The Directorate-General for Books, Archives, and Libraries (DGLAB) announced that this year’s Support Line for Illustration and Comics (LAIBD) will involve 44 foreign publishers and 61 books by Portuguese illustrators, with a total investment of approximately 88,000 euros.
Among the most represented illustrators are Catarina Sobral, André Letria, and André Carrilho, along with works by António Jorge Gonçalves, Joana Estrela, João Vaz de Carvalho, Madalena Matoso, and Mariana Rio, among others.
The books to receive support include authors such as Adélia Prado, Inês Fonseca Santos, Isabel Minhós Martins, José Jorge Letria, Ricardo Henriques, and Tatiana Salem Levy.
The works set to be published include the award-winning ‘Balada para Sophie’ by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia in Belgium, ‘Capital’ by Afonso Cruz, ‘A menina com os olhos ocupados’ by André Letria in Denmark, Spain, and North Macedonia, ‘Pardalita’ by Joana Estrela in France, ‘A Guerra’ by José Jorge Letria and André Letria in Armenia, and ‘Dita Dor’ by António Jorge Gonçalves in Argentina and South Korea.
Brazil is the country with the most selected works, totaling eight, including ‘Isto não é’ by Marco Taylor, ‘Como criar uma biblioteca’ by Inês Fonseca Santos and André Letria, ‘Virar o medo ao contrário, como a Paula Rego’ by Catarina Sobral, and ‘O tempo do cão’ by Ondjaki and António Jorge Gonçalves.
Following Brazil is Spain, with seven illustrated works supported, including ‘People are weird’ by Victor D. O. Santos and Catarina Sobral, ‘Foxy & Meg encontram um Mas-mas’ by Ricardo Henriques and André Letria, and ‘A menina com os olhos ocupados’.
Established in 2005, the LAIBD aims to promote Portuguese output in illustration and comics internationally, to attract new audiences and markets for authors and publishers, and to stimulate creativity and promote the work of artists.
