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As we countdown the final days to the 2010 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, be sure to read Diane Roback’s recent article entitled “On to Bologna! Cautious optimism on the eve of the annual children’s book fair.” Diane, a reporter at Publishers Weekly, writes:

As children’s publishers from the world over convene in Italy later this month (March 23–26), a number of issues hang in the balance. How will the economy shape this year’s fair? Is the age of the big YA fantasy trilogy finally over? Will picture books make a resurgence? What of the co-edition market? The digital revolution? We asked a sampling of Bologna veterans for their take on what to expect at this year’s fair, and what they’re looking for.

Click here to read the entire article.

A photo from last year at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. The sketchbooks belong to Miguel, Anah and me. I shall try to keep making posts whilst my technical difficulties continue. The issues I'm having seem to have interrupted what I wanted to do, which was share some of my drawing aims for 2010. Plus, I really like this shot.

National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month~ USA

Book Week~ ongoing until Nov 9, Japan

28th Santiago International Book Fair~ ongoing until Nov 15, Santiago, Chile

The Once Upon a World Children’s Book Award Festival~ Nov 1, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Exhibition by Illustrators and Writers of Children’s Books~ Nov 3 – 27, Pretoria, South Africa

3rd Triennial of Estonian illustrations: The Power of Pictures~ Nov 3 – 30, Tallinn, Estonia

29th Indonesia Book Fair~ Nov 4 – 8, Jakarta, Indonesia

American Association of School Librarians National Conference~ Nov 5 – 8, Charlotte, NC, USA

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ Nov 6 – Dec 6, Ishikawa, Japan

13th Annual Rochester Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 7, Rochester, NY, USA

National Young Readers Week~ Nov 9 – 13, USA

Northern Children’s Book Festival~ Nov 9 – 21, United Kingdom

27th Annual National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference~ Nov 11 – 15, Little Rock, AR, USA

The World of Children’s Book Publishing with Alvina Ling, Senior Editor Little, Brown Books for Young Readers~ Nov 14, Yokohama, Japan

The 16th Annual British IBBY/NCRCL MA Children’s Literature Conference: Going Graphic – Comics and Graphic Novels for Young People~ Nov 14, London, United Kingdom

Calgary Children’s Book Fair and Conference~ Nov 14, Calgary, AB, Canada

18th Annual Connecticut Children’s Book Fair~ Nov 14 – 15, Storrs, CT, USA

Children’s Book Week: Classic Canadian Reading~ Nov 14 – 21, Canada

Take Home an Original: The Art of the Picture Book~ Nov 14 – 24, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Govenor General’s Literary Award Winners Announced~ Nov 17, Montreal, QC, Canada

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award Winners Announced~ Nov 17, Toronto, ON, Canada

Children’s Literature Assembly Events at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention~ Nov 19 – 24, Philadelphia, PA, USA

8th Annual International Children’s and Young Adult Literature Celebration~ Nov 21, Madison, WI, USA

National Library Board’s Asian Children’s Festival~ Nov 21 – 29, Singapore

Heart and Soul: Art from Coretta Scott King Award Books, 2006–2009~ Nov 21 – Apr 18, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

USBBY Co-Sponsored Session at the NCTE Convention~ Nov 22, Philadelphia, PA, USA
11:30 am to 12:45 p.m.

CJ Picture Book Festival~ Nov 23- Dec 24, Seoul, Korea

Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books Featuring Artwork from Iconic Children’s Books~ Nov 24 – Feb 28, 2010, Amherst, MA, USA

Mother Goose in an Air-Ship: McLoughlin Bros. 19th Century Children’s Books from the Liman Collection~ Nov 24 – Apr 18, 2010, Amherst, MA, USA

Salon du Livre et de la Presse Jeunesse: Children’s Books & Magazines~ Nov 25 – 30, France

The Children’s Literature Fair of Seine-Saint-Denis~ Nov 26 – Dec 1, Montreuil, France

Inky Awards Ceremony~ Nov 26, Melbourne, Australia

Bookaroo Children’s Literature Festival~ Nov 28 – 29, New Delhi, India

Guadalajara Book Fair~ Nov 28 – Dec 6, Guadalajara, Mexico

(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)

