Aline Pereira is an independent writer, editor and media consultant specializing in multicultural children’s books, and until January this year, she was Managing Editor of PaperTigers, a post she had held since 2004. So we are very happy to welcome her back with a Personal View she wrote following her attendance of the Asian Festival of Asian Content in Singapore in May.
Aline had a special part to play in the Festival as she was one of the judges for the inaugural Scholastic Asian Book Award, along with “Chief Judge Nury Vittachi, journalist and Hong Kong’s best-selling English language author; Anushka Ravishankar, award-winning children’s poet and author (India); John McKenzie, principal lecturer at the School of Literacies and Arts in Education at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand); and literary agent Kelly Sonnack (Kelly grew up in Singapore), from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency (US).”
In her article, Aline shares with us her impressions of the Festival as a whole, and gives us a peek behind the scenes of the award. You can read the whole article here - and here are a couple of extracts to whet your appetite.
The big picture
A consistent thread seemed to run through a good number of the panels and sessions, as well as through informal conversations: “There are plenty of valid ways to produce and deliver a book”. This naturally led to discussions about the enormous changes the publishing world has gone through in the last decade or so, and all the things that have played a part in these changes. And to think that there was a time, not long ago, when people believed the Internet was a passing fad… Now one can only ignore the internet, social media and digital platforms at one’s peril. Without a doubt, these new technologies have affected the way children’s books are acquired, published and marketed, but one of the many things I came away with from those sessions and conversations was that having these new tools, platforms and processes is simply a means, not the end goal. Without losing sight of readers’ needs, the end goal continues to be finding ways to foster the creation, reception, and dissemination of a diverse children’s literature in all genres, mediums and platforms. When it comes to bringing children and books together, it should never be an either/or scenario, but a “the more, the better” one. After all, why get territorial and deaf to voices (platforms, devices) that are not our own? With regards to Asian content, AFCC was a call to join forces in that effort.
One of my favorite sessions was presented by US publisher Neal Porter (Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press) on which types of books travel well to other countries, which don’t, and why. He calls himself an “intuitive publisher”, meaning he publishes what he loves, without worrying too much about the marketability of a project – a privilege most publishers these days don’t have, and one he’s earned after decades of hard work and a successful track record. I have always admired Neal’s imprint, so it was wonderful to learn about which of his books have traveled successfully to/from other countries, even if the majority of the examples given were of books that have traveled between the US and
Head on over to the PaperTigers Gallery to see some of the work that was included in the Book Illustrators’ Gallery (BIG) at this year’s Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC). The exhibition featured works by artists participating in the conference and in our Gallery you will find both book illustrations and stand alone works by: Jade Fang, Lee Kow Fong, Li Dan, Soo Theng Theng, Wendy Tan, Priscilla Tey and Wong Si-Y.
We also go behind the scenes for a Q&A with Jade Yong of the National Book Development Council of Singapore, one of the AFCC and BIG organisers, who tells us, among other things, of exciting possibilities arising out of the BIG:
The [AFCC] organisers hope to garner support for an award for children’s illustrations, to be introduced at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in the next few years.
Before I retire for the night THIS has to be posted!!!
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| Me and the President (we had already shaken hands) |
These photos were snapped (thank you Warren) barely two hours ago, at the Asian Festival of Children's Content, where the inaugural Singapore Children's Literature Lecture was delivered by H.E. President Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Prize winner and President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.
His talk on Society, Culture and Children - and the important of EDUCATION was eloquently presented but actually talking to the man in person - wow! We had a wonderful chat about reading and books and teachers. He speaks beautifully. What a privilege!
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| who's as pleased as a pig in mud! |
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... and so is steve
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These photos - well they are hard to beat! (and I have more photos of me too). Enough said!
The website for the Asian Festival of Children's Content (where I will be speaking in May) is up.
See AFCC here or http://www.afcc.com.sg/
They have three strands running at the conference ...
* for writers and illustrators
* for publishers
* for media development
... all really interesting!
My Topics:
* It takes two (or more) to tango - collaborating with an illustrator, musician, or animator (hummmm - might be a bit of Sounds Spooky there!)
* How to market yourself as a Writer or Illustrator
* eBooks, Apps, iPads and the content creators
Press Release:
One of the objectives of the AFCC (The Asian Festival of Children’s Content) is to bring children’s writers in Africa and Asia together.
A delegation of artists (including children’s book writers from the Asian Storytelling Network), students and business people will be in Cape Town, South Africa from 16th-20th Mar 2011 for a festival called Spotlight Singapore organized by The Arts House in Singapore together with support from organizations in Cape Town.
The Program for Children’s Writers includes:
The Journey of the Reader: Using Children’s Books to Understand Cultural Diversity in Singapore & South Africa. Rosemarie Somaiah and Marjorie Van Heerden
Sayang Singapore: Building Bridges in and for Singapore – a look at how individuals and organizations have used children’s books to build bridges in a multi-racial, multi-cultural society. Rosemarie Somaiah
My Journey with Children’s Books: Some Personal Reminiscences – a look at how the style and content of children’s books have changed over the past 50 years and how that influenced my own work. Marjorie Van Heerden
Sharing Stories with Children. Rosemarie Somaiah
The Book and the Buzz: An Open Sharing of How Life Experience Can be Turned into Fiction. Rosemarie Somaiah and Helen Brain
Launch of a poetry anthology, Man/Born/Free: Writings on the Human Spirit from Singapore - featuring contemporary Singaporean writers. Luminary Singaporean poet, Edwin Thumboo, will be in attendance.
Any inquiries please contact rama(at)bookcouncil(dot)sg or Re Storm (South African coordinator)at re(at)raintree(dot)co(dot)za
The poster has just been released for this year’s Asian Festival of Children’s Content taking place in Singapore in May. Here it is:
The call has gone out for Authors and/or Illustrators to submit work for critique sessions – see here for details (deadline 30 April 2011).
You an find more details about the conference here.
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