Awards of the 69th International Belgrade Book Fair

The Jury of the 69th International Belgrade Book Fair, consisting of Jasmina Ninkov (President), Prof. Dr. Milivoje Pavlović, Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Milanović, Vesna Jovanović, and Marko Krstić, reviewed and evaluated the publishing output in the categories for which awards are presented.

The Publisher of the Year Award for 2026 was presented to the publishing house:

PRAVOSLAVNA REČ, Novi Sad

Jury’s Citation:

The PRAVOSLAVNA REČ publishing house has earned the Publisher of the Year accolade through its consistent nurturing of Serbian spiritual, historical, and cultural heritage, as well as by publishing works that combine scientific validation, high publishing standards, and enduring cultural value. Through carefully selected editions encompassing Orthodox theology, history, literature, and national tradition, it significantly contributes to the preservation of cultural identity and the enrichment of contemporary Serbian publishing output.

The Publishing Achievement of the Year Award for 2026 is presented to the publishing house:

PROMETEJ, Novi Sad
For the edition “Dubrovnik Serbs (1841–1941)”, edited by Irena Arsić

Jury’s Citation:

The complete set of six books provides a broad and detailed panorama of Catholic Serbs from the Dubrovnik region during the period of their gradual integration into another nation, specifically from 1841 to 1941. In this century-long span, Serbs in the Dubrovnik area published poetry, prose, drama, memoirs, journalistic, and historiographical works. From this rich corpus, Irena Arsić, adhering to clear merit-based criteria, selected the most valuable pieces and seamlessly edited them according to valid scientific and editorial standards. The literature of Dubrovnik represented one of the significant streams of Serbian literature, but simultaneously the only stream whose affiliation was relativized during the era of Yugoslavism. At the same time, the language of Dubrovnik literature in the previous phases of its development served as one of the models for Vuk’s literary language reform, and during the covered hundred-year period, it served in the published works as a confirmation of the correctness of the reformer’s views. Therefore, the editorial achievement of Irena Arsić represents a significant contribution to a renewed interest in observing Dubrovnik literature as Serbian literature—solely on objective, scientific criteria—which possesses great national value in addition to its academic weight.

The Best Publisher from the Diaspora and the Region Award for 2026 is presented to:

PUBLIC INSTITUTION MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES NIKSIC
For the monograph “The World of Images, the Image of the World” by authors Milosav Milatović and Luka Đukanović

Jury’s Citation:

This monograph arose from the exceptionally rich museum collections within the holdings of the PI Museums and Galleries Nikšić and is significant in its educational, cultural, and aesthetic sense. It contributes to the preservation of cultural identity and respect for artistic heritage, while encouraging critical thinking and aesthetic sensitivity. Within its pages lies a reflection of the timeless human need to understand, give meaning to, and recreate the world through art, to feel the presence of even that which is invisible. The book demonstrates to us that every art form is intimately connected with a kind of life experience—that which a person chooses to watch, listen to, and read.
The selection of works was carried out according to the criteria of representativeness and cultural-historical significance. The views set forth in this book are open to various interpretations and evaluations.

The Special Recognition for Contribution to Science Award is presented to the publishing house:

ČIGOJA ŠTAMPA, Belgrade
For the seven-volume dictionary “Thus Spoke the Eastern Bosnian Eras: A Dictionary of an Extinct Serbian Dialect in Seven Volumes”, by Slobodan Remetić

Jury’s Citation:

The seven-volume dictionary by Academician Slobodan Remetić, which gathered the entire lexicon of a folk speech across 4,600 pages complete with contextual examples, represents a unique lexicographical achievement in Serbian studies, extending far beyond its dialectology alone. As noted by the reviewers, Academicians Aleksandar Loma and Ljubinko Radenković, it is a “thesaurus in which the complete vocabulary of an idiom is collected and exemplarily processed at the phase of its extinction.” The speech of the Eastern Bosnian Eras belongs to the so-called “transitional zone,” which encompasses the space between the southeastern and northwestern regions of the Eastern Herzegovinian (i.e., Herzegovinian-Krajina) dialect. Remetić’s dictionary holds a broader national value rather than a merely linguistic one, given that practically very few people, or perhaps no one at all, speak this lexicographically recorded Serbian dialect today. The cause behind the disappearance of the Eastern Bosnian Eras’ speech was the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the displacement of the Serbian population from the aforementioned area. Many of its speakers live today as refugees in Serbia, intermingled with speakers of other dialects, which inevitably leads to its loss. Hence, the reviewers’ note is of vital importance: “the content of this dictionary, it can be said, belongs to historical dialectology, the history of a region and its idiom,” which lends it additional academic weight.

