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Ikaros Publications is delighted to announce the publication of books aimed at children.In Ikaros’s long history, amongst the books by great poets and prose writers, there are two books illustrated by Spyros Vassiliou that were aimed at young readers: Minos Dounias’s Children’s Songs (1948) and the folk tale Dili-Dili (1948).  In 2006, Dili-Dili was reprinted and rediscovered by readers, and in October 2010 it was released as a free app for iPhone and iPad devices. To date, more than 2,500 readers have downloaded the app.Today, we are announcing Ikaros’s entry into the children’s book market with a significant number of titles. A new logo has been designed for these books, reminiscent of the classic ‘Ikaros’ logo.  The publishing schedule runs from February 2012 until the end of the year. The books are as follows: Alexis Kyritsopoulos, Series: ‘If I Read’ – poets of the 1930s generation Co-published with the Benaki Museum This series serves, in a way, as a bridge between Ikaros’s classic books and children’s books. Alexis Kyritsopoulos draws inspiration from the poems of the great poets of the 1930s generation and writes a new fairy tale, illustrated by himself.Alexis Kyritsopoulos, Just a Little MoreA fairy tale inspired by the poems of Giorgos Seferis.Alexis Kyritsopoulos, BengaliA fairy tale inspired by the poems of Nikos Engonopoulos.♦Eugenios Trivizas, undoubtedly the best-known and most beloved children’s author, could not be missing from Ikaros’s catalogue of children’s books, especially from its very beginnings. Eugenios Trivizas,  Joe & Tsiou, illustrated by Liza IliouA humorous adaptation of the well-known English story Curious George, which overturns the image we have had until now of the famous little monkey, whilst emphasising freedom and respect for the environment.  The book will also be published in a special bilingual edition (English – Amharic) for children in Ethiopia. Joe and ChiuEugene Trivizas, The Camel’s Complaint, illustrated by Nikos KoutsisAhmet Hamamet, the solitary Bedouin, has a camel that tirelessly accompanies him on all his journeys. She is his comfort, his hope and his only companion. So, when the camel confides in him her dream of becoming as light as a gazelle and asks him to rid her of her hump, the Bedouin does not hesitate for a moment. Eugene Trivizas’s wild imagination and Nikos Koutsis’s skilled pen bring to life, in a thrilling way, the bustling Arab bazaars, the seedy harbours, the misty streets of London, the waiting rooms of cosmetic surgeons, the enchanting oases, the raging sandstorms and the bewildering optical illusions that make up this hilarious yet tragic allegory. The Camel’s ComplaintAntonis Dimitrakopoulos, The Dewdrop, illustrated by Ersi SpathopoulouThe Dewdrop wanders through nature trying to find an answer to her question: Do you know my name? A tender story by debut author Antonis Dimitrakopoulos, brought to life by the dreamlike illustrations of Ersi Spathopoulou.The catalogue will also include translated books from the international market, carefully selected for their high aesthetic quality and educational value.Axel Scheffler, series: Tick and TellaTranslated into Greek by: Philippos MandilarasThe multi-award-winning Axel Scheffler, creator of The Gruffalo, is the author of the Tick and Tella series. Two little rabbits learn to overcome their obstacles and fears through tender everyday stories.Tick and Tella - The Super SkateboardTick and Tella - The Little PondTick and Tella - The MonsterLeigh Hodgkinson, Goldilocks and Just One BearWe all know that when Goldilocks turned the three bears’ house upside down, they said goodbye to her with great relief. But have you ever wondered what happened next? Years later, the little bear gets lost in the big city, and guess who he meets! A clever and funny sequel to a much-loved fairy tale, by an award-winning illustrator. Simon Puttock, What a Strange Baby! Grrr!, illustrated by Nadia Shireen Mr and Mrs Deer didn’t have a baby of their own but they would have loved to… Just imagine their joy when one day they found a tiny little baby on their doorstep.  But – how strange! – this baby wouldn’t stop growling… They called their friends to help them, but, one by one, they vanished… How strange! Helen Stephens, How to Hide a LionWhere can a little girl hide a huge lion? It’s not easy, but Ellie has to do her best. Because Mum and Dad aren’t too keen on having lions in the house. Will Ellie be able to hide her lion forever?♦Birdie Black, A Gift for Everyone, illustrated by Rosalind BeardshawHow many gifts can you make with a roll of fabric that’s red, warm and so, so Christmassy? Countless! A warm, tender story about the value of giving and the joy we all feel when we give, with wonderful illustrations by the acclaimed illustrator Rosalind Beardshaw. A book destined to become a classic.♦Play & Read seriesCorina Fletcher & Britta Teckentrup, Play & Read on the FarmAn original pop-up book that transforms into a three-dimensional farm for endless play. Play & Read on the FarmOliver Jeffers, Oops... It Got StuckIkaros Publications presents, for the first time in Greece, the multi-award-winning illustrator and children’s book author, Oliver Jeffers. In the first book to be released, titled Oops... It’s Stuck, Floyd’s kite gets stuck in the branches of a tree. His attempts to get it down lead to hilarious scenes!

