Leipziger Buchmesse is an important venue for encounters between writers and their readers – and a unique arena for cosplay. In connection to Siri Pettersen's Raven Rings trilogy we organised a cosplay competition in Norway. Now the winner has been selected.
Norway is Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019 and, to celebrate this, Norwegian writers will participate in events in Germany throughout 2019. One of the venues is Leipzig Book Fair (21-24 March). Its Manga-Comic-Con makes a terrific stage for cosplayers.
The Raven Rings
The second volume in The Raven Rings trilogy by Siri Pettersen – The Rot – will be launched in Germany during the spring. To coincide with the launch, NORLA, the organisation that has initiated and is now responsible for the Guest of Honour project, arranged a cosplay competition. The player with the best cosplay based on The Raven Rings wins a trip to the Leipzig Book Fair and Manga-Con. The winner is also be offered a chance to participate in a programme item with Siri Pettersen in the series at the stage Schwarzes Sofa, when Siri will be speaking about how she created the world in The Raven Rings and how her readers have interpreted that world.
The Winner
The winner of the competition impressed everyone hugely with her insight into the character she had chosen and her highly skilled cosplay presentation. The winner is the cosplayer Pharamony and her marvellous cosplay representation of Rime An-Elderin. We are very much looking forward to introducing her cosplay and her vision of The Raven Rings to German readers and cosplayers.
Pharamony is truly delighted at the prospect of joining the Leipzig programme of shows and has this to say about her close relationship with The Raven Rings trilogy:
"I became a cosplayer in 2012 and have competed quite a lot since then. I have achieved some things to be proud of, including second place in the Nordic Cosplayer Championships (NCC). In the summer, I’ll join that competition for a second time.
Rime An-Elderin is my first literary cosplay character from a book that hasn’t been adapted to the screens. What made the idea especially exciting for me was that I felt absolutely free to design the role and add my own twists while, at the same time, aiming to be close to the descriptions in the text. I think its fun to cosplay males because, generally, the more different from me the character is, the more skilful I’ve got to be. Of all the characters in The Raven Rings, it was Rime who really caught my imagination.
I entered the competition mostly for the fun of it. But I thought that if I actually won, it would be fabulous to be allowed to show Rime off again and, on top of it, as part of a con in a foreign country. And it’s also wonderful that I can join the promotion of Siri (and cheer her along) and the success of her books, The Raven Rings. To read Odin’s Child made me believe in great fantasy fiction from Norway and generally, in Norwegian fiction for young adults (YA). And that makes me so happy and grateful."
The jury members:
- Siri Pettersen – author of The Raven Rings trilogy
- Knut Reinoss – Arctis Verlag, Siri Pettersen’s German publisher
- Melina Edvardsen – represented SuperheroGirl Creations
The jury is impressed by the high level of the incoming contributions.
Read more about the Raven Rings trilogy and Siri Pettersen here
Visit the winner's Facebook page and see her impressive cosplays.
Read more about Manga Comic Con in Leipzig on their website.