AFCC Author Visits
Grab this chance to bring our featured speakers to your schools and classrooms!
Inspire your students with a school visit from award-winning children book authors Zeno Sworder (Australia) and Andrea Wang (USA), who are specially in town for AFCC!
Email programmes@bookcouncil.sg for a quotation for school bookings.
Andrea Wang (USA)
Dates: 23, 24 May 2024 (Thursday, Friday)
Duration: 1 hour
Caldecott award-winning author Andrea Wang’s works often contains themes of heritage, culture, family traditions which includes Watercress, The Many Meanings of Meilan, Luli and the Language of Tea and her latest release Summer at Squee. In her presentation, Andrea will read from a selected book (of your choice) and discuss the themes within the work. She will also share insights into her journey of becoming an author, followed by a Q&A session.
Note to teachers: You may select a title that resonates with your class’s interests or curriculum or let us recommend one that aligns with your objectives.
About Andrea Wang:
Andrea Wang is an acclaimed author of children’s books. Her picture book Watercress was awarded the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, among other accolades. Her other books, Summer at Squee, The Many Meanings of Meilan, Luli and the Language of Tea, Magic Ramen, and The Nian Monster, have also received awards and starred reviews. Her work explores culture, creative thinking, and identity. She lives in Colorado with her family. For more information about Andrea and her books, please visit www.andreaywang.com.
Zeno Sworder (Australia)
Dates: 23, 24 May 2024 (Thursday, Friday)
Duration: 1 hour
Discover the endless possibilities of creative inspiration with author-illustrator Zeno Sworder! Drawing from his works This Small Blue Dot and My Strange Shrinking Parents, Zeno will share with students about the book-making and storytelling process. Zeno will lead students in simple drawing exercises as part of his presentation.
Note to teachers: You may select a title that resonates with your class’s interests or curriculum or let us recommend one that aligns with your objectives.
About Zeno Sworder:
Zeno Sworder is a writer and artist who lives in Melbourne with his young family. After studying Chinese literature and migration law at university, he ended up as a dishwasher. Later, he went on to work as a journalist, an English language teacher, a consular officer, an advocate for refugees and immigrants, and a jewelry designer. But he has always felt most himself sitting at a table drawing pictures and making up stories. He is a lover of all stationery but has a particular soft spot for pencils. Sworder is the winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) 2023 Picture Book of the Year for My Strange Shrinking Parents. In 2021, Sworder was named the CBCA New Illustrator of the Year, and his first book This Small Blue Dot was a CBCA Notable Book, the winner of the 2021 Australian Book Designers Association’s Award for Best Designed Children’s Illustrated Book, and the Designers' Choice Children’s/Young Adult Book of the Year.
Joseph Namara Hollis (UK)
Dates: 23, 24 May 2024 (Thursday, Friday)
Duration: 1 hour
Winner of the 2022 Klaus Flugge Prize, author-illustrator Joseph Namara Hollis' debut work, Pierre's New Hair is a heartwarming tale of a fashion-forward bear with fabulous hair on the road to self-discovery, with lessons on friendship and teamwork weaved into the journey. Join Joseph as he reads from this refreshing and imaginative story, and guides students in a post-reading activity in creating their own animal character self-portraits.
About Joseph Namara Hollis:
Joseph Namara Hollis is a multi-award winning author-illustrator from the United Kingdom. Named "most exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration" in 2022, with his debut title Pierre’s New Hair winning the Klaus Flugge Prize. In 2018, on graduation from the internationally renowned MA at Cambridge School of Art, Joseph won the V&A Student Illustrator of the Year Award. The judges praised him for "bringing charm and sophistication in equal measure". Since then he has worked with Tate Publishing, Laurence King, and Andersen Press. He also lectures at Nottingham Trent University, where he shares his passion for illustration and picture books.