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Book Smugglers Agency, Vilnius (2025)

21/07/2025

An important copy has just arrived. The Japanese edition of THE ROBOT AND THE MOTH by Vytautė Žilinskaitė with the illustrations by Stasys Eidrigevičius that was released in June.

This Lithuanian children’s classic was first published almost half a century ago, in 1978, but remains relevant, especially these days, as we have entered the age of artificial intelligence.

This special edition would not have been possible without the efforts of publisher Takako Totsuka-Mizuno, translator Eiko Sakurai, cultural attaché for Lithuania in Japan Gabija Čepulionytė, just to mention a few. The Lithuanian Culture Institute not only supported the Japanese publication but also coordinated the visit of Japanese publishers to the Vilnius Book Fair last year. I am glad I could also contribute as a book smuggler.

While in Japan this June, Lithuania’s First Lady, Diana Nausėdienė, already had a chance to hold the book in her hands. And the copy that reached me has now joined my growing collection of significant publications.

23/04/2025

I just got some good news while visiting Riga! Three books by Lithuanian authors and illustrators have been selected for the reading promotion program "Children, Youth, and Parents' Jury", organized by the National Library of Latvia:

🌱 CACHALOT RADIO, written by Jurga Vilė, illustrated by Agnė Nananai, published by 700 eilučių, in Latvian by Baltais valis
🌱 MY DAD IS WRITING A BOOK, written by Tomas Dirgėla, illustrated by Inga Dagilė, published by Tyto alba, in Latvian by Latvijas mediji
🌱 THE GIRL WITH A GUN, written by Marius Marcinkevičius, illustrated by Lina Itagaki, published by Misteris Pinkmanas, in Latvian by Liels un mazs

Keeping my fingers crossed for these books to find a special place in the hearts of Latvian readers and sending congratulations to everyone!

18/04/2025

This year's Bologna is already in the books. I started with a meeting celebrating a recent three-book deal and ended the fair almost without a voice. But a little whispering suits a book smuggler quite well, right? And after all, everything that ends with ice cream ends well.

For the first time, I wasn’t alone. Eglė joined me and was a huge help during the first two days. This led to a record number of meetings.

Even after many years of attending, Bologna remains a magical place where everyone celebrates children's books, and that’s something you have to experience rather than describe. And so the book smuggling continues.

08/04/2025

Great news came over the weekend: at the annual IBBY Lithuania Awards, CACHALOT RADIO by Jurga Vilė and Agnė Nananai was named the Best Picture Book of the Year 2024!

The story follows Dominga and her unusual friend, Snow, a giant cachalot that lives near the hidden Village A, a place unmarked on any map but visited by her family every summer. There, magical creatures appear, and although cachalots usually shy away from people, they gather joyfully in the bay, their strange chirping echoing like an old radio waiting to be heard.

The book was published by 700 eilučių in Lithuania and will soon be released in Latvia.

Congratulations from the book smuggler!

28/03/2025

More exciting news ahead of the Bologna Children's Book Fair! The German edition of THE PEBBLE by Marius Marcinkevičius and Inga Dagilė has just been nominated for the prestigious German Youth Literature Prize 2025 (Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis) in the picture book category.

Out of 630 submissions, a total of 32 outstanding titles were selected by three independent juries. The nominations were announced at the Leipzig Book Fair, and the winners will be revealed at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.

These books invite readers to explore the major issues of our time and demonstrate how small actions can help make the world a better place.

THE PEBBLE was published in Germany by Dressler Verlag and in Lithuania by Tikra knyga.

26/03/2025

I’m happy to share that MY FRIEND HIPPOCAMPUS UNICORNUS has been selected for this year’s BRAW Amazing Bookshelf at the Bologna Children's Book Fair! Written by Jurga Vilė, illustrated by Kornelija Žalpytė, and originally published by 700 eilučių, this picture book was chosen from an incredible 3,858 submissions worldwide!

Earlier this year, the book was also recognized at the Lithuanian Publishers Association Awards, where it won an award for its illustrations. The honour was given for the creative use of various illustration techniques to bring the narrative to life. What a journey so far!

06/03/2025

I am thrilled to announce that BELOVED BONES, an exceptional novel by Kotryna Zylė that I represent, has been shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Literature among 13 candidates!

This oddly satisfying and boundary-pushing work is the first-person life story of a woman who keeps the bones of her three most important men in a display wardrobe at home. The narrative unfolds like a ritual shroud, weaving together key events, emotions, memories, flashes of dark humour, and coarse language while exploring themes of relationships, loyalty, superstition, and humanity.

