Speed Pitching (Media) 2016
The Cross-Platform track brings media and literary industry professionals and enthusiasts together to discuss the latest trends in media content. It focuses on multi-platform storytelling, pitching, interactive narrative, and digital marketing to address the current issues and needs in the content market for children and young adults.
Take part in sessions with other media and literary industry professionals to connect and share experiences in innovating content for children across different platforms and media.
An AFCC Festival Pass gives you full access to these sessions.
You can visit this page to find out how you can access the programmes. VOD sessions will be available from the day after the event to 30 June 2021, 2359 (GMT 0800).
27 May (Thursday) • Reimagine
9:00am – 10:30am (SGT) Convert Time
AFCC Keynote: Reimagine. Rebuild. Reignite
Books are time capsules that capture moments in time and are mediums through which we can review our past, learn about the present and predict the future. As we collectively reimagine our post-pandemic children’s literature industry, what does the future hold in store? In this session, our keynote speakers will share about their relationship with books and their thoughts on the evolution of the literary scene and reading community.
There will be a live Q&A segment during this session. This programme is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and U.S. Embassy Singapore.
Jason Chin (US)
Jason Chin is the author and illustrator of many acclaimed books, including Grand Canyon, Redwoods and Your Place in the Universe. The latest book he illustrated, Watercress, by author Andrea Wang, has garnered seven-starred reviews. Jason has received a Caldecott Honor, Sibert Honor, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, and the NCTE Orbis Pictus award.
Hwang Sun-mi (黄善美） (Korea)
Hwang Sun-mi is a South Korean writer, who has won many awards and published more than 40 books for adults and children. She graduated from the creative writing departments at Seoul Institute of the Arts and Gwangju University. Her book, The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly has been on bestseller lists for 20 years and has also been adapted into a comic book, a play, and a musical, and has been translated into 30 languages.
Esther Nguyen (Vietnam)
Esther Nguyen is a passionate media and technology entrepreneur and the CEO of POPS Worldwide, a leading digital entertainment company in Southeast Asia. POPS has been crucial to the development of the entertainment industry in Vietnam, educating the industry on copyright potential and building an ecosystem that has allowed the industry to monetise and evolve.
Moderator Colin Goh (Singapore)
Colin Goh is a writer/cartoonist whose work includes the international bestseller Search Inside Yourself. He created the Dim Sum Warriors series of graphic novels with his wife Woo Yen Yen. Dim Sum Warriors has expanded into a musical that toured 25 cities in China, children's books, and an international patent-pending learning system that combines hilarious multilingual comics, livestream drawing sessions and an app with reading evaluation tech.
11:00am – 12:00pm (SGT) Convert Time
Streaming Content: Trends in Viewership
In this new age of content streaming, how have viewership trends changed along with the times and what do commissioners look out for in sourcing for new content? What devices are the most popular among video-streaming consumers? What types of content work best on streaming devices? Join our panellists from WarnerMedia, Media Partners Asia and MediaCorp as they share insights, tips and observations from the media industry!
There will be a live Q&A segment during this session.
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Nicholas Oh (Singapore)
Nicholas is an award-winning commissioning editor with over a decade of experience in the media industry. A content enthusiast, Nicholas loves strategising content across the kids and unscripted entertainment space, developing IPs and curating content for his audience. Nicholas has experience working with prominent networks and brands across the world, with some highlights including the MasterChef and Lil Wild IP. When he’s not working, Nicholas tries in vain to make his furkids love him.
Vivek Couto (Singapore)
Vivek Couto is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Media Partners Asia (MPA) and he has 20 years of experience in media and telecoms Vivek is also on the Board of Directors at Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). At MPA, Vivek leads teams to offer clients market research, various advisory services, M& A-related due diligence and research firms. MPA also hosts the leading annual summit APOS, Asia’s premier event for the TMT industry with global impact.
