The book Tõnis Vint. Collection of Articles (;paranoia, 2021), featuring essays and illustrations by renowned Estonian graphic artist and visual thinker Tõnis Vint, received the Talking Pictures 2025 Award at the Bologna International Children´s Book Fair. The book was selected from among Estonia’s 100 most beautiful books of recent years, presented at the BolognaBookPlus Talking Pictures exhibition. The award was formally handed over to the book’s designer, Tuuli Aule, at the Estonian Publishers’ Association.

According to the international jury, Tõnis Vint. Collection Of Articles is a unique collection of visual essays in which the images chosen by the artist form an endless domino effect, guiding the reader through unexpected connections between cultures, eras, and symbols. Accompanying the images are essays written by Vint over several decades and originally published in the Estonian media. The book’s deliberately minimal design and thoughtful choice of materials reflect Vint’s worldview and his profound understanding of the universality of visual language.

In addition to the main prize, the Talking Pictures 2025 special mentions went to the following Estonian authors and publishers:

• Anna Rinaldo, From Sauna to Syringe (designer Angelika Schneider, Estonian Health Museum, 2024)
• Liisi Jääts, Marillis Vaks, Indrek Tirrul, Estonian Country Chairs (designer Angelika Schneider, Estonian National Museum, 2022)
• Flo Kasearu, Flo’s Retrospective (Lugemik and Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, 2022)

Talking Pictures is a collaborative project presented by BolognaBookPlus, Hamelin, and Steven Guarnaccia. It explores the cultural relevance and lasting impact of the contemporary international visual book. The initiative was launched in 2018 in partnership with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and Publishers Weekly during the inaugural New York Rights Fair. It includes an exhibition, a seminar, and an award for the best visual book.

Each year, Talking Pictures spotlights a specific country’s most compelling visual books and introduces its creators and publishers. In 2025, the focus was on Estonia, as part of the country’s Guest of Honour programme at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The book selection was curated in collaboration with the Estonian Publishers’ Association. The winners and special mentions were selected by a jury composed of BolognaBookPlus guest director Jacks Thomas and representatives of Hamelin, Marie-Laure Cruschi and Steven Guarnaccia.

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