Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Children's book reading and story-telling

EVENT: Children's book reading and story-telling
Date: Saturday, 24th Nov
Time: 5.30 pm
Place: Silverfish Books, 28-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
Reader: Alexandra Carey

English author Alexandra Carey will be coming in to read extracts from her children’s books Ted Ted and the Dhobi Ghats and Ted Ted, Trouble in Tokyo.

Based on a true story, Ted Ted and the Dhobi Ghats is about a little English teddy bear who gets lost in Mumbai and ends up at the city’s famous open-air laundry, the Dhobi Ghats.  Following the success of this first book, Alexandra Carey decided to write a follow up – the recently released, Ted Ted, Trouble in Tokyo.  The much-loved English teddy bear continues his adventures this time in Japan’s capital city where he gets into all sorts of scrapes including an encounter with a Sumo wrestler, Nasty Noriko and a Japanese cat fish.

Both books are suitable for children aged between 6 and 10 years and are beautifully illustrated by Antonia Ghazlan.  They are hardback, cost RM 45 each and all author’s profits are donated to charity.  The profits from Ted Ted and the Dhobi Ghats go to a charity in India, Door Step School that provides schooling for slum children.  The profits from Ted Ted, Trouble in Tokyo go to a Malaysian charity, Dignity and Services which helps children and young people with learning disabilities.

Children's writing workshop

EVENT: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Creating Books for Young Readers
Date: Saturday, 17th Nov
Time: 10am-5pm (with a one-hr lunch break)
Place: Silverfish Books, 28-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
Fee: RM300 inclusive of all course materials.
Registration: Online (link) or at Silverfish books (Tel: 603-22844837, email: info@silverfishbooks.com)
Facilitator: Daphne Lee

Participants may also submit one manuscript per person for evaluation (which will be delivered via email not more than one month after the date of the course).

This 6-hr session is based on the many questions I receive from aspiring authors and illustrators who wish to create books for young readers, amongst them

    What should a children’s book be about?
    How many words are there in a children’s book?
    Should I write a picture book or storybook?
    Should I use difficult words in my story?
    Should I write in rhyme?
    Are there subjects I should avoid when writing a picture book/story book?
    What’s the difference between a picture book and illustrated book?
    What are the pictures in a children’s book for?
    What is a picture sequence and why is it important?
    Who will publish my book?

These and other questions will be answered and discussed with the aim of shedding some light on the art and science of writing and illustrating for children.

In this session, participants will also …

    Read and evaluate published and unpublished texts and picture book art.
    Learn the basics of creating good picture books/story books, including the fundamentals of planning plots, writing dialogue, creating characters, establishing a voice and deciding on Point of View.
    Be introduced to an interesting and wide range of picture books and story books.

Book launch -- BOLA by Fixi

EVENTS: Launch of BOLA
Publisher: Fixi
Venue: Silverfish Books, 28-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 603-22844837, email: info@silverfishbooks.com)
Time: 3.00pm-5.00 pm, Saturday, 3 Nov 2012

BOLA ialah antologi cerpen Fixi yang menampilkan 19 penulis. Masing-masing menyumbangkan cerita yang ada kaitan dengan sukan paling popular di dunia ... bolasepak! Buku ini ialah cetakan terhad 1,500 keping dan tidak akan diulang cetak.

BOLA is a short story anthology by 19 writers, each with a story about this most popular world sport -- football! This book is available as a limited edition with only 1500 copies printed. There will be no reprint.

Free admission. All welcome.

Festival Sastera Kanak-kanak 2012

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHILDREN’S LITERATURE 2012
in conjunction with Festival Sastera Kanak-kanak 2012
Venue: Lecture Hall B (Dewan Kuliah B) and Lecture Hall F (Dewan Kuliah F), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya.
Date: 1-6 Nov 2012
Time: 9.00am to 5.00pm

Festival Sastera Kanak-kanak, or Children's Literature Festival 2012, is organised by Kota Buku and will be held from 1-6 Nov 2012 at the Arts and Social Science, Faculty, Universiti Malaya. There will be many activities for children such as batik painting and story-telling sessions by children's book authors and story tellers. Children's books will be sold during the festival and the illustrators' corridor will feature 10 illustrators with their work. 

A key event in conjunction with the festival is the conference by the Malaysian Board of Books for Young People (MBBY).

Entry is open to the public and is free.
Contact Information:
• Fadli Abdullah (MBBY): 017-2478990; 03-79675717
• Nor Zaliza Sarmiti (Dept. of Media Studies, UM): 012-3046428; 03-79675419