Justinas Žilinskas

Justinas Žilinskas is a writer, the author of several prize-winning literature works for children and youth. The first National Reading Ambassador, as well as a lawyer and lecturer.

Ava Chalkiadaki

Graduated in Italian Literature, Ava attended a postgraduate course in Comparative Education and a professional course in Publishing. After a career in education, she worked in the book sector and collaborated with the University of Athens in reading promotion projects. As Vice-President of the City of Athens Cultural Organization she had a key role in the establishment of children’s libraries. Author of 13 scientific publications, co-author of the study Cultivating love for reading (2011) and co-editor of the book Love for reading and School (2008), she is a founding member of the interdisciplinary non-profit organization Diavazontas Megalono and President of the Board since 2013.

Aušra Paukštytė

Aušra Paukštytė is the founder and executive producer of the children’s theater Pradžia. Today, the repertoire of the theater established in Vilnius in 2017 consists of 12 original plays for children. The organization led by A. Paukštytė hosts almost 500 events throughout Lithuania a year and ensures a continuous supply of culture for families with young children. Aušra is also the author of the social photography and story book Mamystė (2016).

Eglė Kairelytė-Sauliūnienė

Eglė Kairelytė-Sauliūnienė is an educator and certified supervisor of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) with more than ten years of practical experience in educating children with autism spectrum or other developmental disorders. She is also the founder and manager of Abos centras PI and an active lecturer, who has given more than a hundred lectures and practical workshops for parents, educators, and specialists.

Nina Goga

Nina Goga is a professor of children’s literature at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Her associated publications are Verbal and Visual Strategies in Nonfiction Picture Books (2021, with Sarah Hoem Iversen and Anne-Stefi Teigland), Verbal and Visual Communication Strategies in Nonfiction Books, awarded and mentioned for the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2009-2019 (2020, in the field of non-fiction picture books). Sharing knowledge as an aesthetic experience (ed. G. Grilli).

Benas Bėrantas

Benas Bėrantas – a children’s literature publishing specialist and agent. He completed publishing studies at the Faculty of Communication of Vilnius University, after which he worked for five years as a copyright and project manager at the children’s book publishing house Nieko rimto. He is an independent publishing agent now, and Book Smugglers Agency founded by him in 2017 is currently the only independent translation rights agency in the Baltic countries. As an agent, he represents more than 100 books from 10 Lithuanian publishing houses and has sold translation rights to more than 30 languages, including English, Chinese, German, Spanish, and Arabic, during seven years of operation. Actively participates in international book fairs, totalling more than 20 fairs. He has given presentations in Bologna (Italy), Frankfurt (Germany), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Taipei (Taiwan), Chennai (India), and other events of publishing industry. He won the Vincas Auryla award given by the Lithuanian branch of IBBY this year for the propagation of Lithuanian children’s literature in the world, and was shortlisted in the Independent Agents category at the Copyright Awards organized by the Sharjah Book Fair (United Arab Emirates) in 2022.

Benas is also the author of 9 picture books for children and 1 book for adults. His works have been translated into 15 foreign languages. Picture book Baubaimė was added to the prestigious international catalog Baltieji varnai in 2019, and the book Ponas Kampas was nominated in the best picture book category in the IBBY Book of the Year election in the same year.

Dr. Joerg F. Maas

Dr. Joerg F. Maas is heading the German Reading Foundation (Stiftung Lesen) under the patronage of the German President aligning public and private organisations and networks all focussing on education, literacy and reading. Moreover, Dr. Maas chairs EURead, the unique network of European reading promotion and literacy organisations.

Dr. Maas has worked as CEO of the German Foundation for World Population (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung) and has taken an active part in several international committees of organisations in the field of global health and development policy. Dr. Maas was Senior Program Officer and European Co-ordinator of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, USA) and served as CEO and President of the German Research Foundation (Stiftung Jugend forscht).

Dr. Maas studied Philosophy, educational studies, social sciences, Roman und German Studies in Bonn, Berlin and Cologne and completed his doctorate in the field of history and philosophy of science at FernUniversitaet Hagen and Harvard University. Dr. Maas pursued courses non-profit and human resources management at the universities at Harvard and Stanford.

Furthermore, Dr. Maas widely published articles in the areas of education, public health, demography, strategic perspective in non-profit organisations and new media in public health and education. He also teaches non-profit management to students and executives.

Unė Kaunaitė

Unė Kaunaitė is the director of the Vilnius Education Progress Center EDU Vilnius. EDU Vilnius is a municipal institution responsible for improving the quality of education in the capital of Lithuania by implementing various initiatives, such as testing and implementing innovative educational practices in schools, improving teachers’ competences, attracting and training new teachers and school heads, and collection of data needed to advise the municipality on changes in education policy.

Kotryna Norvilienė

Kotryna Norvilienė is a graduate of Vilnius University with a bachelor’s degree in philology, a literature teacher in the International Baccalaureate program at Queen Morta School, a coordinator of reading promotion initiatives at this school, and a Lithuanian language teacher for Lithuanian education abroad. Translator of several children’s books 24 Hours in the Stone Age, Syllabified Classics, and others from English.

Aušra Ševčenko

Aušra Ševčenko is a health psychologist with many years of experience in counselling children and their parents/guardians. She specializes is working with children with developmental disorders and improving knowledge in the fields of autism spectrum disorders and therapy. She counsels parents on children’s development, behavior correction, and strengthening of relationships, helps to accept the diagnosis of a child’s illness or disorder. She works with the youngest in the field of sensory and social stimulation, teaches them to get to know the world and explore it.

She shares recommendations on various current topics, contributes to public education, and raising of the awareness on her Facebook page Playful Childhood.

