The Asian Festival of Children's Content 2015

It's almost time for the biggest children's literary event in the region - The Asian Festival of Children's Content - or AFCC as it is popularly known. 

If you're an aspiring author or illustrator, it's the place to be. This year the conference will be a week-long affair that includes a Teachers Congress, Parents Forum, and the Writers & Illustrators Conference as well as masterclasses, seminars, workshops and a media summit. 

Wendy Orr

With Sally Gardner

Susanne Gerry

Candy Gourlay, Wendy Orr, Sally Gardner, Susanne Gervay, Naomi Kojima, Marjorie Coughlan, Corinne Robson, Leonard Marcus, James Mayhew, Christopher Cheng, Ken Spillman, Andrew Weale, Norm Jorgensen, James Foley, Suzy Lee, Yusof Gajah, Emily Lim, Shamini Flint, Dianne Wolfer, Eliza Teoh, Mio Debnam,Adeline Foo, Sarah Odedina, Otto Fong, David Liew are just some of the illustrious speakers who have graced the event. 

Now if you're hankering to get your work discovered, I've got some great news for you. All aspiring authors and illustrators will  have a chance to pitch their story ideas at speed pitching sessions and they can also have their illustrations or stories critiqued at the First Look and First Pages critique panels. But space is extremely limited at each of these sessions so register quickly if you don't want to miss out on your potential big break. 

Leonard Marcus and James Mathew

Ken Spillman

Attendees will get a glimpse of the glitterati of the literati at the first awards of the literary award season. Just like Hollywood has the Golden Globes, The Screen Actors Guild Award and The Oscars,  AFCC has the SPBA, The HACBA and The SKTAA.

After weeks of anticipation, the authors and illustrators nominated for the Scholastic Picture Book Award,  Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award, and Samsung KidsTime Author Award will finally find out who will walk away with the coveted prizes! 

Good luck to all the nominees. OK, I know everyone says that it's an honour to be nominated and it doesn't matter if they win or lose; the nomination is the award enough. Blah, blah, blah.  I say that's absolute rubbish! Rubbish, I say. Everyone wants to win! They really, really, do. Having been a previous Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award nominee and speaking from experience *wink wink, nudge nudge*  I have to say I think it's a lot nicer to  accept the award and collect the winner's  cheque than to plaster a smile on your face and applaud graciously when someone else is announced as the winner.   (I'm an author, not an actor for crying out loud. LOL!;)) But I have to concede that if winning is not an option saying you were a nominee is the next best thing.

The Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award

Though some say The Asian Festival of Children's Content is similar to the Bologna Children's Book Fair of the East,  but going back to my earlier Hollywood references, it is really more like the Oscars, the Oscars of the Asian children's literature scene. OK, so there won't be any paparazzi, red carpet appearances or even a red carpet for that matter. You won't have style reporters quizzing you about your AFCC fashions ( seriously what do children's writers and illustrators really know about fashion anyway?) and Wolgang Puck will not have a legion of his chefs whipping up a five-star Michelin banquet at the AFCC closing dinner. But that doesn't mean you should skip the festival! You'd be CRAZY if you did. It's a MUST ATTEND event! How are you going to get discovered if you're not willing to be seen, people?

Anyway this year's country of focus is China and I think that's fantastic as it's probably the biggest market for children's books around and it's still growing. Now, if you're like me  --a Chinese person who can't speak a word of language --  don't worry, the sessions will have live translation.

Oh, and this year, I'll be speaking on conducting school visits with my fellow author, Sarah Mousey, aka my biggest competition :). 
As you can see from the pic below, I've decided to shrink her down and made her bio really, really, really small. Hey, it's my blog and I can do what I want to!

You should come to our session so you can hear Sarah speaking in Chinese. (Through a translator  if we have one. If we don't, then some might not understand what Sarah's saying at all. LOL.
Sarah, you'll have to start your own blog to get back at me! :) :) So come on, people, what are you waiting for?  Register now! 

CLICK THIS LINK TO REGISTER

Picture Book Review Master Class with Leonard Marcus and Marjorie Coughlan and Dinner with Andrea and Helen

So the festival was officially over but I had registered to attend the picture book review masterclass by Leonard Marcus and Marjorie Coughlan. I was so sleepy, extremely sleepy but I managed to drag myself out of bed in order to join Kenneth, Andrea and Naomi for breakfast as their hotel before the day-long workshop began.

