The staircase leading to the BOK-MCC conference room, where the book promotion took place, was filled with a sense of horror. There was atmospheric music, captions and pictures from a fairy tale about fear, as well as appropriate lighting. The children were delighted and ran up and down from the second floor several times because they were having such a good time.
Another major attraction was the opportunity to have a picture taken in the chest, a prop used to illustrate the fairy tale. “The Chest Girl” contains no drawings; instead, it features photographs by Krzysztof Gwizdała. The author’s daughter played the most frightened girl in the world, although she insisted that people say she is actually very brave.
Józefina Witas welcomed the guests who came to the promotion. “Grażyna Hanaf introduced herself to us as a mature author in the novel ‘Joachim,’ with which she caused quite a stir in the city,” said Józefina Witas. “I thought she would write only for adults, but Grażyna found her place in the difficult genre of children’s literature. Her fairy tales remind me of the atmosphere of the Brothers Grimm’s tales; they are sometimes dark and extraordinary,” added the co-owner of Agora bookshop.
Grażyna Hanaf thanked the people who supported her in preparing the event. “The promotion of the new fairy tale was the work of many people,” said our journalist. “I am grateful to the people from BOK-MCC who became involved in my project. Michał Piaskowski conducted excellent activities for the children. Waldek Cieślak, Kasia Zarówny, Krzysztof Korczyński and Leszek Rzepka are the creators of the staircase of fear. I know it required a great deal of work. The effect is excellent. I also thank Tomek Cieślak for decorating the chest made by Karol Borowczyk. Tomek’s father, Waldek Cieślak, also posed for the photographs. I thank Ewa Lijewska-Małachowska for showing her heart to this project and for her friendship. Many thanks to Józefina and Marek Witas for making the premises of their exceptional Agora bookshop available to me—it means a great deal. I also sincerely thank my mother and Aunt Krysia for their great help selling the fairy tales. I am very grateful to everyone who came here, and I am glad you had such a good time,” Grażyna Hanaf said at the end.
How Many Children Hid in the Chest?
Children who came to the promotion of the fairy tale “The Chest Girl” had their pictures taken in the chest from the story. See Michał Piaskowski’s photographs to find out how many of them hid inside…
