Nikos Bakounakis

Nikos Bakounakis has been board president of the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture since 2024. His long and productive career in literary institutions began in 1997, when he founded Vivlia, the first newspaper supplement dedicated to literature in Greece. Born in 1956, he studied law at the Athens School of Law and earned a PhD in History and Civilizations at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. He is Professor Emeritus of Journalism Practice and Storytelling Techniques at the Department of Communication, Media, and Culture at Panteion University in Athens and is a regular contributor to LiFO, a popular Greek free newspaper and city guide. He has published numerous articles, studies and books in Greece and abroad, including Journalist or Reporter. The Human Interest Story in the Greek Newspapers, 19th-20th century, which received the National Book Award and the Athens Academy Ouranis Prize in 2016. His latest book, Gutland, reconstructs the history of the Achaia Clauss winery, established by Bavarian businessman Gustav Clauss in the 19th century, and the multinational local community that developed around viticulture and wine production in the Northern Peloponnese.