(Click on event name for more information)

The Art of Picture Books Exhibition~ ongoing until Mar 27, Bristol, United Kingdom

20th Annual Children’s Book Illustrator Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 18, Hayward, CA, USA

Read Across America Day~ Mar 2, USA

Words on Wheels~ Mar 2 – 7, New Zealand

Papirolas Festival for Children and Youth~ Mar 3 – 8, Guadalajara, Mexico

World Book Day~ Mar 5, United Kingdom and Ireland

Growing Up Asian in America Art and Essay Contest~ entry deadline Mar 5, San Francisco, CA, USA

40th Annual Conference on Children’s Literature~ Mar 6 – 7, Athens, GA, USA

Asilomar Regional Reading Conference: Fired Up for Literacy~ Mar 6 – 8, Pacific Grove, CA, USA

Shanghai International Literary Festival~ Mar 6 -22, Shanghai, China

Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)Choices Day and Charlotte Zolotow Award Event~ Mar 7, Madison, WI, USA

Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival~ Mar 8 – 18, Hong Kong

ALA’s Teen Tech Week~ Mar 8 – 14, USA

Share a Story – Shape a Future, A Blog Tour for Literacy~ Mar 9

12th Time of the Writer International Writers Festival~ Mar 9 – 14, Durban, South Africa

Rhinelander Children’s Book Fest~ Mar 10 -11, Rhinelander, WI, USA

Annual SCBWI (SA) Publishers Show & Tell Day~ Mar 11, Cape Town, South Africa

19th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair~ Mar 12 – 22, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Children’s Books in Asia, Africa and Latin America Symposium~ Mar 13, Tokyo, Japan

13th Annual Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 13 – 14, Redlands, CA, USA

Salon du Livre Paris~ Mar 13 – 18, Paris, France

41st Annual Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 15 – 17, Warrensburg, MO, USA

Exhibition of Prize Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ Mar 15 – Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

Somerset Celebration of Literature~ Mar 16 – 20, Mudgeeraba, Australia

World Storytelling Day~ Mar 20

Harmony Day~ Mar 21, Australia

World Poetry Day~ Mar 21

Bologna Children’s Book Fair~ Mar 23 – 26, Bologna, Italy

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winners Announced~ Mar 24, Vimmerby, Sweden

All-Saints College Festival of Young Adult and Children’s Literature~ Mar 25 – 27, Bull Creek, Australia

7th Bangkok International Book Fair & 37th National Book Fair~ Mar 26 – Apr 6, Bangkok, Thailand

Oxford Children’s Literature and Youth Culture Colloquium Presents an International Conference: Place and Space in Children’s Literature~ Mar 27 – 28, Oxford, United Kingdom

Children’s Literature Council Spring Workshop: I Can Read It by Myself…But Do I Want To? Inspiring Emergent Readers~ Mar 28, Glendale, CA, USA

Margaret Mahy Day~ Mar 28, New Zealand

Reading the World: A Conference Celebrating Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults~ Mar 28 – 29, San Francisco, CA, USA

Norman Lindsay Festival of Children’s Literature~ Mar 28 – 29, Faulconbridge, Australia

Childhood in its Time Conference: The Child in British Literature~ Mar 28 – 29, Canterbury, United Kingdom

Latino Book & Family Festival~ Mar 28 – 29, Chicago, IL, USA

While searching for events to add to our Eventful World calendar, I came across this article entitled “A Nation Brought To Book: The literary festivals boom” by Cahal Milmo and Rob Sharp. In it the authors state:

“Literary festivals used to be humble gatherings of authors and fans. But now they are undergoing a boom, with new events opening and everyone from politicians to pop stars getting in on the act.

“Gordon Brown believes they are a sign of a new seriousness in Britain. Publishers believe they raise their writers’ profiles in a notoriously overcrowded market. And, most importantly, readers flock to them in ever-growing numbers with inquiring minds and open wallets.

“The literary festival scene is undergoing a boom akin to that in the music industry, with new events mushrooming around the country to compete with venerable annual showcases like Hay-on-Wye, Oxford and Cheltenham…Mr Browne said: “You might begin to ask whether the market is there to sustain so many literary events. I think as long as they are well organized and professional the demand is there.” ”

We at PaperTigers couldn’t agree more! The more literary events the better – especially those that feature events for children and young adults. What better way to turn children and young adults onto reading then by taking them to a literary festival? Big or small, it’s not the size of the event that matters but the excitement for reading that it generates.

I would love to know if any of our readers have attended NAMBOOK-007 The Nami Island International Children’s Book Festival. This annual, two-month festival takes place in Korea and will end on July 1, 2007. When I told my two children (ages 6 and 10) about Nambook-007 they were ready to catch the next flight to Korea. My son commented “it sounds like Disneyland for book lovers!”

There are lots of literary events happening throughout the summer, so check our calendar and see what catches your eye. Many of the festivals are held outside during summer months and have activities that will appeal to all ages. We always welcome your feedback, so let us know what the literary festival scene is like in your city. Do you have any events that are geared specifically towards children and their families? What festivals have you attended? Will you be attending something exciting this summer that we should all know about?