The tradition of showcasing the most beautiful books, presenting recent trends in book art from both the Czech Republic and Lithuania, opens this year from February 28th at the Lithuanian National Museum’s branch – Kazys Varnelis House-Museum. 

In the Czech Republic, book creation and illustration are crucial parts of national culture with a long-standing tradition. The Most Beautiful Books competition has been held since 1965. In 2002, for the first time at the Vilnius Book Fair, works by students from the Prague Academy of Arts (Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová v Praze) were presented. Later, the Most Beautiful Czech Books exhibition in Lithuania was initiated and curated by Sigutė Chlebinskaitė, the creator of the “Book Land” creative studio and initiator of cultural relations with the Czech Republic. 

The annual Most Beautiful Czech Books competition is organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Czech Literature Museum. In the 58th edition of the competition, as many as 367 Czech publishers, graphic design and publishing school students, graphic designers, and art institution books competed, which were published and printed in the Czech Republic in 2022. The books are evaluated based on graphic quality, design, print quality, binding, illustrations, ideas, and originality. The competition is divided into seven categories: scientific literature, fiction, children’s and young adult literature, textbooks, books about art, bibliophile, and author books, student works. Three best-rated books in each category are announced, with the first-place winner receiving a monetary prize. An award is also given to a young creator (under 30 years old). The Most Beautiful Czech Books exhibition at Kazys Varnelis House-Museum will display 23 award-winning books. 

In Lithuania, the Book Art competition has been held for the 32nd time. The Ministry of Culture has been organizing and curating it since 1996. Publications are submitted and evaluated based on six thematic groups, and they are judged by a commission of delegated experts. The competition also collaborates with professionals from the Lithuanian Artists’ Association, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius Guild of Bookshops, as well as the Lithuanian Design Association, Lithuanian Printing Association, and Lithuanian Publishers’ Association. 

This year, over 120 publications, published in 2023, were competing, submitted by more than 60 publishers. 21 books were honored with prizes and diplomas: the Main Annual Award, 6 monetary prize awards, and 12 diploma awards in six thematic categories; the Lithuanian Artists’ Association and Vilnius Academy of Arts also award prizes. The competition’s award ceremony and the annual published catalog “The Most Beautiful Lithuanian Books” have become a tradition and part of the international Vilnius Book Fair’s cultural program. 

The exhibition is organized by the Kazys Varnelis House-Museum of the Lithuanian National Museum, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vilnius, and “Book Land”. The exhibition will run from February 28, 2024, to May 26, 2024.