Skipping Stones Youth Honor Award Winners Announced

Western Australia Spring Poetry Festival and National Poetry Week~ ongoing until Sep 4, Australia

Taranaki Children’s Book Festival~ ongoing until Sep 5, Taranaki, New Zealand

Enchanted Worlds - Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ ongoing until Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

National Literacy and Numeracy Week~ ongoing until Sep 6, Australia

Singapore International Storytelling Festival~ ongoing until Sep 12, Singapore

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ ongoing until Sep 27, Nishinomiya City, Japan

Entries Accepted for the 2010 PBBY-Salanga Prize~ ongoing until Oct 23, Philippines

Exhibition - Drawings from the Heart: Tomie de Paola Turns 75 ~ ongoing until Nov 1, Amherst, MA, USA

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Their Magical Years: a National Workshop on Early Childhood Learning and Development~ Sep 3 - 5, New Delhi, India

Beijing International Book Fair~ Sep 3 - 7, Beijing, China

Munsch a Bunch of Miles for Literacy~ Sep 3 - 11, Canmore, AB, Canada

Decatur Book Festival~ Sep 4 - 6, Decatur, GA, USA

heARTlines: Children’s Literature and Book Illustration Festival ~ Sep 4 - Oct 4, Mundaring, Australia

22nd Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava~ Sep 4 - Oct 26, Bratislava, Slovakia

International Literacy Day~ Sep 8

UNESCO Literary Prize Awards Presentation~ Sep 8, Paris, France

Brisbane Writers Festival~ Sep 9 - 13, Brisbane, Australia

International Children’s and Youth Literature Festival~ Sep 9 - 13, Berlin, Germany

CYA later, Alligator - Children’s and Young Adult Writers And Illustrators Conference~ Sep 12, Brisbane, Australia

57th St. Children’s Book Fair~ Sep 13, Chicago, IL, USA

10th Annual Hog Wild About Reading: A Motorcycle Ride For Literacy~ Sep 13, Port Moody, BC, Canada

Book Blogger Appreciation Week~ Sep 14 - 18

Hispanic Heritage Month~ Sep 15 - Oct 15, USA

The Manila International Book Fair: Words Without Borders~ Sep 16 - 20, Manila, Philippines

The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place~ Sep 16 - Oct 28, Exeter, NH, USA

International Symposium: Beyond Borders: Art, Narrative and Culture in Picturebooks~ Sep 18 - 20, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Bath Festival of Children’s Literature~ Sep 18 - 27, Bath, United Kingdom

Tamejavi - Our Voice, Our Stories: A Path to Inclusion~ Sep 19, Fresno, CA, USA

Eden Mills Writers’ Festival~ Sep 20, Eden Mills, ON, Canada

Thin Air - Winnipeg International Writers Festival~ Sep 20 - 27, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

International Day of Peace~ Sep 21

The 4th World Summit on Arts and Culture~ Sep 22 - 25, Johannesburg, South Africa

Canwest Raise-a-Reader Day~ Sep 23, Canada

25th Annual Göteborg Book Fair~ Sep 24 - 27, Göteborg, Sweden

Darling Children’s Book Fair~ Sep 24 - 26, Darling, South Africa

Reading Association of Ireland’s Annual International Conference: Literacy in the 21st Century: Perspectives, Challenges & Transformations~ Sep 24 - 26, Dublin, Ireland

Margarita Engle ~ Finding the Poetry in History~ Sep 25, Fresno, CA, USA

Wigtown Book Festival~ Sep 25 - Oct 4, Wigtown, United Kingdom

The Children’s Bookshow: Picture Books and Poetry ~Sep 25 - Nov 25, United Kingdom

National Book Festival~ Sep 26, Washington, D.C., USA

Children’s Book Seminar - SCBWI at UP Visayas 2009~ Sep 26, Iloilo City, Philippines

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read~ Sep 26 - Oct 3, USA

The Word on the Street National Book and Magazine Festival: Celebrating Reading. Advocating Literacy. ~ Sep 27, Canada

New Zealand Reading Association 2009 Conference~ Sep 27 - 30, Queenstown, New Zealand

Click on drawing to view.

