This book charts the history of more than 20 years of animation festivals. From Annecy, the oldest animation festival in the world, to Beirut, or the founding of the festival in Peja, Kosovo, Nancy Denney‑Phelps has recorded not just the films screened but also the people and what makes each festival unique.
What is it like to travel to China, Beirut, or Kosovo for an animation festival? Spend a week on a boat with 200 animators from around the world or be thrown off a train in Belarus? All of this and much, much more has happened to Nancy Denney‑Phelps in her many years as an animation journalist.
Documenting more than 20 years of travels, this book will appeal to all those with an interest in animation. If you are a young animator and want to know what festival life is like, this is the book for you. If you are a seasoned veteran and want to bring back some memories of festivals past, this book should bring some smiles to your face.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: In the Beginning
Chapter 2: On to Annecy... Never Like the First Time
Chapter 3: Upping the Ante on Festival Standards
Chapter 4: It’s Not a Trick. It’s Animation!
Chapter 5: The Festival That Changed a City
Chapter 6: What’s in a Name?
Chapter 7: Exploring Polish Animation
Chapter 8: Puppet Animation Takes Center Stage
Chapter 9: A Tale of Two Portugals
Chapter10: Euganea: On the Way to Three Days on The Island in The Sky
Chapter11: Two Capitals, Five Cinemas and a River of Animated Films
Chapter 12: Beirut Animated
Chapter 13: To See or Not to See Animation in China
Chapter 14: My Love Affair with Norway
Chapter 15: The Magic of Animation Comes to Life on a Beautiful Greek Island
Chapter 16: Pedro’s Party in Bilbao
Chapter 17: The Warm Hospitality of The Republic of Georgia
Chapter 18: A Place in The Sun for Animation
Chapter 19: Those Were Some Jolly Good Times
Chapter 20: This is the End, My Friend...
About the Author :
Nancy Denney-Phelps lives in Belgium with her husband Nik and their dog, Miss Coco Chanel. She has been an animation journalist writing for Animation World Network for many years as well as an animation historian. She has served on numerous festival juries, selection committees, and delivered papers at numerous animation festivals and events as well as curating animation programs. She is also a pitching coach. Nancy loves to watch animation. You can read her AWN blog at: www.awn.com/blogs/sprockets
Review :
“Nancy Phelps’ coverage of the animation festival circuit is both brilliant and entertaining”.
Bill Plympton, Academy Award-nominated animator.
“There has never been a book like this before: an animation festival travel book! Animation journalist Nancy Denney-Phelps documents more than 20 years of travel to festivals large and small around the world. If there was ever an expert on all the secrets of the animation world, Nancy is the one.”
Signe Baumane, is a multi-award-winning Latvian animator, artist, illustrator and writer, currently living and working in New York City.
“Among other things, several pages are dedicated to the beloved “Krok” and Irina Kaplichnya. Nancy is an amazing person, tireless traveller, involved in countless projects from creating the legendary Burning Man to working in ASIFA. This book is highly recommended to all animators!”
Sergey Kapkov, animation critic and author.
“Nancy Denney-Phelps brings to us the history of animation festivals over the previous 20 years. She has documented not just the films displayed but also the people and what makes each festival special, from Annecy, the world's oldest animation festival, to Beirut and the birth of the festival in Peja, Kosovo. An amazing experience that she generously shares with us throughout the book's pages.”
Eliane Gordeeff is a Brazilian animator (known as Gordeeff), professor, researcher of animation, and collaborator researcher at CIEBA/FBAUL, Portugal.
“It’s a wonderful read for all of exciting news of festivals to add to your go-to-visit list. But don’t forget to take notes on the travel experiences for sightseeing and restaurants along the way.”
Dot Janson, ASIFA-San Francisco Newsletter, February 2025.
“When animation know-it-all Nancy Denney-Phelps writes a book with stories and insights from twenty years of animation festival history, with front and back covers drawn by Joanna Quinn, you know you’re in for a treat. Denney-Phelps lives and breathes animation. In this new book, she not only records the films and festivals attended, but also the people and what makes each festival unique.”
KABOOM Animation Festival.
"By virtue of being told through such a personal lens, On The Animation Trail feels refreshingly informal whilst remaining informational throughout. An especially valuable quality of a book such as this is that it provides an answer to one of the most frequently asked questions from students and industry newcomers – “what’s the point of festivals?”"
Ben Mitchell, writing for Skwigly Online Animation Magazine.
"Each page of her book is filled with wanderlust; Nancy takes a marvelous dive into not only the splendor of animation and its festivals, but the magic of those brave enough to create the works of art these special events feature and celebrate."
Victoria Davis, writing for Animation World Network.
"The book delivers what it promises: an authentic and generous testimony of 20 years in a “road movie” book (as the author herself defines the book) on animation festivals, with many adventures through the eyes of an experienced person."
Eliane Gordeeff, writing for Zippy Frames.
