Book and Type: tradition and modernity

The University of Sofia, Bulgaria, is hosting an interdisciplinary international scientific forum, ‘Book and Type: tradition and Modernity’, which will take place in Sofia 8-10 April, 2022.

The event aims to gather specialists from the field of humanities, graphic design, typography, publishing industry, history, literature and fine arts. It will create a common platform for discussion on topics related to the modern books and fonts and also look into the historical development of type design and paper books. The forum will start with a thematic exhibition on the 7 April, 2022 and will continue as a 3-day scientific conference. A workshop entitle, ‘The OpenType Technology. will be held during the conference.

The following topics and questions which will be discussed during the forum:

  • The Origin of the Script in Bulgaria

  • The Creation of Glagolica and Cyrillic Scripts and Their Function in the Bulgarian Medieval and Revival Culture

  • The General Aesthetic and Semantic Principles and the Systematic Unity between the Typeface Art and Book Art

  • Books from the Bulgarian Revival Period (mid. 18th-19th c.). Initials, marginalias and illustrations

  • The Contemporary Aspects of the Art of the Book in the Humanities

Special attention will be paid to the modern digital fonts and their contribution to the development of book publishing.

CALL FOR PAPERS

  • We would like to suggest the following topics for your papers:

  • The Epigraphic Script and the Fonts

  • Fonts and Handwritten Scripts. The Glagolitic and Cyrillic Scripts

  • Trends in Developing Typefaces and Books until the Invention of the Printing Press

  • Book Typefaces and Design in the Period of the Hand-Press

  • Books in the Bulgarian Revival Period – Design, Print and Usage

  • Initials and Signatures – Games with Authorship

  • Illustrations and Meaning in the Bulgarian Periodicals

  • The Medieval and the Modern Cyrillic Script

  • Modern Font Creation Techniques and Their Influence on the Creation of Scientific Literature in the Humanities

  • Font and Design of the Modern Scientific Books in the Field of Humanities

  • The Difference between Modern Science Literature and Fiction Books

  • Modern Cyrillic and Glagolitic Fonts – Techniques and Expectations

We are looking forward to receiving your paper submissions (title and resume of your paper up to 250 words) to the following email: schriftbuch@gmail.com. The deadline is 1 March, 2022.

The conference will be held in the New Conference Hall of Sofia University 'St. Kliment Ohridski' or in a hybrid form with online lectures, depending on epidemiological situation.