Singapore Fling - what I learned at the Asian Festival of Children's Content

I've just come back from Singapore where I attended the Asian Festival of Children's Content! Yup. That's the author's life. So hard.

With prolific Filipino author-illustrators Russell Molina and Jomike Tejido
Photo: Russell Molina



Anyway, this is just a heads up that I'm badging all my posts from this wonderful festival as Singapore Fling and cross-posting here on my author blog and  Notes From the Slushpile, my group blog for writers.  It was an extra special festival for me because the country focus was the Philippines!!!

Click here to read my Singapore Fling posts on Notes from the Slushpile.

Click here to read my Singapore Fling posts on CandyGourlay.com

I wasn't able to attend everything (it's kinda hard, if you're a speaker too and my cloning machine has been broken all weekend!) so I'm going to be adding links to  stuff about the AFCC below as I find them. Do message me in the contact form (turning off comments for this post to save my readers the trouble) if you wrote something about the AFCC and want me to include it in my list.

Why is the AFCC so important? Because it's the beginning of something BIG. This is Asia at it's brightest and best. And it's time the book writing and book reading world looked East.  This is the future.




Stories from the Asian Festival of Children's Content

Philippine focus, the Art and Science of Book Reviews, Myth Magic History and Heritage in Children's Fiction, Taking a Line for a Walk, There's Soup on My Fly (2 June 2012, Gathering Books)

My Video of the AFCC (1 June 2012, Candy Gourlay) - I made a video!

Highlights of the Teacher's Congress (31 May 2012, Gathering Books) - on developing a reading culture in Asian schools, Marjorie Van Heerden on illustration and story, Nancy Johnson on responding to literature through writing.

Snippets from the Parents Forum (1 June 2012, Gathering Books) - with book historian Leonard Marcus , storyteller Rosemarie Somaiah, the librarian Er Lai Kuan and the bestselling author Adeline Foo ... and a night out with a rock star (and me - but more on that later)!

What makes an editor read on? First pages (1 June 2012, Notes from the Slushpile) - Authors watch editors criticize the first pages of their manuscripts. Not for the faint-hearted.

What's a couple of Bestsellers between editors? (30 May 2012, Notes from the Slushpile) - The publishers of Harry Potter and Twilight reveal that they passed on Wimpy Kid and The Book Thief. You win some, you lose some.

The importance of a light touch when writing about issues (30 May 2012, AFCC Wire) - Featuring Australian authors Norman Jorgensen, Julia Lawrinson and Dianne Wolfer.