(Click on event name for more information)

Exhibition of Prize-Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

The Nye Memorial Children’s Literature Tour of the Ukraine~ ongoing until Jul 10, Ukraine

READ!Singapore 2009 - Dreaming A Good Read~ ongoing until Aug 31, Singapore

Enchanted Worlds - Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ ongoing until Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Exhibition - Drawings from the Heart: Tomie de Paola Turns 75 ~ Jul 3 - Nov 1, Amherst, MA, USA

Kids and Young Adult Literature Festival~ Jul 4 - 5, Rozelle, Australia

West Cork Literary Festival~ Jul 5 - 11, Bantry, Ireland

NAIDOC Week~ Jul 5 - 12, Australia

Asterisks and Obelisks: Classical Receptions in Children’s Literature~ Jul 6 - 10, Lampeter, United Kingdom

Worlds in Dialogue Conference~ Jul 8 - 11, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Storytellers of Canada Annual Conference~ Jul 8 - 12, Victoria, BC, Canada

SCBWI British Isles Hosts an Evening with Tamarind Books Founder Verna Wilkins~ Jul 9, London, United Kingdom

Tokyo International Book Fair~ Jul 9 - 12, Tokyo, Japan

American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference~ Jul 9 - 15, Chicago, IL, USA

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Program and Meeting Schedule at the ALA Annual Conference~ Jul 9 - 15, Chicago, IL, USA

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Program and Meeting Schedule at the ALA Annual Conference~ July 9 - 15, Chicago, IL, USA

National Conference for Teachers of English and Literacy~ Jul 9 - 12, Hobart, Australia

SHCY Biennial Conference: Children and Youth at Risk and Taking Risks: Historical Inquiries in International Perspective~ Jul 10-12, Berkeley, CA, USA

The 45th UKLA International Conference Making Connections: Building Literate Communities in and Beyond Classrooms~ Jul 10 - 12, London, United Kingdom

USBBY/YALSA Present Mixing it Up: The Process of Bringing International Children’s Books to the US~ Jul 11, Chicago, IL, USA

Creative Exchange: The Bologna Experience with Ayano Imai, Kiyo Tanaka and Shimako Okamura~ Jul 11, Tokyo, Japan

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ Jul 11 - Aug 16, Tokyo, Japan

Children’s Books Ireland Wild About Books Day~ Jul 12, Dublin, Ireland

10th Annual Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference~ Jul 13 - 17, Portland, OR, USA

20th Annual Children’s Book Fair~ Jul 13 - Aug 1, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Voices on the Coast, A Youth Literature Festival~ Jul 14 - 18, Sunshine Coast, Australia

2nd National Conference on Children’s Literature~ Jul 16 - 17, Diliman, Philippines

Harlem Book Fair~ Jul 17 - 19, Harlem, NY, USA

18th Storytelling Festival at the Edge~ Jul 17 - 19, Stokes Barn, United Kingdom

16th European Conference on Reading and 1st Ibero-American Forum on Literacies: Discovering Worlds of Literacy~ Jul 19 - 22, Braga, Portugal

Racial Harmony Day~ Jul 21, Singapore

20th Annual Hong Kong Book Fair~ Jul 22 - 28, Hong Kong

Lima International Book Fair~ Jul 23 - Aug 5, Lima, Peru

Montana Poetry Day~ Jul 24, New Zealand

Their Magical Years: a National Workshop on Early Childhood Learning and Development~ Jul 27 - 31, New Delhi, India

Latin American Regional Conference/Congreso Latinoamericano~ Jul 30 - Aug 1, Lima, Peru

(Click on event name for more information)

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Week~ ongoing until Jun 3, Sweden

World Book Fair~ ongoing until Jun 7, Singapore

Once Upon a Time: Children’s Book Illustrators, Then and Now~ ongoing until Jun 14, Oakland, CA, USA

Books Illustrated Traveling Exhibition: An Australian Menagerie - Australian Picture Books~ ongoing until mid Jun, China

Seoul Arts Center Exhibit: Voyage to the World of Illustration~ ongoing until Jun 23, Seoul, Korea

Skipping Stones Magazine’s Youth Honor Award Program - Multicultural Awareness and Nature Appreciation~ entries accepted until Jun 25