I chose the picture book review masterclass because:

1.) It was being conducted by Leonard and Marjorie
2.) I'm a picture book author
3.) It would give me tips of what reviewers are looking for in a good picture book.

The class started at 10am promptly and I was late because there was a long line at the registration desk and I wanted to pay for the course before I actually attended it.

By the time I got to the room, everyone was introducing themselves. It's one part of any course that I feel least comfortable with and I just said, "Hi I'm David. I write books. I blog. That's it." 

I feel uncomfortable and awkward in a roomful of adults, especially when the attention is on me. I'm a writer. A loner. I feel most comfortable in front audiences who still require afternoon naps or diaper changes. In other words, the very young or the very old.

Anyway, shortly after my short, concise introduction, I got a text message and I wondered who could possibly be texting me so early in the morning. Could it be an editor or publisher who I had deluded into thinking I was the next big author with multi-million dollar sales potential? Could it be a transmedia exec offering me worldwide distribution for my stories? Perhaps it was MENSA calling to apologise for not recognizing my literary genius, or my plain genius, and asking if I would like to sign up as a member?  No to all of the above. So who was it from? Well, it was from Kenneth, giving me his critique of my introduction! And let's just say  I've had better reviews.

With that done, the class got underway a reading of Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are'. I was surprised that some people had never even read it. Though some did watch the highly questionable movie adaptation of it.

We discussed wordless picture books and translated picture books and all sorts of picture books. At the end of the day, Emma and I paired up to write a review of Susie Lee's wordless book 'Wave'.

Then it was time to pack up. Marjorie had one last drink and a curry puff with us before Kenneth and I had to head on over to Helen Mangham's house for a get-together with Andrea and Helen. They always host a wonderful party with fantastic food and drink during the AFCC and it's a wonderful way to bring the week to a close.

Emma, Simon, Emily, Pauline Loh were already there when we got there. Kenneth and I hit the buffet table and piled our plates high before settling down on her really comfy sofas and chatting with the other guests there.

Helen, Emma and I discussed a big huge upcoming meeting that we'll be having. Hopefully, I don't mess things up. Emily, Ken and Pauline discussed the high points of AFCC and then when it was time to go we thanked Helen and Andrea for a wonderful evening. Andrea was heading back to Manila the next morning and I'm supposed to get her my manuscript soon. Note to self: Start writing!

AFCC 2014 CLOSING NIGHT PARTY: MAKAN & MINGLE

"Every children's book brings a light in to a world full of darkness."  And if that's the case, NBDCS just lit up the entire region with yet another amazing AFCC!

In recent years, the festival has grown exponentially and it's due to the hard work and the long hours that Mr Rama, Kenneth and the whole team at NBDCS put in to make sure that it's an enjoyable and informative festival for everyone.

I'd like to think that my panel session with Emily Lim and Shamini Flint two years ago had something to do with the festival's continued success, or perhaps the performance of There's Soup on My Fly by ACT3 a year later had a small part in it too, but who am I kidding? It's all down to their indefatigible efforts to make it bigger and better every year. And my word, they have succeeded!

After a year of planning and a lot of hard work on their part, the 5th Annual AFCC was coming to a close with one big party.

Kathleen Ahrens kicked off the evening by sharing a few words before Festival Director, Kenneth, took to the podium to thank everyone and the invaluable NBDCS team, including the most energetic member Mr Rama. 

Then Mr Rama had a few words of thanks to say before everyone hit the buffet table and bottles of wine.

For the first time in months, everyone at the NBDCS let their hair down and truly began to relax for an evening with old and new friends.

I always feel this party is bitter-sweet because though we all had a wonderful time it signals time to part ways for another year or perhaps even longer. OK, so I am a sad, sorry, sappy, SAP but that's me. I admit it.

I'm really very proud of the team including" Adan, Carlo, Celine, Alicia, Jade, Judy,Vasantha, Preema, and Mr Rama for pulling off another amazing AFCC. And congratualations to the Board of Advisors led by Ms Claire Chiang. Long may AFCC continue. Anyway I'll stop rambling and let you have a look at some of the photos from the night.

AFCC Day 5

So the last day of AFCC was here. It's kind of sad how fast these festivals pass but then again that's a sign of a great festival.  First up my friend Emily Lim invited me for breakfast with Frané Lessac and Cristy Burne along with Emma and Sarah. 

I told them that whomever I give my books to tend to fall pregnant. Cristy definitely did not want any of my books. LOL

 

After breakfast, we headed to the library where Emma was taking part in the pitch incubator, a session where Eric Huang and Mark Checkley walked participants through the elements of a pitch. It was perfect timing as Emma, Sarah and I all had speed pitching appointments with both Eric and Mark right after that.

