The first book published as part of the Libri Talent talent development program, Vazul fiai – Viking vér (Vazul’s Sons – Viking Blood), a historical novel by Dániel Reggő, made its debut this week at a book launch event combined with a public discussion. The volume was published by Hitel Publishing, and the well-attended, lively event was also graced by the presence of Mór Bán.

The book was presented on November 26 at Libri Allee in Budapest, where the author and his mentor, Mór Bán, spoke together about the birth of the novel and the Libri Talent writers’ scholarship program. Within the framework of the program, Dániel Reggő worked on Vazul’s Sons for several months alongside a series of diverse professional trainings. Prior to the book signing, Krisztina Kocsis, Libri expert, asked both author and mentor about their collaboration and about the popularity of historical novels.

The latest major Hungarian historical novel transports readers to the turbulent period following the founding of the Hungarian state, where the fate of the Viking mercenary Zotmund becomes intertwined with the struggle for power of Vazul’s sons, Andrew and Levente. Set on the borders of the Byzantine, Scandinavian, and Hungarian worlds, the story focuses on the meeting of cultures, the drama of conversion, and the trials of human loyalty. The novel is both a sweeping historical panorama and a personal heroic epic: the motifs of blood, faith, and loyalty intertwine in an era when the last flames of paganism still flare up before the victory of Christianity. Through the character of Zotmund, the story builds a bridge between East and West, past and future.

Mór Bán: the Writer Who Became a Mentor Through Inspiration

Thanks to the support of the Libri Talent program, Dániel Reggő was able to work closely with his mentor for nearly a year, starting in December 2024, on the manuscript, which has now been published by Hitel and is available in Libri bookstores. Author and mentor held the finished book in their hands for the first time just a few days ago at a joint photo shoot. Mór Bán said he was almost as nervous before the publication as if it had been his own book.

“My wish was for the final result to be worthy of being the very first Libri Talent book and to reflect the enormous amount of work invested in it,” he told the audience. “Dani reshaped the book countless times before publication, and that enthusiasm spread to everyone involved.”

Given the novel’s subject, the question naturally arises: how did Vikings end up in Hungary? “I wanted to work with a story that no Hungarian author had tackled before,” Reggő explained. “The topic of Hungarian Vikings and the figure of Búvár Kund hide so many treasures that I honestly don’t understand why Mór Bán hasn’t written about it yet,” the debut author joked, putting his mentor on the spot. He also revealed that very little information has survived from this era—and even less about Zotmund—yet he still plans the story as a five-volume series.

As Reggő writes in his book and reaffirmed at the launch event: “Zotmund’s story is, in a way, a tribute to Mór Bán’s body of work.” He added that without his mentor, this novel would not have come into being at all, as it was Mór Bán’s work that inspired him to start writing the story in the first place. The Hunyadi series managed to win over readers who normally do not read historical fiction, and with his own novel Reggő hopes to achieve a similar effect.

Speaking earlier about his role as a mentor in the program, Mór Bán said:
“It’s good to see the determination of young, aspiring writers, even though it naturally comes with a great deal of uncertainty. On the one hand, they need encouragement; on the other, they also need advice when facing difficult and conflict-filled situations.”
At the book launch, he repeatedly emphasized how important fresh talent is for the Hungarian historical fiction market. For years, he has hoped that new, young authors would emerge in this genre. Established writers have found their own voices and audiences over the past decade, but in his view the process only truly makes sense if new generations follow. This is precisely why he welcomes the creation of Libri Talent, which opens the door for young authors writing historical novels. Speaking about Vikingvlr, he said that its author was already a strong writer even before the scholarship program, so the mentoring process focused on polishing the manuscript to the point where readers would not think, “this is a debut novel,” but rather feel that they are holding an excellent historical novel in their hands.

Libri Talent – New Paths in Talent Development

In 2024, as part of its reimagined corporate social responsibility strategy, Libri placed special emphasis on talent development alongside its existing programs and initiatives. Through increased support for Hungarian authors, the creation of market-focused scholarship programs, and the launch of gap-filling professional trainings, the company group aims to strengthen its social responsibility while contributing to the development of the Hungarian book industry and the preservation of Hungarian cultural values.

Libri Talent brings together all initiatives through which the company group supports the career launch of contemporary Hungarian writers and the further training of talented professionals in the book industry. The program provides a unique combination of professional workshop experience and financial support: mentees were able to develop their manuscripts for nearly a year with the guidance of well-known, established authors, alongside scholarship support of more than HUF 2 million. More detailed information about the program is available on the following website: https://www.libri.hu/talent.

As a result of the first year of the program, “Viking vér – Vazul fiai” has now been published, to be followed by further new titles in the near future. From among the scholarship recipients’ manuscripts, the next volume is planned to be published by Helikon in time for the Festival of Hungarian Books.

The second call for applications to the program closed in September 2025 and was expanded to include a fairy-tale writing competition.