Illustration Exhibition for Children: Pictures of Fantasy~ ongoing until Jun 30, Siena, Italy

Exhibition of Prize-Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

READ!Singapore 2009 - Dreaming A Good Read~ ongoing until Aug 31, Singapore

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Reading Matters on the Road Series~ Jun 1 - 2, Bendigo, Australia

Don Quixote in “Sunny Spain”: the Mediation of National and Cultural Identity in Children’s Literature~ Jun 2, London, United Kingdom

Mitali Perkins and Rachel Vail, Resonating with Young Readers~ Jun 4, Greenwich, CT, USA

Nairn Book and Arts Festival~ Jun 5 - 13, Nairn, United Kingdom

Building Bridges - Bilingual Tandem Telling for Multicultural Audiences~ Jun 6, Singapore

Antioch University’s 2nd Annual Children’s Literature Conference~ Jun 6, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Book Launch for Grace Lin’s Newest Book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon~ Jun 6, Cambridge, MA, USA

Librarian’s Day~ Jun 7, Cuba

A Passion for Poetry Series Featuring Steven Herrick (Australia) in conversation with Paula Green (New Zealand)~ Jun 10 - 12, New Zealand

FNLIJ’s 11th Book Fair of Children’s and Young Adult Literature~ Jun 10 - 21, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

36th Annual Children’s Literature Association Conference~ Jun 11-14, Charlotte, NC, USA

The Art of Children’s Books~ Jun 12, Toronto, ON, Canada

Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival~ Jun 12 - 13, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Eric Carle’s 80th Birthday Bash and Children’s Book Festival~ Jun 13, Amherst, MA, USA

Cape Town Book Fair~ Jun 13-16, South Africa

Enchanted Worlds - Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ Jun 13 - Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Giving Voice to Children’s Literature~ Jun 15, Sacramento, CA, USA

International Day of the African Child~ Jun 16,

Borders Book Festival~ Jun 18 - 21, Melrose, United Kingdom

The Great Story Picnic Season~ Jun 20, Oxford, United Kingdom

The Torquay Froth and Bubble Literary Festival~ Jun 20 - 21, Torquay, Australia

New Rochelle Festival of Books ~ Jun 20 - 21, New Rochelle, NY, USA

The Nye Memorial Children’s Literature Tour of the Ukraine~ June 23 - Jul 10, Ukraine

CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards Winners Announced~ Jun 25, London, United Kingdom

International Authors’ and Illustrators’ Forum~ Jun 25 -26, Munich, Germany

Sunthorn Phu Day (celebrated poet)~ Jun 26, Thailand

Canadian Multiculturalism Day~ Jun 27, Canada

(Click on event name for more information)

Get Caught Reading Month~ USA

National Share-a-Story Month~ United Kingdom

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month~ USA

Asian Heritage Month~ Canada

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature to be Announced~ USA

USBBY - Bridge to Understanding Award Winner to be Announced ~ USA

Discovering Ethnic Minorities - Storytelling Workshops for Children~ Hong Kong

5th Annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature~ ongoing until May 3, New York, NY, USA

35th Buenos Aires International Book Fair~ ongoing until May 11, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Books Illustrated Traveling Exhibition: An Australian Menagerie -Australian picture books~ongoing until mid Jun, China

Exhibition of Prize Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

The Child and the Book Conference: This Land is Our Land~ May 1 - 3, Nanaimo, BC, Canada

BOOKFEST - The Vancouver Island Children’s Book Festival~ May 2, Nanaimo, BC, Canada

IRA’s 54th Annual Convention: Reading, Writing and Conversations~ May 3 - 7, Minneapolis, MN, USA

ALOUD: a Celebration for Young Readers~ May 4 - 6, Toronto, ON, Canada

WordPower~ May 4 - 8, Fort McMurray, AB, Canada

Tehran International Book Fair~ May 6 - 16, Tehran, Iran

Mapfre Hay Festiva~ May 7 - 10, Alhambra, Spain

Once Upon a Time: Children’s Book Illustrators, Then and Now~ May 8 - Jun 14, Oakland, CA, USA