BELOVED BONES, originally published by Aukso žuvys, has already seen a third reprint, national nominations and awards, and four foreign language acquisitions in less than half a year, so it’s definitely the hottest adult fiction title from Lithuania right now that would appeal to the fans of literary reads and folklore-infused stories.

05/03/2025

This year we brought new energy to the anniversary Vilnius Book Fair by launching the first-ever Vilnius Fellowship.

We had an excellent group of four publishers specializing in adult fiction from Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK—people who live and breathe publishing, who talk about books with sparks in their eyes even after many years in the field.

As a modern-day book smuggler, I'm always on the move, so it was refreshing to see more action in my home base, Lithuania. We had two full days to build connections between Lithuanian publishers and the visiting fellows, to showcase our vibrant book fair and the city of Vilnius. We visited publishing houses, shared ideas, engaged in discussions, dined together, and told each other our stories. I believe this kind of exchange is now more important than ever.

The fellowship was organized by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Lithuanian Publishers Association (Lietuvos leidėjų asociacija) and coordinated by me and Sigita Pūkienė from Aukso žuvys publishing house. I hope it becomes an annual tradition, and we get to welcome you to Vilnius in the future.

19/02/2025

Last year, 47 Lithuanian books for young readers that I represent were published internationally! 🇱🇹

Lithuanian stories have been translated into 15 languages, with the most translations in Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, and Latvian. Kęstutis Kasparavičius, celebrated author and illustrator, leads the list with 13 translated titles.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the authors, illustrators, translators, and, of course, the publishers I have the pleasure of cooperating with. A special thanks to the Lietuvos kultūros institutas / Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Lithuanian Publishers' Association (Lietuvos leidėjų asociacija) for their support.

Since translations and international publications take one to two years or even longer, this number reflects efforts from previous years. Based on current developments, I expect an even higher count next year.

Let the book smuggling continue in 2025!

04/02/2025

Lithuanian Culture Institute has announced that 25 new books by Lithuanian authors will be translated into 19 languages through their Translation Grant Programme, of which 10 are children's literature.

I am especially pleased to have played a role in bringing the vast majority of children's books to foreign territories. Seeing the immediate results after visiting new countries last year—Albania, Japan, South Korea—is particularly rewarding, as new books by Lithuanian authors will soon appear in these markets.

I am happy for every book and that's the joy of book smuggling.

22/12/2024

FROM THE MODERN-DAY BOOK SMUGGLER #3
Finland discovers Selemonas Paltanavičius

What might be hiding in the pocket of author, naturalist, and radio host Selemonas Paltanavičius? It must be his love for nature and writing, which has led to 100 books in 44 years. His milestone title, "Su gamta kišenėje" (Eng. "With Nature in the Pocket"), reflects this lifelong passion. Such an achievement is rare, yet for Selemonas, it seems to have come effortlessly. One of Lithuania's most renowned authors for young readers, Selemonas believes he was born with an interest in nature, and the inspiration to write struck early, with his first book written in the 7th grade. His children’s fiction always carries a sensitive perspective and subtle humour, often placing animals at the heart of the story.

What about translations into other languages? As a literary agent, I am happy that Selemonas Paltanavičius has recently gained attention in Finland. Two years ago, during the Helsinki Book Fair, I connected with a Finnish publishing house that has since become a home for his works. This year, the Finnish edition of "Geriausia uodega" (Eng. "The Best Tail") was published, with "Paspirtukas" (Eng. "The Scooter") to follow soon, and "Mano kojos buvo trys" (Eng. "March Is Counting") set for release next year.

Three translated books may not be a hundred, but it is already a significant step. With my assistance, Selemonas’s titles have also reached children in Latvia and Estonia, so I wish him ever-wider horizons and growing recognition internationally.

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In this series of posts, I am sharing how the books I represent travel the globe, the paths they lead authors on, and stories from the life of the literary agent. Follow for more from the Book Smugglers Agency!

11/12/2024

Just back from South Korea, where I sneaked into the first Busan Children's Book Fair with my book smuggler bag to showcase great Lithuanian children's books.

The fair had a warm, lively atmosphere reminiscent of Montreuil in France and promises to grow as an important event. Visitors were enthusiastic, book presentations drew crowds, and authors were celebrated like stars—despite publishers' concerns about South Korea having the lowest birth rate in the world.

This year I visited a total of ten book fairs around the world to smuggle books by Lithuanian authors. I hope Lithuanian literature will continue to travel and reach new readers.

Book Smugglers Agency

21/07/2025

23/04/2025

18/04/2025

08/04/2025

28/03/2025

26/03/2025

06/03/2025

05/03/2025

19/02/2025

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22/12/2024

11/12/2024

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