The 22nd Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival, one of North America’s premier literary events, takes place Oct 18 - 25 in Vancouver, BC. The Vancouver Sun just published a great article on the festival, Big Names and a Six-Day Smorgasbord for Local Books Worms, that gives a glimpse of the treasures in store for literary fans attending. The article highlights one event that I would love to attend but is unfortunately sold out: author Mariatu Kamara of The Bite of the Mango in conversation Kathryn Gretsinger.
On Thursday I will be chaperoning students in my son’s class to Event #29 - Hide and Seek with acclaimed young adult authors Gordon Korman and Matthew Skelton. My son Evan is most excited to see Gordon Korman in person! Last year Evan “discovered” Korman and was instantly hooked on his books especially the Dive, Everest and Island series. This promises to be a great experience for the students (as well as us chaperones!). Here’s the preview for the event:
Adventures around the world and through time join together these two skilled authors. A phoenix-like bird in a nest guarded by crows, a daring hot-air balloon ride, a skillful heist of animals from a floating zoo, a speedboat chase through the canals of Venice, modern Europe and 18th century Antarctica and 16th century England—all find their way into the books of Gordon Korman and Matthew Skelton. Novels can take you to places you’ve never been and times that you’ll never see. Come and play hide and seek with two of the best children’s authors writing today.
To read and watch the events unfold at this year’s festival visit the Festival Blog. 7 bloggers will be contributing text, audio clip interviews and photos on a daily basis.
(Click on event name for more information)
Canadian Library Month~ Canada
Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read~ ongoing until Oct 3, USA
Hispanic Heritage Month~ ongoing until Oct 15, USA
Entries Accepted for the 2010 PBBY-Salanga Prize~ ongoing until Oct 23, Philippines
22nd Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava~ ongoing until Oct 26, Bratislava, Slovakia
The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place~ ongoing until Oct 28, Exeter, NH, USA
Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, Chicago, IL, USA
National Young Writers’ Festival~ Oct 1 - 5, Newcastle, Australia
4th Annual Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) Nominations Open~ Oct 1 - 15
The Children’s Book Festival~ Oct 1 - 31, Ireland
Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children’s Literature Awards Ceremony~ Oct 2, Boston, MA, USA
8th IBBY Regional Conference “Children´s Books: Where Worlds Meet”~ Oct 2 - 4, St. Charles, IL, USA
2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ Oct 3 - Nov 1, Takahama City, Japan
Orange County Children’s Book Festival~ Oct 4, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
13th Poetry Africa~ Oct 5 - 10, Durban, South Africa
Children’s Book Week: Words and Pictures~ Oct 5 - 11, United Kingdom
TaleBlazers Festival~ Oct 5 - 30, Province of Alberta, Canada
6th International Literacy Conference~ Oct 7 - 9, Penang, Malaysia
Ubud Writers and Readers Festival~ Oct 7 - 11, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Inky Awards Shortlist Announced, On-line Voting Begins~ Oct 9, Australia
Latino Book and Book Festival~ Oct 10 - 11, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Monterrey International Book Fair~ Oct 10 - 18, Monterrey, Mexico
Frankfurt Book Fair~ Oct 14 - 18, Frankfurt, Germany
OGAMAS Aboriginal Literary Festival: What We Gather For Each Other~ Oct 15 - 17, Brandon, MB, Canada
56th Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards Ceremony~ Oct 16, New York, NY, USA
International Conference on the Book~ Oct 16 - 18, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Américas Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature Winners Ceremony~ Oct 17, Washington, D.C., USA
SCBWI Tokyo Presents Writing for Children: The Picture Book with Author Holly Thompson~ Oct 17, Kyoto, Japan
CHARACTER COUNTS! Week~ Oct 18 - 24, USA
YALSA’s Teen Read Week: Read Beyond Reality~ Oct 18 - 24, USA
Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival~ Oct 18 - 25, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Library Exhibition~ Oct 18 - 25, Jakarta, Indonesia
Utan Kayu International Literary Biennale~ Oct 20 - 24, Bogor and Jakarta, Indonesia
14th Annual New England Conference on Multicultural Education~ Oct 21, Hartford, CT, USA
Rabbit Hill Festival of Literature: Creative Approaches to Biography and Historical Fiction~ Oct 22 - 24, Westport, CT, USA
Finnish Reading Association Conference: New Literacies-Reading and Writing with New Technologies~ Oct 23 - 24, Jyväskylä, Finland
Children’s Literature Council Fall Gala~ Oct 24, Los Angeles, CA, USA
IBBY Congreso Internacional Lectura~ Oct 26 - 31, Havana, Cuba
Book Week~ Oct 27 - Nov 9, Japan
Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Awards Ceremony~ Oct 30, San Marcos, TX, USA
(Click on event name for more information)
Canadian Library Month~ Canada
Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read~ ongoing until Oct 4, USA
International Children’s and Youth Literature Festival~ ongoing until Oct 4, Berlin, Germany
3rd Annual CYBIL (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) Nominations Open~ Oct 1 - 15
National Young Writers’ Festival~ Oct 2-6, Newcastle, Australia
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Ceremony~ Oct 3, Boston, MA, USA
21st Yukon International Storytelling Festival~ Oct 3-5, Whitehorse, YK, Canada
2008 Ceremony of Best Books~ Oct 4, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Américas Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature Winners Ceremony~ Oct 4, Washington, D.C., USA
Orange County Children’s Book Festival~ Oct 5, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Children’s Book Week~ Oct 6-12, United Kingdom
13th Annual New England Conference on Multicultural Education~ Oct 8, Hartford, CT, USA
School Library Journal Webcast: Capturing Struggling Readers and Reluctant Readers~ Oct 8
Book It! Cheltenham’s Children’s Literature Festival~ Oct 10-19, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
18th Monterrey International Book Fair~ Oct 11-19, Monterrey, Mexico
YALSA’s Teen Read Week: Books With Bite @ Your Library~ Oct 12-18, USA
“Multicultural Bites” with authors Mitali Perkins, Coe Booth and An Na (part of ReaderGirlz’s celebration of Teen Read Week)~ Oct 13
Ubud Writers and Readers Festival~ Oct 14-19, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Frankfurt Book Fair~ Oct 15-19, Frankfurt, Germany
55th Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards Ceremony~ Oct 17, New York, NY, USA
IBBY Ireland Conference: Green Gables to Globalization: Crossover, Canada and Children’s Books~ Oct 18, Dublin, Ireland
SCBWI Tokyo Writers’ Day~ Oct 18, Tokyo, Japan
Children’s Literature Council Fall Gala~ Oct 18, Santa Ana, CA, USA
Vancouver International Writers Festival~ Oct 21-26, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The Big Picture Party: Celebrate the Power of Picture Books~ Oct 27, London, United Kingdom
Book Week~ Oct 27-Nov 9, Japan
Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Awards Ceremony~ Oct 30, San Marcos, TX, USA
28th Santiago International Book Fair~ Oct 31-Nov 16, Santiago, Chile
