event.

TUTI Books would like to congratulate all the other nominated, shortlisted, and winning publishers in this year’s BOP. We hope that hand in hand, we are able to provide great books to the children of the world!

For the second consecutive year, TUTI Books has been shortlisted for the 2021 Bologna Prize “Best Publishers of the Year”.

TUTI Books, based in Tehran, Iran, has been shortlisted for the “Best Publishers Award” by Bologna Children’s Book Fair for another year in a row and will be competing in Asia alongside publishers from China, Japan, and South Korea for the best publisher of the continent.

The nominees for this list are selected by credible institutions and publishers taking part in the Bologna Book Fair. We are happy to see that TUTI’s efforts and activities have gained international recognition. We hope that TUTI Books, as the only selected publisher from the Middle East, would be a suitable nominee from Asia to represent Iran’s rich children and young adults’ literature.

Every year, the winners are announced on the opening ceremony of the Bologna Book Fair and prominent titles of the selected publishers are introduced through the fair’s catalog, newspapers, and social media. Same as the last year, the voting process to select the best publishers will be held online and the results will be announced during the 4-day period of the Book Fair which will be 14-17 June.

The BOP -“Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year”- was first established in the 50^th anniversary of the Bologna Book Fair in 2013.  It is an extraordinary occasion to highlight publishers at the forefront of innovation in their activity for the creative nature of the editorial choices they have made during the previous year.

The prize, organized by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and AIE – Italian Publishers Association in partnership with IPA – International Publishers Association, awards those publishers who have most distinguished themselves for their professional and intellectual skills in each of the six areas of the world: Africa, Central and South America, North America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Written by: Zahra Marwan

When reaching the end of my college career, I began to find the courage to share my artwork. I did this by joining markets, putting on my first solo show at El Chante: Casa de Cultura, and through social media. With small steps forward, heart on my shoulder, and learning from mistakes, I received an unrestricted artist grant from Kindle Project which helped propel me forward. I used some of this money to attend my first SCBWI conference in New York City in 2017 as well as the Bologna International Book Fair in Italy that same year.

The quality and variety of the different types of imagery and their balance with language on the page was captivating. Manuscript as an art form seemed to function in a way similar to a music album: accessible, bound, with explosions of color, composition, and narrative through many abstractions. There was a huge range in art from the different imprints and publishing houses from country to country. It became quickly apparent that the industry was inherently liberal, as how could people maintain stereotypes and boundaries with others when engaging in particularities in art and storytelling?

I saw books about a day at the beach in South America (La Plage by Sol Undurraga). A truck driver who stops in a forest to relieve himself and gets lost (La Montagne written by Carmen Chica and illustrated by Manuel Marsol). I also saw a series of original drawings of a seemingly small, effeminate boy in a family of super-champions from Iran (Ace, written by Payam Ebrahimi and illustrated by Reza Dalvand).

The original art of Ace was on display at the Bologna Book Fair, and the hopes of getting the book remained in my mind for many years that followed. Although Iranian artists and illustrators gain a lot of international traction, their work is inaccessible to us in the United States. Tuti Books is the publisher of two books I really wanted to see, hold, and understand.

For the last few years, I kept checking for accessible foreign editions of some of these books. I reached out directly to Reza Dalvand, the illustrator of Ace, who put me in touch with his publisher in Iran. The publisher recommended an obscure online book shop which specializes in importing these books from their own frustrations of lack of accessibility. Before this, I learned that a French publisher had acquired this story but hadn’t yet published it, a Turkish one published it but it was uncertain whether it was for sale, a Canadian version was in progress, and there was a Korean edition.

Illustrations in a picture book are vital to a young reader adapting to a new world and language. So perhaps obtaining and engaging with foreign children’s books helps you gain understanding through art. What is this person, with his own cultural habits and understanding, trying to say?

With a recently published book by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (Our Favorite Date of the Year, written by AE Ali), Iranian illustrator Rahele Jomepour Bell, who has recently become an American citizen, offered me her thoughts. With sanctions on Iran from the US, talented illustrators are losing the chance to work with big publishers, a dream for many of us. She said she has received so many questions about whether rights can be sold or how to navigate the system, that she has considered starting a literary agency of her own to help uplift these artists.

Down the back alleys of the book market, I was able to get two books from @mehromaahbooks on Instagram, an online bookshop currently only on social media. I finally ordered Ace, as well as a copy of The Boxer, written and illustrated by Hassan Mousavi, who received the first prize at the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava in 2019 for this book.

After many long and lovely messages, the publisher told me, “I hope one day we can send our books from Iran to everywhere without any problem soon.” And an emphasis from the talented Reza Dalvand himself: “Many Iranian illustrators work with international publishers, and a large number of international festivals are won by Iranian illustrators. Anyway, because of bad politics of Iran and Sanctions, Iranian books are not so available in the world and maybe the people don’t hear anything about them. I hope one day everything will be normal.”

I hope for all of us too, that these beautiful works of art become readily accessible.

Source: http://www.pyragraph.com/2020/08/knowing-the-world-through-art-inspired-by-iranian-illustrators/

Today is an exciting day, as we are about to learn about the winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publishers of the Year!

TUTI Books is proud to be involved in both of these prestigious awards, with our own Farhad Hassanzadeh among the great authors shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and our publishing house shortlisted for the BOP.

Farhad Hassanzadeh’s creative and imaginitive pen has resulted in two of TUTI’s amazing titles, namely An Umbrella with White Butterfliesand The Snow and the Sun.

Our fingers are crossed for all the great authors, illustrators, and publishing houses in Tomorrow’s results!

TUTI is on the final list of Bologna Children’s Book Fair and will compete with China, Japan, and South Korea to achieve the 2020 prize of the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year from Asia.

This is the first time that an Iranian publisher is placed on the final list of Bologna Best Children’s Publishers of the Year which is a reputable and professional event across the globe. 

Winning the prize from Bologna Book Fair will be an opportunity for publishers to introduce their books with innovative content.

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair introduces itself as the world’s leading professional event dedicated to the children’s publishing industry attracting over 1,400 exhibitors and around 30,000 visitors from around 80 countries.

The Fair is an industry-leading event that has succeeded in bringing together a unique and diverse global audience thanks to over 50 years of experience, bolognachildrensbookfair.com says.

Source: IRNA