Within just four years, the number of applications approved for FLF translation subsidies for children's and YA books - and, therefore, the number of translations of Flemish books available abroad - has risen dramatically, from eight applications in 2006, ten in 2007, 21 in 2008 to 29 grants in 2009. This success was clearly reflected this year in Bologna by the FLF's meetings with an increasingly close-knit network of publishers. This year was also noteworthy for the number of new connections made by the FLF, with publishing houses in the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, India, Japan, China, Argentina and Brazil.
For the occasion, the FLF worked closely together with the Dutch Foundation for Literature, much to the enthusiasm of their business contacts, many of whom deal with both organisations. The two literature funds worked together to create and distribute the newspaper ‘News and Views from the Low Countries' and also produced a combined brochure showcasing ten books, including five Flemish historical novels. Kathleen Vereecken's ‘Ik denk dat het liefde was' (I Think It Was Love, Lannoo) and ‘Allemaal willen we de hemel' (We All Want Heaven, Querido) by Els Beerten proved particularly popular. Els Beerten's book is already being translated into Spanish (Grup 62), Norwegian (Capellen) and German (Fischer) and publishers from France, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Greece and Australia have also shown interest in this title.
Laure Van den Broeck's remarkable debut ‘De 17de zomer van Maurice Hamster' (The 17th Summer of Maurice Hamster, Clavis) received a lot of attention too, particularly from German publishers, while ‘Hoe oma almaar kleiner werd' (Grandma Just Kept Getting Smaller, Querido) by Kristien Aertssen and Michael De Cock actually moved some publishers to tears.
However, the stars of the show were most definitely Carll Cneut and Kaatje Vermeire. Lots of visitors to the fair were fascinated to read in ‘News and Views' that the two illustrators were visiting Bologna together and the story spread like wildfire. Even more publishers than usual went to the stands of De Eenhoorn publishing house and the FLF to ask for Carll Cneut, who was also nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. But Vermeire's latest title ‘Mare en de dingen' (Mare and the Things that Matter), with words by Tine Mortier, grabbed the most attention, with many visitors to Bologna referring to the book as a ‘coup de cœur' or the ‘big discovery of the fair'.
