Day three at AFCC 2022 was the whole reason I was there. Book launch day! Of course, that was the highlight of my day, so even though that did not technically come first, I'm going to begin with it.Book Launch by Scholastic AsiaMy book, Red Eyes, has been a long time in the making. I'll write about the story behind the story (like I did for Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells, The Clockwala's Clues and Sisters at New Dawn) soon, but launching it at the Asian Festival of Children's Content was such a delight! Equally delightful was listening to the other three authors talk about their books. I would love to read them all!The book launch was a public event, so you can still watch it here.Now, I'll come back to everything I attended as a participant, and all that I took away from the festival.When Comics Come to the ClassroomA few weeks ago, I organised a … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day Two at AFCC 2022
Day two at the Asian Festival of Children's Content was on 27 May, but I caught up with all the sessions I wanted to just yesterday. I felt like I had a time-turner because I attended three simultaneous sessions, thanks to a virtual AFCC 2022! Here's an overview of how the day was for me.Environmental Advocacy in Children's BooksThis was one of the sessions I attended synchronously, and the experience of doing that is quite different from catching up with an event later.The environmental is a subject close to my heart, and I read a lot of literature about nature and being outdoors. However, I'm a little iffy when it comes to books that are clearly issue-based, no matter what the issue may be. Story, for me, comes first, and advocacy second, not the other way around. I like it when books are subtle, with characters nudging us in particular directions. And that was one of … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day One at AFCC 2022
It's been four years since I attended the Asian Festival of Children's Content. 2016 - my collection of short stories (now published as Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells) was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award, so I attended for the first time.2017 - I submitted a paper titled Writing About Us, which was selected as part of a panel, so off I went for the second time.2018 - my middle grade book (now published as Red Eyes) was the first runner-up for the Scholastic Asian Book Award, and yes, I attended the AFCC again.I didn't go in 2019 and then, with the pandemic, 2020 and 2021 were out of the question too. This year, Scholastic Asia sponsored a virtual ticket for me, so of course, I've been making the most of it. Attending virtually isn't nearly as exciting as being there in person, but it does have one big advantage - I go back and attend sessions I missed because … [Read more...]
More Books – AFCC 2017
AFCC 2017 had a charming activity that was open to the public. Pick up a public programme and explore the book fair, programme in hand. As you visit each stall, get your book fair map stamped. If you're among the first 20 to get all the stamps, you win a book voucher worth ten dollars!Walking through the book fair reminded me of all the times my parents took me to bookshops - and once, to a book-ship. This time, I was drawn more to the picture books than anything else, and I ended up buying one picture book and one chapter book. Both were simply lovely!Shortlisted for the AFCC Asian Children's Book Award by Genting Singapore, Don't Be Sorry, Dad! is now right up there with my favourite picture books. Little Nari loves time with her dad, but he keeps apologising to her because there are many things he cannot do, unlike other dads. … [Read more...]
Reflections: AFCC 2017
The first two days of the Asian Festival of Children' Content were the highlights for me, but sessions here and there stood out too. On the first day of the teachers' congress, I attended a lovely session on reading and empathy conducted by Maria Alessandrino. More than the first half of the session, I thoroughly enjoyed the second half, where we went through all kinds of books that build empathy in the reader. I have a whole new list of books that I am waiting to get my hands on. I ended up buying just one of the books Maria recommended - Where's Grandma? - and I loved it!Here are a few others I want to read ... ... I could go on and on and on!Another session I loved was Elaine Fong's talk on reading in the digital age. Much of what she said does not apply to me in my reading programmes because we don't have a public library system in … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day Two at AFCC 2017
This is probably the only time in my life when I signed a contract, committing to playing Illustrationary, the AFCC version of Pictionary, at a certain date and time. But when have I not enjoyed a game of Pictionary? I'm getting ahead of myself, though, because the highlight of the day was my book launch!This charming little place called My Treehouse was where I launched Bholu and the Smart Card, the fifth in my series of railway adventures for young readers.I began with a Connect the Dots activity, which everyone loved, much to my delight. I enjoyed it too, and was thrilled to see people from so many different countries come together there. Indonesia, Australia, Kenya, Singapore ... It was so exciting! The challenge, though, was that I had a slot at the same time as the launch of the winning Scholastic picture books, so I did not have as large an audience … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day One at AFCC 2017
When I went for the Asian Festival of Children's Content last year, I wondered when - and whether - I would go again. Yes, it was a wonderful experience, but Singapore ... Again ... Expensive, and all that. But my paper 'Writing about Us' was accepted through the call for entries and then, how could I not go?I began by attending a lively session on taking self-promotion back by Amy Ng. I particularly enjoyed the section on how not to write a query letter (and was mightily relieved to find that I've never written one of those!). She spoke about fairly familiar ideas, though, so it was more about reinforcement than learning something new. The big take-away was important, as always - don't network for the sake of networking! That's when it feels icky and forced!Petra Nagyová Džerengová's session on death, divorce and other difficult topics was lovely too. What struck … [Read more...]
The month ahead
There's so much around the corner!This month, apart from all the regular workshops, I'm going to be part of The Lit Bug Fest!The Lit Bug Fest is a children's literary fest to be held on the 29th of April at Persistent Systems, Bhageerath, Senapati Bapat Road. It is an all-day event, and I'm looking forward to it!In May, I have wonderful things in store for me too. I'm going to be speaking at the Asian Festival of Children's Content, Singapore.The first one on the list is Pictionary by another name. I can't quite believe that I'm going to Singapore to officially play Pictionary. The second is a panel discussion, which I'm looking forward to ... We're going to be talking about diversity and inclusiveness, and the challenges we face while writing in Asia - in English or in other languages.I'm also going to be doing an official international launch for the first … [Read more...]
AFCC 2017
Last year, I attended the Asian Festival of Children's Content for the first time because I was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award. This year, I'll be attending it again--as a speaker!I'm speaking as part of a panel discussion titled "Writing about Us". Here's a little about where the whole thing came from.At workshops I conduct, I find that participants rarely write about Indian children, especially when they write fantasy. I meet Harry, Lucy (sometimes even pronounced Lucky because the name isn’t real to the children) and Mary, and a few made-up names too, but almost no Indian ones. When the children write Indian tales, I find, repeatedly, a traditional storytelling pattern with a clear moral.I originally believed that this came from what the children read. They talk about Percy Jackson, Harry Potter and Cassandra Clare, and when I ask what Indian … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day Three at AFCC 2016
The last day of my first ever literary festival ...I began day three at the Asian Festival of Children's Content by attending a roundtable discussion on entering markets abroad, conducted by Cynthea Liu, Emily Lim, Helen Mangham. What was particularly wonderful about this event was the rounded perspective it had, as the speakers comprised one publisher, one writer and one literary agent. Author Emily Lim's words spoke to me the most, as she told us with her charming tinge of humour about how the key to getting a publisher, national or international, is a mixture of perseverance and patience. She spoke of standing on the sidelines at the festival at Bologna, looking pleadingly at publishers until one took pity on her ...Attending the session on Immersive Storytelling: Augmented Reality and Games to Engage Young Adults, conducted by Saad Chinoy and Nataly Rios Goico, was like … [Read more...]