by Anushka Ravishankar, India,
Gavin Bishop and John McKenzie, New Zealand

Date:	29 - 30 May 2011, Sun - Mon
Time:	10.00am – 6.00pm
Venue:	The Arts House
Fee:	S$200nett per person

Join the AFCC 2011’s Masterclass on Picture Books and get this fantastic opportunity to take a peek into the wit, wonder and wisdom of some of the most celebrated experts in children’s literature today.

Whether you are just beginning the path towards publication, or are already well-established, this Masterclass offers an invaluable guide to the craft of writing and illustrating picture books. 

What’s different? Why sign up?
We’ll have hands-on mini workshops focusing on special interests:

• The narrative structure and techniques
• The value of pictures rather than words
• Composition issues and storyboarding
• The depth and layers that make up the genre “picture book” for various age groups
• Interpretation/comprehension strategies
• Picture books on subject matters for learning and advanced readers.

We’ll also have discussion sessions designed to bring diverse groups together and focus on some key issues:

• What distinguishes between illustrated books as opposed to true picture books
• The difficulties of telling and writing/illustrating a picture book that details another culture
• Exploring how adult beliefs about childhood are embedded in stories we tell children
• Exploring the hard side of life and the need for the “dark side” of childhood
• How we can encourage critical thinking e.g. political, religious, gender perspectives
• Violence, suicide and sexuality - Can books be dangerous for some children/young people?

The picture book often constructs an image of childhood that is “cute”.
Let us look into the possibilities of challenging children’s pleasures and popular culture.
Let us question - Are all award-winning picture books actually picture books?

The workshop leaders will also share about the real-world issues of getting published from their own experiences.

Who should definitely register?
Writers and illustrators, no matter if you’re just starting out or already have published works, teachers, librarians, parents and everyone who is passionate about picture books .

Can’t draw? Don’t worry – the class focuses on developing your vision for the imagery and pacing, visualising the pages and the reader’s interaction with the book.

Can draw? Brilliant – we’ll look forward to your sketches!

Workshop Leaders:
Anushka Ravishankar, India
Dubbed ‘India’s Dr. Seuss’, Anushka Ravishankar is one of India’s most celebrated children’s authors. A tremendously talented poet, she is often credited with being the first writer to adapt the difficult nonsense verse form to the cadences of Indian English. Anushka has won national and international acclaim for the 15 jubilant and artful verse-tales she’s released with Tara Publishing over the last decade, rights to these books have been snapped up in the US, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Korea, Italy, Japan and Spain.

Gavin Bishop, New Zealand
Gavin Bishop has published over 40 books that have been translated into nine languages. He has also written the libretti for children’s ballets for the Royal New Zealand Ballet as well as scripts for television. Gavin Bishop is widely travelled and has been a guest author and speaker, through UNESCO, in Japan, China, Indonesia and the USA. He was a guest lecturer at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1996. In 2003 with an Art and Science Collaboration Grant at Canterbury University he helped produce the world’s first 3-dimensional, animated picture book.

John Mckenzie, New Zealand
John McKenzie is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Canterbury College of Education, passionate about the centrality of story, in all its guises, in the curriculum. He designed and implemented the graduate level Diploma in Children's Literature. He has many conference papers to his credit, is involved in the development of literacy qualifications in South Africa and has been awarded the Betty Gilderdale Award for services to NZ children's literature.

 

Festival Organisers:

Writing Stories for Picture Books (Mandarin)*
儿童图书写作

Date:	28 May 2011, Saturday
Time:	9.30am – 12.30pm
Venue:	The Arts House
Workshop Leader:	Chen Chih-Yuan, Taiwan (陈致元, 台灣)
Fee:	S$40 per person

So you want to write a picture book. Stories for young children are usually short and that leads many to think that writing for them is easy. You’ll be in for a surprise as it is even more difficult than writing for adults. We tend to moralise, teach a lesson – write stories which bore kids to death. Join Chen Chih-Yuan, three-time winner of the prestigious Hsin Yi Picture Book Award, as he shows you how he writes stories for picture books. Where do ideas come from? Should they be solely based on our imaginations? How to write stories that will pass the test of time – being loved and remembered even years later? What qualities make a good picture book for the young child? Don’t waste time by making the same silly mistakes.

