Lauris Gundars is a Latvian playwright, scriptwriter, and director (born in 1958). Gundars has studied Law at the University of Latvia (1980. - 1985), Theatre Directing (Saint-Petersburg, 1983. - 1988) and Scriptwriting (Moscow 1987. - 1989). Gundars is the director of 24 theatre stagings, author of 32 plays and adaptations, 14 full-length feature scripts, 2 TV series, two novels. He is also the author of Dramatica or Rational Poetics, a book on mastering tools for drama, which showcases his deep knowledge of dramatic history and theory and his wide-ranging experience in the field. He is also head of the Lauris Gundars’ Writing Workshop, tutor at numerous European international writing workshops. Lauris Gundars teaches drama and communication at Latvian Academy of Arts, RISEBA University, and Riga Stradiņš University. He is the creator of MA playwriting program at the Liepāja University, and host at the "THEATRE ATTIC" radio show. He is a member of Latvia's Theatre Labour Association (since 2001) and the Latvian Writers' Union (since 1995).
Novels
Pēdas stikla kalnā [Footprint In The Glass Hill]. Riga: Karogs, 1994.
Children's literature
Vaļa balss [Whale's Voice]. Riga: Liels un mazs, 2018.
Sveiks, Vali! [Hello Whale!]. Riga: Liels un mazs, 2017.
Ķipars Pipras [Little Pepper]. Riga: ALI S, 2007.
Miscellaneous
Dramatika jeb racionālā poētika [Dramatica or Rational Poetics]. Riga: Darbnīcas, 2009.
In other languages
Dramatica or Rational Poetics. Riga: Darbnīcas, 2016.
Books to fall for

Hello, Whale!
Hello, Whale! (Sveiks, Vali!)
A grandfather and granddaughter call each other by the nicknames they have given each other: Whale and Buzzfly. Whale takes care of Buzzfly while her parents are at work – which is almost always. They spend a lot of time together, but there is one question bugging Buzzfly: why does Whale never says hello to anybody? They have a long discussion about the importance of saying hello to other people and Whale has no choice but to agree. So Buzzfly has to teach Whale how to greet others, but this is no easy task. They start by greeting cats, cars, and houses before Whale builds up the courage to say hello to another person.
Contacts: pasts@lielsmazs.lv, www.lielsunmazs.lv

Title
:Hello, Whale!
Title*
:Sveiks, Vali!
Authors
:Genre
:Publisher
:Rīga, Liels un mazs
Pages
:64
Year
:2017
Foreign rights
:sold to German, Russian
Lauris Gundars // Lauris Gundars website [EN; LV]
Привет, кит! mentioned in top list of the children's books // Internet magazine Kommersant.ru, 2018 [RU]
The Advent at Silmači, staged simultaneously in Valmiera and Liepaja theatres,
included into the ETC 2012 list Best European Plays // European Theatre Convention [EN;FR;LV]
Reviews
Jolanta Pētersone, Sveika! Sveiks! Sveiki!, review of Hello Whale // Internet magazine Satori.lv, 2017 [LV]

Hallo, Walfisch!
Hallo, Walfisch! (Sveiks, Vali!)

Title
: Hallo, Walfisch!Title*
: Sveiks, Vali!Authors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Children`s Book
Language
:German
Publisher
:Baobab Books, Switzerland
Pages
:85
Year
:2017
Copyrights
:The author, the publisher, the illustrator;
Synopsis
:A grandfather and granddaughter call each other by the nicknames they have given each other: Whale and Buzzfly. Whale takes care of Buzzfly while her parents are at work – which is almost always, so they spend a lot of time together.

Sveiks, Vali!
Sveiks, Vali! (Привет, Кит!)

Title
: Sveiks, Vali!Title*
: Привет, Кит!Authors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Children`s Book
Language
:Russian
Publisher
:OOO “AI”, Russia
Pages
:64
Year
:2018
Copyrights
:The author, the illustartor;
Synopsis
:A grandfather and granddaughter call each other by the nicknames they have given each other: Whale and Buzzfly. Whale takes care of Buzzfly while her parents are at work – which is almost always, so they spend a lot of time together.

Драматика или поетика рациональности
Драматика или поетика рациональности (Dramatika jeb Racionālā poētika)

Title
: Драматика или поетика рациональностиTitle*
: Dramatika jeb Racionālā poētikaAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Non-Fiction
Language
:Russian
Publisher
:Манн, Иванов и Фербер, Russia
Pages
:219
Year
:2020
Copyrights
:The author, the publisher, the photographer, the designer
Synopsis
:It is a conversation on dramaturgy; how to tell a story that every spectator wants to see - based on true events, perhaps crazy, and without cold mind games?