Sigutė Chlebinskaitė

Sigutė Chlebinskaitė is a book artist, graphic artist, illustrator, curator of expositions dedicated to book culture and accompanying workshops. She collects talents from the world of books and presents their legacy in her creative activities. S. Chlebinskaitė has won various awards in book art contests in Lithuania and Baltic countries, USA, France, Great Britain, and Japan, was awarded the Culture and Art Prize of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (2017) and the Ministry of Culture prize For Merits in Reading Promotion.

Evelina Daciūtė

Evelina Daciūtė made her debut in children’s literature in 2014, when her first book for children Meškių istorijos. Lubinų labirintas was published (illustrated by Rasa Kaper). Since then, a dozen more books have been published for children and not just for them. Evelina’s first award-winning book is Drambliai eina į svečius. Together with illustrator Inga Dagilė received for it the best book for the youngest award from the IBBY Lithuanian branch in 2015. The most famous book of the writer is Laimė yra lapė. The illustrations were created by Aušra Kiudulaitė. Plays based on this book have been performed in Lithuania and Slovakia, it has been translated and published in twenty foreign countries: it can be read in English, Chinese, Estonian, Latvian, Romanian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Croatian, Turkish, Arabic, and other languages. The American Library Association gave the Mildred Batchelder Award for an outstanding book published in the United States but written not in English for the book Laimė yra lapė in 2019. Laimė yra lapė is included in the IBBY Honorary List, and also included in The White Ravens, the catalog of the world’s most significant children’s books. Evelina’s poetry book for children Paslapčiausia paslaptis illustrated by Agnė Nananai was included in the most beautiful book category in the Book Art Competition of 2021, the illustrations of this book were also awarded a special prize at the Sharjah Illustrators’ Exhibition; the book Duobė, the illustrations for which were created by Julija Skudutytė, was awarded the prize of the Vilnius Academy of Arts in the Book Art Competition in 2022. E. Daciūtė was awarded the award Globali Lietuva in 2019 for promoting the name of Lithuania in the world.

Gintarė Latvėnaitė-Glušajeva

Gintarė Latvėnaitė-Glušajeva – actress, director, and pedagogue. Actively works in the State Small Theater of Vilnius, the Pradžia theater, and other Lithuanian theaters. She carries out pedagogical activities since 2003. She worked at the educational institution Linksmosios strazdanėlės until 2010. Currently, she teaches theater classes Tarp debesų at the Pradžia theater. Many years of acting, teaching and personal experience encourage not to stop playing, enjoy small things, and, of course create.

Agnese Vanaga

Agnese Vanaga moved from journalism and communications to writing children’s books in 2014. Her second book Plastmasas huligāni, published in 2019, was shortlisted for the International Janis Baltvilkas Children’s Literature Prize and translated into several languages. A. Vanaga actualizes important topics with her stories in books and scripts, and passionately promotes the importance of reading during her lectures to children and adults.

Monika Vaicenavičienė

Monika Vaicenavičienė is an illustrator and author of picture books, who graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts and Stockholm Konstfack University of Art and Design. Created the books Per balas link aušros. A story about the travels and works of Jonas Basanavičius PhD, Kas yra upė?, currently published in 18 languages, Gatvių susitikimai, and illustrated several other books. Monika’s books won awards in Lithuania, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, etc., and are included in the lists of the most beautiful and best books.

Zigmas Vitkus

Zigmas Vitkus (PhD.) – Researcher of Klaipėda University, Institute of History and Archeology of the Baltic Region, publicist, author of educational books for children about history (Lietuvos istorija, Lietuvos kasdiena, Lietuvos valdovai pasakoja vaikams, and Akimirka apsispręsti).

Selemonas Paltanavičius

Selemonas Paltanavičius has been writing, presenting, and talking about the life of nature for more than four decades. A naturalist by nature, having graduated in biology, he worked in the Žuvintas reserve, since 1984, as well as in various environmental protection institutions. He is known to many as the creator and presenter of the radio show Gamta visų namai, a participant in the projects Nacionalinė ekspedicija created by LRT television. He is already the author of 100 educational, fiction, journalistic, and scientific books, and is able to creatively convey scientific facts with beautiful images in books for children and teenagers.

Dace Krecere-Vule

Dace Krecere-Vule has a lifelong love of books and has been in publishing for over a decade, mainly with poetry for adults and books about cultural heritage. Two years ago, she took the opportunity to become the manager of the literary program of the city of Sigulda, which resulted in the first Children’s and Youth Literature Festival in Latvia (2023). Currently, she heads the publishing house of the Institute of Literature, Folklore, and Music, studies cultural heritage, and actively participates in pilot projects aimed at promoting children’s literature, reading skills, and pleasure of reading.

Kotryna Zylė

Kotryna Zylė – acclaimed author of books, illustrator, graphic designer.  The distinctive features of Zylė’s works are the evocative transfer of Lithuanian mythology and folklore to today’s world, as well as allegorical reflection on the most important questions of life.

Kotryna was born and grew up in Vilnius, studied at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. While studying, she began to delve into the visual communication of cultural heritage and became interested in mythology.

She started writing for children in 2012 and since then her love for children’s literature, illustration, mythology, and folklore has become the main source for her works.

Kotryna is a co-organizer of various literary events and festivals, conducts literary workshops, and is the author of the blog Knygų kūrėjai.

Agnieszka Karp-Szymańska

Agnieszka Karp-Szymańska is a Polish teacher, master of cultural management, literature for children and youth, and experience design. She also specializes in examining the needs of the cultural field as a designer of user experience. Cultural animator, as well as founder and board member of the Czas Dzieci foundation, which promotes reading among the youngest. Director of Fathers and Children, the intergenerational children’s literature festival. Initiator of the campaign and podcast Ostry Dyżur Literacki. Expert, subject consultant, and competition jury member.