We didn’t manage to be there for the full two hours but the SCBWI stand at the Bologna Book Fair was even more the place to be from 12.00-2.00 today, when authors from across the regions read their own unpublished manuscript and two (later, I think, three) illustrators battled it out to draw the illustrations.

We caught most of Paul O. Zelinsky (on the left) and Bob Barner (right) working up a frenzy with a fun counting book from Kathleen Ahrens (and John Shelley on guitar!). When it came to 10, they pulled the flip charts together and joined forces…

Then Lesley Vamos (left) and Serena Geddes (right) illustrate a story written and read by Chris Cheng:

Sadly, we had to leave before the end but you can see pictures of the whole session on Chris Cheng’s blog.

As the researcher for our Eventful World calendar, I am always searching for events that highlight children’s and young adults’ literature. As you can imagine, it is fairly easy to find events taking place in Canada or the United States so when I find out about events happening in other Pacific Rim countries it can be especially exciting. Imagine my thrill when award-winning children’s book illustrator John Shelley emailed me with regards to a workshop that he hosted in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia!

Originally from the U.K. John resides in Tokyo and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) . In June, he and fellow SCBWI Japan chapter member Holly Thompson traveled to Mongolia and hosted a three day workshop for children’s authors and illustrators. Over 40 participants attended the event with John addressing the illustrating aspects of children’s literature and Holly addressing the writing. Despite the major challenges involved (few of the attendees even spoke English!) John and Holly were able to cover the whole gamut of children’s publishing, from story ideas to story boarding, submissions to marketing and promotion. A very successful workshop indeed!

I encourage you to visit John’s blog to learn more about the workshop, the participants, and the state of the children’s book market in Mongolia. As John states in his blog:

We learned a lot through this and other experiences. Children’s publishing in Mongolia is in a state of development. The population of the whole country is less than 3 million, and as the number of people who can afford to buy children’s books is very small, the market is limited…Holly and I both felt a keen desire to help Mongolian illustrators make a name for themselves outside the country. The fundamental problem is simple – with a weak and limited local market for children’s books in Mongolia, writers and illustrators are faced with the choice to either create a stronger publishing market locally, or establish a bilingual agency that will promote work internationally. It’s a slow process, but people are aware of what needs to be done and will get there in the end, with help.

How interesting is that?

We all know that there must be literary events happening around the world on any given day, but how can you find out about them without spending endless hours surfing the net? The PaperTigers calendar is the key! Click on a date to see what events are happening on that day and where they take place, and to explore the links to find out more details.

In the spirit of PaperTigers as part of Pacific Rim Voices, our primary focus continues to be children and young adult literary events that take place in Pacific Rim and South Asia regions. However, in the true flavor of the world-wide web and with one of our main bloggers living in the U.K., I would love to include events in other locations. As you can imagine it is easier to find events happening in the United States and Canada as compared to other countries. However, I am determined that the Eventful World calendar be just that – events that happen throughout the world, not just North America. This is where I need your help! I encourage all our readers wherever they may reside, to send me information or links to events that they think others should know about. If you have attended an event that we have mentioned, let us know what it was like. We’d love to get your feedback!

Thanks to John Shelley, a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Tokyo Chapter, I learned about the conference that he will be hosting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on June 15-17. How exciting is that! Other highlights this week include the Nami Island International Children’s Book Festival (Korea), the Cape Town Book Fair (South Africa) and Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga exhibition (San Francisco, USA).

If you are aware of an event that is happening in your neck of the woods, let me know about it! Leave me a comment or email me – corinne(at)papertigers(dot)org