I live in Singapore which isn't exactly a country known for its vibrant literary scene. Therefore, for a Young Adult literature enthusiast, Singapore does not provide much avenues for a first-hand access to Young Adult authors (local and/or abroad) or are there many opportunities for forum discussions and conferences about YA.
But, not too long ago, a very exciting book festival was made known to me-- The Asian Festival of Children's Content. And the best part is that there are some very heavy doses of YA and a huge focus on book bloggers in its six day jam-packed event schedule.
Since this got me really really excited, and I do know several Singapore-based book bloggers who might be interested in this, here's a brief outline of what exactly I will be looking out for in this festival and how some of the content might make its way onto this blog :)
Enjoy! (It might be all the more exciting if you are from Singapore!)
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| Illustration by Emila Yusof, illustrator, Malaysia |
ASIAN FESTIVAL OF
CHILDREN’S CONTENT
25 – 30 MAY 2013
NATIONAL LIBRARY BUILDING,
SINGAPORE
AFCC is a festival that brings together content creators and producers with parents, teachers, librarians and anyone interested in quality Asian content for children around the world.
With a mix of professional conferences, masterclasses and workshops, rights fair and media mart, and public events, AFCC is a unique and popular event right here in Asia that provides an opportunity for writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, distributors, parents, children, teachers, and librarians to meet, learn, develop their craft, and discover business opportunities.
The National Book Development Council of Singapore has been organising the highly popular Asian Children’s Writers & Illustrators Conference for the past ten years. Leveraging on its success, the conference was expanded to form AFCC which has emerged as a very popular professional and trade event since 2010.
AFCC impacts 1.5 billion children in Asia as well as their parents, professionals, and businesses involved in their development.
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| Credits: AFCC 2013 |
Over the course of the two-day conference,
writers and illustrators come together with publishers, editors, literary
agents, and other industry professionals in celebration of children’s content
from Asia and around the world. This year’s conference will have an added
emphasis on Young Adult literature and children’s works in translation.
THE MEDIA SUMMIT
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| Credits: AFCC 2013 |
The AFCC Media Summit gathers content creators and media professionals from around the world for a one-day conference focusing on Asian children’s media content, a forum for sharing ideas and knowledge, skills training and development, and networking. The Summit will focus on maximising content through transmedia storytelling.
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I will be looking out for Wendy Orr (the New York Times bestselling author of Nim's Island, which was also adapted into a film starring Jodie Foster), fellow blogger Stephanie (who blogs at Steph Su Reads) and Holly Thompson (YA author of Orchards and The Language Inside, published May 2013 by Delacorte) amongst many other speakers in an impressive line-up (you can take a look here).
For Singaporean bloggers who would love to be part of the conference, passes and tickets can be found here. Hope to see you guys there!
Do drop me a comment below if you are indeed attending (And you might just hear me squeal over the Internet)! As for the US bloggers who are going for BEA, have the amazing time you deserve :) For other international bloggers like me, we will be doing Armchair BEA this year, so do join in on all the fun if you are missing out on BEA too!
xoxo,
Sel
