Rasa Lazauskaitė, Laimutė Varkalaitė. Šiurpinys. Pasakos siaubasakos vaikams (Horrorpotch. Horror Fairy Tales for Children), Vilnius: Laimės gatvė, 2024. – 100 p.

The book’s title, Šiurpinys (Horrorpotch), is a newly coined word combining šiurpus (horror) and šiupinys (hotchpotch). It’s as if the author throws horror folk tales into a pot and cooks up a uniquely flavoured stew. The book contains 13 fairy tales, which are created by free improvisation with folkloric motifs. The main fear-inducing characters are the wolf and the devil. These tales have a theatrical quality, captivating readers with their visual action and lively dialogue. The author creatively combines and reinterprets traditional fairy tale plots, adding her own episodes and making each character unique. The language of the stories is highly vivid, enriched with expressive folk phrases, yet remains accessible, as the author has omitted words which might be unfamiliar to modern children. The stories are playful and humorous, with frightening elements often presented in a comical light. The illustrations feature a combination of pastel, ink, charcoal, pencil, watercolour and other techniques. The imagery is inspired by the text of the book, observation of the environment, and Lithuanian folk ornamentation.
This book stimulates the imagination and teaches children to face their fears with bravery.  

Rasa Lazauskaitė (b. 1972) is an actress, artist and writer. She has acted in theatre and film, voiced radio plays, written scripts, and hosted children’s radio and television programmes. She currently runs a publishing house, Laimės gatvė. Her first children’s book, Dviese bijoti drąsiau (Fear is Less Scary Together), which she also illustrated, won First Prize in the National Children’s Literature Competition in 2018.

Laimutė Varkalaitė (b. 1984) is a graphic designer and illustrator. She works at Kaunas University of Technology and dedicates a lot of her time to individual commissions. She has received more than 20 international awards in the field of graphic design, and has also been recognised for her illustrations. She has illustrated 11 children’s books published in Lithuania and abroad. The illustrations for Šiurpinys (Horrorpotch) won the silver award in the ‘Individuals’ subcategory of the prestigious Creativepool Annual 2024 competition for creative industries.
Illustrator’s portfolio: https://www.behance.net/laimutevarkalaite

Contact for rights: rasa.lazauskaite@gmail.com