由于儿童故事偏短,许多人都认为,写作儿童图书是件轻而易举的事。但你会惊觉，写作儿童故事，比写作成人故事还难！我们时常会以教训的口吻写作，而这样的故事会使孩子们觉得闷。三屆信誼儿童图书文学奖得主,著名圖畫書作家陈致元,会与你分享，他写作儿童图书的过程：他如何获得灵感，是空凭想象？怎样才能创作经典？一本好的图书要有什元素？

Workshop Leader:
Chen Chih-Yuan is a renowned picture book writer and illustrator from Taiwan. Chen is a three-time winner of the prestigious Hsin Yi Picture Book Award for Memory, a wordless picture book, Guji Guji and On My Way to Buy Eggs. The English-language translation of Guji Guji appeared on the New York Times Bestseller Top 10 List, and On My Way to Buy Eggs won the Publishers Weekly Best Illustrated Book of the Year. He has more than 10 picture books, and many have been published in different countries, including the US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, and Korea.

 

In partnership with:

Picture Book Production Workshop (Malay)*
Bengkel Menghasilkan Buku Bergambar

Date:	28 May 2011, Saturday
Time:	1.30pm – 4.30pm
Venue:	The Arts House
Workshop Leader:	Yusof Gajah, Malaysia & Murti Bunanta, Indonesia
Fee:	S$40 per person

In this workshop, you will learn the process of making a picture book and will be guided to produce a simple picture book. The trainers will then comment and provide feedback on each picture book. It is hoped that you will have a better idea on producing picture books after the workshop and to expand on you initial efforts into a publishable picture book. You are requested to bring a short story about 700 words for the workshop. This workshop is conducted in Malay/Indonesian language.

Dalam bengkel interaktif ini, para peserta akan mempelajari proses menghasilkan buku bergambar dan akan dibimbing untuk menghasilkan draf buku bergambar yang mudah. Kedua-dua pelatih akan memberi komen dan tunjuk ajar atas setiap draf yang dihasilkan. Adalah diharapkan para peserta akan mendapat gambaran yang lebih jelas tentang cara menghasilkan buku bergambar dan akan melanjutkan usaha awal mereka ini sehingga dapat mengeluarkan buku bergambar yang sesuai untuk diterbitkan. Para peserta diminta menyediakan sebuah cerita pendek (700 perkataan) untuk bengkel ini. Bengkel ini akan dijalankan dalam Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia.

Workshop Leaders:
Illustrator: Yusof Gajah
The roots of Yusof Gajah’s current paintings come from more than two decades of exploring naïve art not only for art’s sake but also for its story telling possibilities. An accomplished children’s book illustrator, Yusof has won several prestigious awards including the 1997 Grand Prix awards at Noma Concours for Children’s Picture Book Illustration in Japan. Best loved for his delightful Tiga Ekor Gajah children’s book, Yusof reveals himself as a storyteller with a sensitive way of imparting knowledge and wry wit that ignites our imagination, children and adult alike.

Writer: Murti Bunanta Dr. Murti Bunanta is a children’s literature specialist giving talks and workshops in Indonesia and abroad. She has written 50 books for children, five of them received international awards. She is the president and the founder of Society for the Advancement of Children’s Literature (1987) and Indonesian Board on Books for Young People (1990). She owns more than 30,000 children’s books from around 35 countries.

 

In partnership with:

Illustrating Picture Books (in Mandarin)
儿童图书插画

Date:	29 May 2011, Sunday
Time:	10.00am – 1.00pm
Venue:	The Arts House
Workshop Leader:	Chen Chih-Yuan, Taiwan (陈致元, 台灣)
Fee:	S$40 per person

Today’s picture-book illustrators and designers are some of the world’s most innovative visual artists. No matter what the medium is, vivid storytelling and clear communication remain the hallmark of every successful picture book. Join Chen Chih-Yuan, three-time winner of the prestigious Hsin Yi Picture Book Award, as he shares practical, creative techniques and design solutions to different types of picture books, from wordless to those heavy on text. Start creating colourful pictures to be enjoyed by children all over the world.

现代的儿童图书插画家与设计师都是富有创意的视觉美术家.无论通过任何媒体,生动的叙述和清晰的沟通就是一本成功图书的标志.与三屆信誼儿童图书文学奖得主,著名圖畫書作家陈致元, 探讨实际但富有创意的绘画技巧与设计构思.从论是无字图书，或文字繁多的图书,现在就开始创作精美的绘画，与全世界的儿童分享。

Workshop Leader:
Chen Chih-Yuan is a renowned picture book writer and illustrator from Taiwan. Chen is a three-time winner of the prestigious Hsin Yi Picture Book Award for Memory, a wordless picture book, Guji Guji and On My Way to Buy Eggs. The English-language translation of Guji Guji appeared on the New York Times Bestseller Top 10 List, and On My Way to Buy Eggs won the Publishers Weekly Best Illustrated Book of the Year. He has more than 10 picture books, and many have been published in different countries, including the US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, and Korea.