The Best Children’s Book Award is presented to the publishing house:

SLUŽBENI GLASNIK DOO
For the book “Spices – Superheroes on a Journey Through Serbia” by author Olga Careva

Jury’s Citation:

Original, imaginative, accessible to children, and engaging, Olga Careva’s book “Spices – Superheroes on a Journey Through Serbia” blends adventure and knowledge while revealing the richness of Serbia’s nature and cultural heritage. Through a distinct approach and storytelling, she stimulates children’s curiosity, fosters a love for reading, and introduces the youngest minds to the world of spices and their unusual powers. “The spice superheroes would have remained in their jars forever if the author,” as she says herself, “had not crisscrossed Serbia in their splendid company.” Therefore, this work deserves the recognition as the best book for children of the past year.

The Jury members have decided to award the Special Recognition prize to the following publishers:

ČIGOJA ŠTAMPA, Belgrade
For the book “Anatomy of Evil”, by Lordan Zafranović

Jury’s Citation:

The Jury of the 69th International Belgrade Book Fair, with special joy and favor, presents this Special Recognition to the book of conversations “Anatomy of Evil” by Lordan Zafranović, published by Čigoja Štampa, which outlines the complete poetics of one of the most important and intriguing European filmmakers of the modern era. “Anatomy of Evil” is not merely Zafranović’s cinematographic legacy, but a metaphysical compass of a life entirely dedicated to filmmaking, exposing evil in the depths of the human soul, and the uncompromising nature of the artistic calling. The power of “Anatomy of Evil” reveals itself as a calvary of personal stance that can be measured on a Job-like scale, just as one can measure the values of Lordan’s exceptionally rich film opus, crowned by his masterpiece “Children of Kozara”.

SLUŽBENI GLASNIK DOO
For the book “Orfelin’s Great Serbian Herbal”

Jury’s Citation:

The facsimile edition of Orfelin’s Great Serbian Herbal carries priceless scientific, cultural, and artistic significance because it rectifies a historical injustice toward a work that was hidden from the public eye for over two centuries. The importance of this edition is reflected in several key aspects: the unification of scattered national treasures, the foundation of Serbian botanical and medical terminology, a supreme insight into Serbian Baroque copper engraving, and the protection of the original from deterioration.
This edition of the Herbal represents a cultural monument demonstrating that the Serbian milieu in the 18th century, through Orfelin, kept pace with the European Enlightenment and modern scientific currents.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK AT THE 69TH INTERNATIONAL BELGRADE BOOK FAIR

At the 69th International Belgrade Book Fair, the expert jury for THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK AWARD consisted of Zdravko Mićanović, Nevena Mišković Bošković, and Dragan Tadirović.

The Jury members unanimously decided that the Bogdan Kršić Award for the most beautiful book at the International Belgrade Book Fair in 2026 be presented to the book:

“HEDONISTS”
by authors Sanja Domazet and Slavko Krunić, published by Službeni Glasnik

Jury’s Citation:

The book stands out among this year’s proposals for the most beautiful book because, from a design perspective, it possesses visual minimalist refinement and a harmony achieved through the relationship between text and illustration.
Carefully inserted vignettes, “borrowed” from Krunić’s paintings, enrich the visual experience and contribute to the dynamics without disrupting its readability.

The Most Beautiful Children’s Book Award is presented to the book:

“KUTLAČIĆI WILL SAVE THE WORLD”
by author Kristina Kutlača, published by Huk Izdavaštvo

Jury’s Citation:

The book set itself apart through its original concept and theme. The illustrations and text equally build a visual story that is accessible to a younger age group.