Leslie Lee (Singapore)
Leslie Lee is WarnerMedia’s Head of Kids Content, overseeing Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO networks in Asia Pacific. His role includes the programming, operations, brand and franchise management, and content direction for the three brands. He presently sits on the programming committee at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content and is a board member of Centre 42, a non-profit arts organisation that supports playwriting in Singapore.
Moderator Ervin Han (Singapore)
Ervin Han is the co-founder of Robot Playground Media, an animation studio based in Singapore. He is a seasoned animation producer and director who has created and worked on projects for Disney, WarnerMedia and Mediacorp. He is also a passionate storyteller who hopes to see more Asian stories brought to life through animation.
11:00am – 12:00pm (SGT) Convert Time
Story City – Getting Real with Digital Narrative
Using her own shortlisted digital narrative The Chapel of Unlove as a living example, Dimity will divulge the exacting process of producing an immersive, interactive ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ styled locative fiction. Discover how digital narratives enable young readers to control the destiny of the protagonist, and exercise agency as they embark on adventures of their own choosing!
There will be a live Q&A segment during this session.
Dimity Powell (Australia)
Dimity Powell loves filling every spare moment with words. She is the managing editor for Kids' Book Review and writes and reviews exclusively for children. She has more than 28 published stories including Pippa (2019) and At The End Of Holyrood Lane, winner of the 2019 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award.
Moderator Christine Chong (Singapore)
Christine is the head of Tusitala Books, a digital storytelling studio that reimagines the future of reading. She previously worked in academic publishing and arts management and has an MA in English Literature from the National University of Singapore, a certificate in editing from the Graham School at the University of Chicago and attended the Summer Publishing Institute at New York University.
29 May (Saturday) • Rebuild
11:00am – 12:00pm (SGT) Convert Time
Media Pitch
Watch the five finalists of AFCC’s media pitch from Singapore and abroad going head-to-head with one another as they pitch their media projects to a panel of industry veterans in the kids content space for the chance of developing their concept further. Watch as experts from Nickelodeon, WarnerMedia, Tencent 腾讯 and Discovery Kids share their insights with the hopeful finalists. Expect sketches, storyboards, and lots of refreshing new ideas for children’s content.
Carlene Tan (Singapore)
Carlene Tan is responsible for identifying new IP and producing original series for WarnerMedia's Kids & Family brands in Asia Pacific including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO, as well as the streaming service HBO GO. She oversees the region's current state of APAC originals that include the International Emmy-nominated Lamput and Monster Beach. Prior to WarnerMedia, Carlene developed original animation with The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia).
Uttam Pal Singh (India)
Uttam has been working in the children's content and animation industry for almost 20 years. He now heads a kids entertainment channel, Discovery Kids. Uttam is the creative vision behind the rise of Discovery Kids. He developed and adapted Big Bollywood IPs for Kids TV and successfully launched Hindi language TV programmes Little Singham and Fukrey Boyzzz which are now streaming on Netflix.
James Liu (China)
James manages the IP acquisition for kids and international projects for 腾讯 (Tencent) Video. He previously served as Director of Acquisition and Investment at WeKids, a renowned media company at Hong Kong, with a concentration on the internationally awarded animated series. He has more than nine years of expertise in international rights introduction, negotiations and management in both publishing and media industry, specialising in kids content.
Karen Tang (Singapore)
Karen Tang’s first foray into the industry came as the Vice-President at Peach Blossom Media, where she oversaw operations and animation productions. She has been developing and producing content for digital platforms and television. Her works have been recognized with various accolades such as the Asian Academy Creative Awards, Golden Bell Awards, and the Asian Television Awards.
Nicholas Oh (Singapore)
Nicholas is an award-winning commissioning editor with over a decade of experience in the media industry. A content enthusiast, Nicholas loves strategising content across the kids and unscripted entertainment space, developing IPs and curating content for his audience. Nicholas has experience working with prominent networks and brands across the world, with some highlights including the MasterChef and Lil Wild IP. When he’s not working, Nicholas tries in vain to make his furkids love him.