Emma had the honour of pitching during the session and she did a great job I think. Though, Eric and Mark did offer her some pointers to make it even better.

Let's just say that I was a bundle of nerves at the speed pitching session, but Eric couldn't have been nicer and that relaxed me for my pitching sessions with Mark and Galen.

With the sessions over and done with, Emma, Simon, and I darted off to Seah Street for lunch with our agents Andrea and Helen.

With our tummies full of chicken rice, we made it back in time for Andrew Weale and Ho Lee Ling's  amazing session about school visits. I learned a lot and I'm definitely using some of their ideas!

As Andrew was flying back to the UK early the next morning, he wanted to visit the Raffles Hotel one last time, so along with Auntie Susanna we visited the Long Bar for peanuts and ginger beer!

And then it was time to head back to the library for the last official event of the AFCC, the closing dinner: Makan & Mingle.

AFCC 2014

The 5th Annual Asian Festival of Children's Content or AFCC officially starts today but the fun started yesterday with the set-up for all the action. Kenneth, Adan, Carlo and the AFCC Angels got to the National Library early to make sure that everything was going according to their well-laid plans.

Adan, Faith and Preema

Kenneth and Mr Rama  discuss the day's events.

The previous couple of years, the official bookstore was managed by Cheryle and Denise of Bookaburra but this year it's being run by Woods in the Books and let's just say that they have mighty big, HUGE, shoes to fill.

After browsing around the mediamart, the area where various vendors like Samsung and this year's festival country of focus: India have pavilions set up, I joined author James Mayhew for a drink at the nearby Hanis cafe. 

James has been in town for almost a week and we had a bit of a chat before illustrator Dave Liew joined us.

Once again, like last year, The Learning Connection was staging a  local children's story, Shekinah Linn's Spice Kids: Star Anise. A group of children sat enthralled as the performers brought Shekinah's story to life. Shekinah, no doubt, was really, really happy.

Dave and James were rescued from having to listen to me ramble on about publishing, when Stephanie and Faith from the Book Council came to tell them that it was almost time for their duelling illustrators session, a session in which they challenge each other to illustrate a story on the spot. And while the minutes ticked down to their challenge. And then it was time!

Award-winning author, Andrew Weale, Emma, Sarah and Linda made it to the library just in time for the event which thrilled everyone who watched these two ultra-talented illustrators duking it out with paper and paintbrushes. The kids loved that and James and Dave were besieged for autographs.

Auntie Susanna arrived after that and we discussed our upcoming book launches this weekend  and ran a couple or errands at the neighbouring Bras Basah Complex before it was time to get ready for the official launch.

Emma, Andrew, Sarah and Linda.

As we headed back downstairs we spotted Kelvin and Denise from Closetful of Books at the drop-off point.  Denise is a huge admirer of AFCC Board of Advisors Chairman Claire Chiang, so Auntie Susanna and I took the opportunity to introduce her to Claire.  There's no need to describe Denise's reaction as you can see it for yourself from the photo below.

Denise and Claire

Auntie Susanna and Claire

James Mayhew and Sally Gardner

I ran into  Ken Spillman, Linda Lingard, Sally Gardner, James Mayhew, Corinne Robson and Marjorie Coughlan before there was a flurry of flash bulbs and the crowd surged forward, signalling the arrival  HE Ms Vijay Thakur Singh, High Comissioner of India

At the India's Pavilion,  HE and the official delegation from India presented the library with a set of favourite children's books from their country. I, for one, can't wait to read them.

We were then ushered to our seats at the library's plaza to await the arrival of the guest of honour, Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister of Culture, Community and Youth and second Minister of  Communications and Information.

Mr Rama and Mr Wong

Claire, Her Excellency and the Minister all addressed the guests 

before it was time to announce the winners of the Scholastic Asian Book Award.

Ms Lim Li Kok, HE Ms Vijay Thakur Singh, Mr Lawrence Wong, Ms Claire Chiang,
Ms. Seline Lee and the winners of the Scholastic Asian Book Award.

With the official part of the launch over, the Minister toured the Mediamart, stopping at various booths to test out their products. It was dinner time for the rest of us.

All in all in was a great  start to what will be another amazing AFCC. If you haven't registered, don't worry, you still have time to do so. Just head on down to the National Library and you can register on the spot.  See y'all later!