Mt. San Antonio College’s Children’s Literature Day~ May 9, Walnut, CA, USA

Children’s Book Week~ May 11 - 17, USA

New Zealand Post Book Awards Festival~ May 11 - 20, New Zealand

Forest of Reading, Festival of Trees~ May 13 - 14, Toronto, ON, Canada

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival~ May 13 - 17, Auckland, New Zealand

Surabaya Book Fair~ May 13 - 17, Surabaya, Indonesia

Seoul International Book Fair~ May 13 - 17, Seoul, Korea

The 5th China International Cultural Industries Fair~ May 15 - 18, Shenzhen, China

African American Book Festival~ May 15 - 16, Mt. Vernon, NY, USA

Mother’s Day Readings With Authors Mitali Perkins, Christina Seid, Pooja Makhijani, and Others~ May 16, New York, NY, USA

Children’s Books Ireland Conference: Challenge and Change in Children’s Books~ May 16 - 17, Dublin, Ireland

National Black Book Festival~ May 16 - 17, Houston, TX, USA

Sydney Writers’ Festival~ May 18 - 24, Sydney, Australia

The Foundation for Children’s Books New England Voices Series with Author/Illustrators Grace Lin and Giles Laroche~ May 19, Boston, MA, USA

Bisto Children’s Book of the Year Awards Presentations~ May 20, Dublin, Ireland

The Guardian Hay Festival~ May 21 - 31, Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

WriteAway Conference: Something Old, Something New -approaches to classic literature, culture and heritage in education~ May 22, London, United Kingdom

Storytelling Association Singapore Presents Silver and Gold: Precious Stories to Inspire Young and Old~ May 23, Singapore

World Village Festival~ May 23 - 24, Helsinki, Finland

Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences and Annual Book Fair~ May 23 - 31, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Library and Information Week~ May 25 - 31, Australia

National Simultaneous Storytime~ May 28, Australia

International Latino Book Awards Presentations~ May 28, New York, NY, USA

Reading Matters Youth Literature Conference~ May 28 - 30, Melbourne, Australia

BookExpo America~ May 28 - 31, New York, NY, USA

Thessaloniki Book Fair~ May 28 - 31, Thessaloniki, Greece

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Exhibit: The Wizards of Pop -Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart~ May 28 - Sep 19, Abilene, TX, USA

Canadian Library Association National Conference and Trade Show~ May 29 - Jun 1, Montreal , QC, Canada

World Book Fair~ May 29 - Jun 7, Singapore

(Click on event name for more information)

National Poetry Month~ Canada and USA

Growing Up Asian in America Art and Essay Contest Winners Announced~ San Francisco, CA, USA

Exclusive Books Children’s Book Festival~ ongoing until Apr 4, South Africa

Toronto Festival of Storytelling~ongoing until Apr 5, Toronto, ON, Canada

7th Bangkok International Book Fair & 37th National Book Fair~ ongoing until Apr 6, Bangkok, Thailand

20th Annual Children’s Book Illustrator Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 18, Hayward, CA, USA

Bologna Children’s Book Fair Events in the City~ ongoing until April 30, Bologna, Italy

Discovering Ethnic Minorities - Storytelling Workshops for Children~ ongoing until May 31, Hong Kong

Exhibition of Prize Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival~ Apr 1 - 3, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Ethiopian Children’s Book Week~ Apr 1 - 7, Ethiopia

International Children’s Book Day~ Apr 2

Desi Teens and Muslim Migration: Personal Journeys from the Asian Diaspora

25th Annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults~ Apr 2 - 3, Kent, OH, USA

Conference: What’s New in Children’s Books~ Apr 4, Boston, MA, USA

Young Poets Week~ Apr 6 - 12, Canada

Children’s and Young Adult Literature Festival: Read Green~ Apr 15 - 16, Salisbury, MD, USA

National Library Week~ Apr 12-18, USA

15th Celebration of Children’s Literature~ Apr 18, Berkeley, CA, USA

15th Annual Border Book Festival~ Apr 17 - 19, Mesilla, NM, USA

Congreso Iberoamericano de Libreros~ Apr 18 - 20, Buenos Aires, Argentina

London Book Fair~ Apr 20 - 22, London, United Kingdom

Global Action Week: Open Books, Open Doors~ Apr 20 - 26

Camara Chilena del Libro Book Fair~ Apr 21 - 28, Santiago, Chile

Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival and Children’s Festival~ Apr 22 - 26, Montreal, QC, Canada