Moderator Yoshiya Ayugai (Singapore)
Yoshiya is a writer/producer for kids and family content working across the Asia Pacific region. Yoshiya is originally from Japan and has held development and production executive positions in Tokyo, LA, Hong Kong and in Singapore at Disney, Cartoon Network and Netflix, working with the most dynamic animation studios in the region.
Moderator Antony Gusscott (New Zealand)
Antony uses his 14 years of expertise to run a creative consultancy firm, Sprinkles on Top, that has worked with over 40 animation series worldwide. Sprinkles on Top helps clients to create: Writers Bibles, Pitching Materials, Show Bibles, Branding Guides and Pilots and aids the pre-production process of animation shows while assisting clients in pitch their series to the global market.
12:00pm – 1:00pm (SGT) Convert Time
How Technology Enhances the Learning Process, Production and Marketing of a Children’s Book
The session looks at the journey and birth of the augmented reality (AR) book, Prince Nila Discovers a New Kingdom, by its writer Chew Yeh and Victoria Carlton. AR, which enhances real-world objects with technology, is an interactive experience that Pokemon Go! players will be familiar with. How does this play out in a children’s book? Find out how AR has been bringing literature to life, and how it can help enhance your marketing efforts for your books!
Redeem an augmented reality book, Prince Nila Discovers a New Kingdom by providing your feedback for this session to Chew Yeh here!
Ngo Chew Yeh (Singapore)
Madam Ngo Chew Yeh is the founder of September 21 Enterprise Pte Ltd, the region's leading supplier of high quality Early Childhood, Special Needs & Primary teaching resources. She is an avid animal lover, a toastmaster fan and collects antique books. Her personal mantra: Ethics and Integrity are my passion. They cost nothing but they mean everything.
Moderator Kenlin Liu (Singapore)
Kenlin is the Chief Operating Officer at September 21 Enterprise Pte Ltd which provides educational resources for parents and teachers. He has designed, developed and implemented training lessons and programmes for various multi-national companies and also for the military in England and Singapore. He believes that chess is an enabler in empowered children and helping them to be more strategically minded when dealing with schoolwork.
5:15pm – 6:15pm (SGT) Convert Time
From Bookstagram to BookToks: How Gen Z is Generating Book Buzz
Unsure what is a BookTok and a Bookstagram? Fret not! Let the digital natives on this panel share what these terms are with you! They will look at how the discussion and promotion of books have changed within the Gen Z era with the use of digital platforms and social media, and discuss what the future of books could look like.
There will be a live Q&A segment during this session.
Natalie Sutanto (Singapore)
Natalie (she/they) is a reading enthusiast who likes to share their favourite books with the bookish community online. They like to read mainly nonfiction books on society, feminism, queerness, the climate and local issues in Singapore. If not found poring over a book in some random corner, they are likely making content for their bookstagram/booktube over at @anattynook.
Elizabeth Black (US)
Elizabeth is a college student residing in California with a passion for books and history. She is a content creator on TikTok, meeting book enthusiasts around the world and helping to inspire a love for storytelling among the younger generation. She hopes to continue exploring literature through travel and her studies.
Mireille and Elodie Lee (alifeofliterature) (UK)
@alifeofliterature is a TikTok account by Mireille and Elodie Lee with more than 250,000 followers worldwide. @alifeofliterature successfully bridges the worlds of social media and literature. Mireille and Elodie inspire people to read by creating and sharing book trailers where they combine montages of pictures that showcase books aesthetics with emotive music.
Moderator Mindy Pang (Singapore)
Mindy Pang has more than a decade of experience as an editor and marketing manager at Marshall Cavendish International (Asia). She was the driving force behind key publications as a senior editor and currently develops marketing strategies to help the publishing house remain a leading publisher in Asia and beyond.