Welcome Note
by June Oei, Symposium Director, Singapore

Keynote 1: A Rose by any Other Name is Still a Rose – Asian Children Content Revisited
by Julia Posen, Marketing, Brand and Licensing Director, Walker Books, UK

This keynote sets the stage for the opportunities for Children's Publishing in Asia and from Asia. Drawing on her own experience in Walker Books, Helen offers some insights into how, while keeping to the aims of Walker, the organisation has managed to find new ways of delivering children's content to the world. Through her keynote, Helen urges everyone serious about publishing for children to continue to innovate, to experiment and to collaborate.

Keynote 2: The Book is Here to Stay
by Duncan Newton, Regional Director, Kodak, China

The book publishing world is in a state of change. New methods of delivering the content to the reader are challenging our basic understanding of the role of the publisher. Is the printed page dead? No, it's not. Will it change? Absolutely, and for the better. New techniques will allow more authors to be heard and keep older books in print indefinitely. Duncan will discuss the new alternatives in book manufacturing, book distribution, and automated inventory management. He will also examine the impact of e-books, iPads, Kindles, Nooks and other tablet readers.

a) Asian Markets and Experiences
Panellists:

• Sayoni Basu, Publishing Director, Scholastic, India
• Le Phuong Lien, Vietnam Writers Association, Vietnam
• Linda Tan, Director, Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency, Malaysia

While every market is different in terms of audience preferences and market dynamics, interestingly, there are similarities as well. 3 veterans in Children's publishing share their knowledge of what their individual domestic markets are like, and their observations of what kinds of children content can travel, and what can't.

b) A Runaway Success: A Case Study of Children Content that Made it Big
by Neal Porter, Editorial Director of Neal Porter Books at Roaring Brook Press, US
Facilitator: Holly Thompson, US/Japan

Veteran Editor Neal Porter will discuss his own experiences with recent international successes, including Marion Bataille’s ABC3D, and the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner A Sick Day for Amos McGee, which has been sold to twelve countries to date.

c) Graphic Novels & the Manga Rave – What's it all About and Why it's so Big
by Kenny Chan, Merchandising Director, Books Kinokuniya & Malini Roy, Lecturer, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Facilitator: Timothy Tan, Director, Tisch School of the Arts Asia, Singapore

Plenary: E-content: Why We Should All Pay Attention
by Stanley Han, CEO of Personal e-Motion, Singapore
Facilitator: Woon Chet Choon, Managing Consultant, Project AMISS, Singapore

Everyone is talking digital now. Is it a hype? Is it a passing trend? Are traditional printed books really at risk of disappearing? As a digital immigrant himself with "permanent residence" status in the digital world, Stanley shares his experience and ideas about digital content, and why we should start viewing "digital" as an opportunity rather than a threat.

a) The Engineering and Publishing Genius of Pop Up Books
by Tien Wah Press, Singapore
Facilitator: Tarie Sabido, Founder of Asia in the Heart, Philippines

Pop-up books are a way of bringing the content to life. While there might well be a case for digital content which can achieve the same objective, nothing beats a good book that a child can hold, carry, touch and feel. All of us must have a favourite pop-up book when we were young, and been fascinated by it. Now, be fascinated by how pop-up books are made!

b) Case Study: E-content – A Publisher’s Journey
by Julia Posen, Marketing, Brand and Licensing Director, Walker Books, UK & Wong Kok Cheong, Founder and CEO, Sparky Animations, Singapore
Facilitator: David Fedo, Executive Director, Centre for International Education, Leadership, and Innovation, Wheelock College, Singapore

In 2007 Walker Productions was launched to develop Walker content for other media platforms with a range of media partners. Join Julia Posen as she talks about Walker’s migration to TV adaptation including a new partnership with Singapore based production house Sparky Animation. Find out about the new Walker Productions, Sparky Animation and Impossible Kids joint project – Fleabag Monkeyface. Based on the popular books by writing duo Knife and Packer, published by Walker Books, this children’s animation is due to launch in the Autumn.

The Future is in our hands: Industry Hotspot Kick Off

Developing a vibrant children's publishing community requires commitment, ownership and continued enthusiasm and perseverance by all the stakeholders. What a better place to start the ball rolling than the Symposium! We want you to get together to deliberate and join minds on critical success factors for developing a successful and sustainable Asian children publishing industry. Each hotspot topic will have a general facilitator who will set the stage and show why it is critical for concerted effort and manage the hotspots development.

Hotspot topics:

Topic 1: Authorship
What makes a good writer of content for children and how can we play a role in developing Asian talent in writing for children?
Facilitator: Fran Lebowitz, Director, Foreign Rights Agency Network, US/Singapore

Topic 2: The Publishing Process
What value should a publisher add in regard to the publishing process? Do we know enough of children's publishing to help our writers? Where and how can we acquire these skills?
Facilitator: Joy Tan, General Manager, Marshall Cavendish International, Singapore

Topic 3: Marketing
What does it take to effectively market children's books? Is there more to it than just distributing to bookshops? Is there a set of Standard Operating Procedures that successful children's publishers follow?  How has it changed with the internet? How do we develop such a competency that is relevant?
Facilitator: Julia Posen, Marketing, Brand and Licensing Director, Walker Books, UK

Topic 4: International Distribution Reach
"A successful children's title sells internationally, sells tens of thousands of copies, is evergreen, is translated into multiple languages, and sometimes get made into movies." Currently, most of the children's titles published in Asia remain in Asia. First baby step: get into the distribution network. How do we do that?
Facilitator: Chua Hong Koon, Publishing Director, Amour Pubishing, Singapore