World Book and Copyright Day~ Apr 23

Cambridge WordFest~ Apr 23 - 26, Cambridge, United Kingdom

35th Buenos Aires International Book Fair~ Apr 23 - May 11, Buenos Aires, Argentina

27th Annual Spring Festival of Children’s Literature~ Apr 24 - 25, Frostburg, MD, USA

SCBWI New England’s Annual Conference: Many Voices~ Apr 24 - 26, Nashua, NH, USA

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books~ Apr 25 - 26, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Lecture: The Reconfiguration of Children and Children’s Literature in a Globalized World~ Apr 27, Drumcondra, Ireland

5th Annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature~ Apr 27 - May 3, New York, NY, USA

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winners Announced~ Apr 28, New York, NY, USA

El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros~ Apr 30, USA

Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award Winner Announced~ Apr 30, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Well, guys, I'm going to shut up shop for a week. I had been hoping to squeeze a cheeky one in(drawing, that is) before leaving for the Bologna Chilren's Book Fair, but that isn't going to happen. In fact I don't think I've drawn since finding out I'd been selected! I'm so excited about this trip. In fact, I feel really excited about things in general right now. It feels like something is happening, I don't know what. Some kind of shift.

My very favourite illustrated children's book is called The Red Tree by Shaun Tan. I've bought so many copies of this book for people (never for a child, though!) over the years. There cannot be another person on this planet who has bought as many copies of this book than me. It's beautiful and perfect. I can't recommend it enough.

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this because when I was perusing the list of selected illustrators for Bologna 2009, for the millionth time, whose name do you think I found? Yeah. Shaun Tan. Only Shaun Tan. Me and Shaun Tan on the same list. My life is complete.

Some years ago, before I began blogging and drawing daily, I entered a drawing into a competition at the Sheffield Book Festival. You had to draw a character from a children's book. I won the competition, and amongst the prizes was a signed Quentin Blake book. The book is called Angel Pavement and is about a drawing competition! The book ends with this line, that never ever fails to make me feel totally utterly warm and fuzzy inside;

You can't though, can you?

Bye, folks. I'll try and post some photos from Bologna over the next week. And, maybe, I'll draw soon, too. Cheerio, my ducks.

(Click on event name for more information)

Asia-Pacific Conference on Children’s Book Publishing~ Jul 1 - 3, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Storytellers of Canada 16th Annual Conference~ Jul 2 - 6, Saskatoon, SA, Canada

4th Iberian Congress on Literature for Children~ Jul 3 - 5, San Sebastian, Spain

18th International Poetry Festival of Medellin~ Jul 5 - 12, Medellin, Columbia

NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week~ Jul 6 - 13, Australia

Multicultural Children’s Literature Conference~ Jul 7 - 8, Boston, MA, USA

15th Tokyo International Book Fair~ Jul 10 - 13, Tokyo, Japan

SCBWI Tokyo Authors & Illustrators Networking Night~ Jul 10, Tokyo, Japan

9th Annual Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference~ Jul 14 - 18, Portland, OR, USA

25th National Children’s Book Day~ Jul 15, Philippines

10th Harlem Book Fair~ Jul 17 - 20, Harlem, NY, USA

Montana Poetry Day~ Jul 18, New Zealand

17th Storytelling Festival at the Edge~ Jul 18 - 20, Stokes Barn, United Kingdom

Children’s Books Ireland ‘Summer Stories’ Family Event~ Jul 20, Dublin, Ireland

19th Annual Children’s Book Fair~ Jul 21 - Aug 8, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Maori Language Week~ Jul 21 - 27, New Zealand

IRA: Heritage Language Literacy Development in SE Asia Conference~ Jul 22 - 23, Jakarta, Indonesia

Hong Kong Book Fair~ Jul 23 - 29, Hong Kong

13th Lima International Book Fair~ Jul 24 - Aug 3, Lima, Peru

22nd World Congress on Reading: Reading in a Diverse World~ Jul 28 - 31, San Jose, Costa Rica