Country of Focus

L16, The Pod

AFCC Launch & Keynote

Colin Goh, Myra Garces-Bacsal, Lucia Obi
Moderator: Rosemarie Somaiah

Keynote Address 1 by Dr Myra Garces-Bacsal: 
Reading for Emotional Engagement and Imagine-Nation

Keynote Address 2 by Colin Goh:
Dim Sum Warriors: The Challenge of Asserting Heritage and Countering Stereotypes

Keynote Address 3 by Lucia Obi: 
Imagining Asia from Afar: Asia in the Mirror of European Children's Literature

Details

L5, Possibility Room

Read Our World: Getting SingLit into the Hands of Children

May Tan, Denon Lim, Vijayanand Thamotharan, Rilla Melati
Moderator: Denise Tan

There are many efforts to inculcate the habit of reading among children, but what about getting them to read our very own literature? Join our panel of speakers as they discuss their initiatives to get SingLit into schools and making local books more accessible to students.

B1, Programme Zone

Writing For Multi-cultural Readers

Quek Hong Shin, Rosemarie Somaiah, Sharon Ismail
Moderator: Evelyn Wong

Though there are an increasing number of children’s books produced in mother tongues or a bilingual format, how many of them actually reflect the multicultural fabric of our society? This panel looks at the complexity of writing for young multicultural readers and how books can help facilitate cross-cultural understanding.

B1, Programme Zone

Is there a Singapore Illustration Style?

Patrick Yee, Priscilla Tey, Khairudin Saharom
Moderator: JF Koh

Is there a style of illustration that we can call our own? A distinctive sense or aesthetic that is easily identified as “Singaporean”? Or is there a need to develop one? Join a few of our established illustrators as they tackle these questions and more..

B1, Programme Zone

Indie Spirit: How Children’s Bookstores Survive in Singapore

Shannon Ong, Suriya Rethnna, Sung Yuen Ling
Moderator: Denise Tan

The current retail market is tough, but probably even more so for independent bookstores. The speakers on this panel, owners of bookstores that specialise in children’s books in different languages, talk about how they continue to engage their customers and maintain an edge in the market.

B1, Programme Zone

How I Started: A Writer’s Journey

Emily Lim, David Seow, Rilla Melati
Moderator: Sarah Mounsey

Behind every successful writer is a long journey. Find out from some of our most established children’s writers, as they look back on their first steps, along with the bends and roadblocks, as well as successes, that have led them to where they are now.

L5, Imagination Room

SingLit in Classrooms: How Three Schools Do It

Moderator: Ruth Wong

Teachers from three primary schools show how they have carved out spots for Singaporean stories in their classrooms. This discussion looks at how the teachers have used SingLit to impart both a love for reading and for languages among their students.

L5, Possibility Room

Roundtable: How SingLit is Used from Preschools to Primary Schools

Ginia Ng, Seetha Lakshmi, Tan Chee Lay, Mohd Mukhlis Bin Abu Bakar, Pushpavalli Narayanasamy, Zulaihabe Talip
Moderator: Tan Chee Lay, Theresa Lu

In this special roundtable discussion, we have gathered experts and practitioners working in Mother Tongue language education. They will discuss how SingLit is used in language acquisition as children move from preschools to primary schools, and how the transition can be facilitated further.

L5, Imagination Room

Giving a Voice: Inclusivity in Singapore’s Kid-Lit

Eva Wong Nava, Eunice Olsen, Marie Toh
Moderator: Hidayah Amin

The writers on this panel are united in making the under-represented groups in society more visible, be it through creating female heroines or understanding those with special needs. By opening up the window into these marginalised or oft-hidden worlds, they show how inclusivity can be advocated through kid-lit. 

L16, The Pod

Children’s Literature Lecture: Nurturing Roots of Self & Culture in Our Children Through Stories About Us

Suchen Christine Lim
Moderator: Panna d/o Kantilal

Without the stories, poems, pictures or music of their own country, children are figuratively malnourished. In turn, the books and stories we create have an imperative to make our people, culture, land and history visible to children.

L5, Possibility Room

Creating Mythology: Singapore Style

Zed Yeo, Lin Xueling, Suffian Hakim
Moderator: Maisarah Abu Samah

Creating fantasy fiction for young readers is not a stretch for these writers. They drew on the richness of our local myths to conjure up mythological, make-believe worlds. Find out where they get their source of imagination from and how they inject local flavour into their works.

L5, Imagination Room Workshop

Cruising In and Taking Off

Karen Lee, Wong Swee Yean

Birds embody the spirit of Southeast Asia – endlessly diverse and brimming with the potential for flight. This workshop takes you on a journey through bird-themed storybooks, with storytellers showing you how to bring out the richness of cultures in our region and make them accessible to young children through the art of storytelling.

B1, Programme Zone

Knowing Our History Through Children’s Books

Radhika Dhawan Puri, Sim Ee Waun, Josephine Chia
Moderator: Elaine Fong

Knowing our history is an integral part of forming our identity and culture as we grow up. Our speakers have brought different parts of Singapore’s past to life through their books. They talk about why it is important to raise awareness about our history and to keep these stories going.

B1, Programme Zone

How I Came Up With My First Book

Andy Chua, Francis Wong Hooe Wai, Tan Ter Cheah, Djohan Abdul Rahman
Moderator: Eugene Tay

What happens before writing the first word? From drawing on past memories to the practical task of juggling different careers, our speakers reveal how they each took the plunge and put pen to paper for their first book for children and youths.

L5, Possibility Room

Venturing Out: Selling Beyond Singapore’s Market

Mindy Pang, Edmund Wee, Eliza Teoh
Moderator: Selina Lee

Small nation, big reach: Each of the publishers in this session has ventured out and found places for children’s SingLit in the overseas market. They discuss what it takes for the local to go global, and the hurdles they have to overcome.

B1, Programme Zone

Making a Mark: Iconic Children’s Characters in SingLit

Adeline Foo, Lesley-Anne Tan, Ruth Wan-Lau
Moderator: Emily Lim

From Sherlock Sam to Danger Dan and Amos Lee, well-told stories leave us with characters we remember beyond childhood. In this session, we have gathered some of Singapore’s notable kidlit writers to discuss how they have created these iconic characters and how they have evolved over the years.

L5, Possibility Room

Translating Singapore KidLit

Vijayanand Thamotharan, Yang Shu Hung, Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar
Moderator: Yeo Wei Wei

Translation opens up the window to different cultures, and this is especially important in a multilingual, multicultural place like Singapore. This panel of translators discuss the nuts and bolts of translating kidlit, and why sometimes it is better to show than to tell.

B1, Programme Zone Panel

21st Century Writing: From Generation Z and Beyond

Gabby Tye, Elodie Kyra, Ashley Koh
Moderator: Pip Harry

This new generation of authors may be born and bred in a digital age, but is their writing really that different from what we're used to reading? Our speakers confront the assumptions about who they are, why they write, and how they are writing the stories that a new generation of readers want to hear. 

L16, The Pod AFCC Closing Panel

Singlish in KidLit: Discuss

Casey Chen, Colin Goh
Moderator: Melanie Lee

Singlish is most often spoken and heard, but how about seeing it on the page? Join Casey Chen and Colin Goh as they discuss the literary potential of our unofficial lingua franca, along with the challenges and opportunities in integrating them into our children's books. 

This session is free and open to the public. 

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