By Katerina Karidi, editor We first met Vasilis Dioskouridis, whom we said goodbye to a few days before Christmas, in 1985. A few months after the death of our father, Odysseas Elytis, he demonstrated his trust and support in a tangible way by entrusting us with the publication of “The Little Sailor.”It was a huge responsibility, and the legendary Panagiotis Mermigas, who had been the permanent editor at Ikaros Publications until then, had just retired due to health problems. His then assistant, Julia Tsiakiri, although perfectly capable in her own right, suggested that Vasilis, known at the time as the editor of the magazine Ekivolos, should take on the editing and proofreading of “The Little Sailor.”His knowledge, education, prestige and integrity gave us great confidence that we would do justice to Elytis, that we would best proclaim the continuation of the tradition of Ikaros’s exemplary publications.That was the beginning. With Vasilis and Julia, we went on to produce many books, and we experienced joys, anxieties, tensions, rewards – everything that comes with publishing a book. Until they devoted themselves to their Rodakio.I want to pause and describe, as best I can, a scene that makes me smile whenever I remember it. We all went together, as was our custom: Vasilis, Chrysi and I, to Stefanos Koumanoudis’s house so that he could hand over his grandfather’s ‘Diary 1845–1867’—also by Stefanos Koumanoudis—for publication. We all leaf through the contents of a blue folder together, discussing the peculiarities of the text and how we will address them, agreeing on the layout, the font, the page format and, of course, that the book will be polytonic with accents – a matter of course for Vasilis and for us.We are ready to leave, standing there in our coats, and Koumanoudis cannot bring himself to part with the blue folder. A familiar syndrome when handing over a manuscript. Vasilis holds it on one side and he on the other, and he won’t let go of it. Like children who remember they’re thirsty when you put them to bed so they can prolong your stay in their room, he asks again and again: “Will it be polytonic with grave accents?” “Yes,” we tell him. “With grave accents!” he clarifies. “Of course,” we say again. “Mind you, not just polytonic but with accents too,” he says, pulling out the blue folder. “Definitely with accents,” we say. “Yes, but with accents,” he repeats. And then Vasilis, having lost his Job-like patience, pulls the folder forcefully towards him and exclaims: “But for goodness’ sake, Mr Koumanoudis, you haven’t understood. I AM the grave accent!” That was Vasilis. And one more thing: In one of the many articles that followed Vasilis’s death, I read that “in the 1980s, he trained as a proofreader at Ikaros Publications.” Wrong! We trained alongside him, in proofreading and much more.

When we at Ikaros began exploring the world of ebooks in 2009, I must admit that I knew only the very basics and was completely ignorant of the technologies and specifications involved in such a book – or file.At that time, Greece had neither the market nor the know-how, with very few exceptions.In most cases, publishers were very to extremely reluctant to proceed with the creation and distribution of ebooks, whilst those who did dare to do so usually did so under pressure from various resellers, who hoped in this way to get in on the act early, securing a large catalogue of digital books, as well as recognition from the reading public.There were two factors that played a role in overcoming the resistance of most publishers, or at least those who ultimately decided to enter the digital book market: ease of use and zero production costs. Once you have a file ready in the page-layout programme, why not turn it into a PDF and release it as an ebook as early as tomorrow? The truth is, it sounded so easy and straightforward that we even released a few trial books in PDF format. As far as I know, not a single copy has been sold. I’ve noticed that most digital books released in PDF format have exactly the same ISBN as the corresponding print edition. But how wrong that is! Every ISBN is a unique serial number that identifies a publication. We cannot have the same code whether we are talking about a printed book, a digital book, or even different formats of the same digital book (PDF, EPUB, Kindle). As the boundaries between print and digital blur, it will become increasingly important to be as precise as possible with metadata—the details of each edition. Imagine an online bookshop that sells both print and digital books. A search based on the ISBN will return a single result, but which one? A lot of time has passed since then, with plenty of reading, research and experimentation. Our ebooks are now in EPUB format and are available from our website, online stores, and Apple’s iBookstore. Sales are satisfactory, although they clearly still account for a very small percentage of the total.I am struck by how many colleagues continue to prefer the easy option of PDF. And that’s a shame. Because we are in a profession that has been changing radically over the last two years, and will change even more. The way we publishers work will not be the same, and if we do not change too, we will be left behind. We must evolve, learn new things, and learn to work differently. Abroad, this shift in the way traditional publishers operate is more evident than ever, and publishing companies are taking action. The reading public has expectations. Let us listen to them and anticipate them, before developments overtake us.

The ebooks available from Ikaros on Apple’s iBookstore were expanded yesterday with two more titles, bringing the total to 23. Specifically, we have uploaded the two talks by Kiki Dimoula that are also available in print from our publishing house.The Playful Myth (first published in December 2003) is the text delivered by Kiki Dimoula during her induction ceremony at the Academy of Athens on 11 November 2003. The Fundraising of Thoughts (first published in February 2009) is the text delivered by the poet at the Archaeological Society on 26 January 2009.Together with ‘Ekto Shedio’, which has long been available as an ebook, these three books constitute the complete collection of Kiki Dimoula’s prose works currently in circulation. Happy reading.