Hello.
Welcome to this our first issue of the European Region Newsletter for 2016. As always it is very full - and lavishly illustrated. Our thanks must go to Hasmig Chahinian for compiling it, Liz Page for proof reading the text and to David Pintor for his unique headings.
Of course the Newsletter could not exist without content. For this edition we are delighted to feature news from twelve sections. These include Sweden, Lithuania and Greece as well as both the Basque Branch and the Galician Branch from Spain. We span the whole of Europe from France and the UK to Hungary and Turkey via Estonia, Germany, Hungary and Cyprus; thanks to all those who have contributed. It is inspiring to see the range of activities recorded, whether literary prizes, exhibitions, workshops or celebrations of illustrators and authors.
Our packed edition includes Frixos Michaelides reflecting on IBBY Cyprus in his reply to our 3 Questions, a report from the editor of Bookbird, a reminder that we will meet in New Zealand for the International Congress and a brief report of our meeting in Bologna. Naturally a major item for discussion was the proposed European Region Conference. We will be sending out further notices and reports on this in the coming months and look forward to your support.
Once again thank you to all our contributors; until the next time.
Vagn Plenge and Ferelith Hordon
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| Look! Views from the exhibition on German illustrators. | |
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| At the entrace of the book fair |
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IBBY International Press Conference You couldn't attend the IBBY International Press Conference in Bologna, and you feel you have missed something? You would like to have all the information about IBBY events, the Congress in Auckland, the winners of the IBBY-Asahi and Hans Christian Andersen awards? Sit back, relax, and let us bring Bologna closer to you for 42:15 minutes! |
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Meeting of the European National Sections in Bologna
We opened by reviewing the Website and our Facebook presence. A PowerPoint presentation gave a clear idea of how both are being used as well as reminding us - if that was needed - what was involved. The Website is well used and new additions are highlighted making it attractive and current. Our Facebook page certainly attracts followers. It is a very effective way of raising the profile of IBBY - and IBBY in Europe. |
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From left to right: Vagn Plenge (Denmark), Ferelith Hordon (UK), Deborah Soria (Italy), Serpil Ural (Turkey), Sabine Fuchs (Austria), Hasmig Chahinian (France), Anna Kourannou (Cyprus), Helena Bergendahl (Sweden), Tina Bilban (Slovenia), Jenni Erkintalo (Finland), Ilze Stikāne (Latvia), Petr Eliáš (Czech Republic), Leelo Märjamaa (Estonia) and Eva Devos (Belgium - Flemish Branch). Missing in the picture: Doris Breitmoser (Germany) and Zoltan Pompor (Hungary). |
New Zealand IBBY looks forward to welcoming you to Auckland, New Zealand in August, 2016. Join us, and colleagues from around the globe, to explore the excitements and challenges of literature and literacy education in a rapidly changing world. If you are from one of the over seventy IBBY member countries and have never been to this unique country, you will find much to tempt and inform you on the video below! |
3 questions to... Frixos Michaelides - Φρίξος Μιχαηλίδης
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In this column we address 3 questions to a member of a European Section of IBBY. Do you have a name to suggest for the next issue? Send us a mail!
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1.What inspired you to join IBBY? The primary goals and general mission of IBBY and of course CYBBY: To bring books and children together since when I was growing up we didn't have the chance to have so many books or bookstores accessible to us. So I decided that I wanted to give the children of the next generations the chance and the delight of encountering beautiful new books, not only from Cyprus, and contribute to bring fantasy and magic close to their souls and minds. That is obtained by any means available: authoring, illustrating, giving lectures and workshops to children, presentations and speeches to parents – adults and promoting book-mind in cooperation with CYBBY, the Ministry of Education and Culture and others. My foremost objective, which is actually my motive and source of inspiration, is to put a smile at every child's face and comfort their soul by sparkling their imagination and creativity hoping they will find the good in themselves and in the world. |
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2. What are the challenges facing the children's book market in Cyprus? Greek-Cypriot children's literature is a minority literature, which exists in the periphery of metropolitan Greek Children's Literature, striving to establish its place within the European and international literature. |
3. What can IBBY Cyprus offer? CYBBY (Cyprus IBBY) after forty two years of existance continues to contribute to IBBY's main mission as mentioned before. In the new era, CYBBY, aspires to play an important role in bringing Cyprus young readers and international children's literature closer as well as Cypriot book-creators closer to foreign audiences, expecting to create cultural book-bridges between Cyprus and the other countries since Cyprus literature is unique, carrying the civilization and history of the three continents that surround the island. |
Echoes from the European sections
From Sweden
Winner of the Peter Pan-award selected Each year IBBY Sweden selects the best children's book in translation. This is a way for our organisation to emphasize how childrens' books build bridges and at the same time give much needed spotlight to translated books in general, books that tend to be less reviewed and acknowledged in Sweden. This year's winner is Sabelles röda klänning (Sabelles red dress) written by Marina Michaelidou-Kadi from Cyprus and illustrated by Daniela Stamatiadi from Greece. Sabelle and her family have to leave their home and she can only take one thing with her. She chooses her red dress. The one she always wears. It reminds her of her home and of grandma who had to stay behind. With brilliance, this picture book tell the story of a child refugee and her first days in a new country. As part of the award, IBBY Sweden in cooperation with the Gothenburg Book Fair will invite the author and illustrator to Sweden to meet readers and present their work. We at IBBY Sweden are delighted that they have accepted the invitation and we look forward to welcome them in September. |
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| Sabelles red dress. | Daniela Stamatiadi | Marina Michaelidou-Kadi |
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Inspired by the great work of IBBY Italy, we have started our own version of the project Silent Books. We have developed and published a booklet with ideas and methods of how to work with wordless picture books. Cay Corneliusson from IBBY Sweden has acquired Silent books from around the world and the collection will be disseminated together with the booklet to libraries working with refugee shelters in Sweden. In 2015 over 150,000 refugees sought shelter in Sweden as result of the civil war in Syria, many of whom are children. We believe Silent books can be one of many projects to help build bridges between libraries and refugee shelters. Some of the books used in the project are The Arrival by Shaun Tan and The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.
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From Lithuania
ICBD in Lithuania: 9 awards given by the Lithuanian IBBY section The International Children's Book Day, which was celebrated all over the world for the 50th time (since 1967), came to Lithuania only 24 years ago because of historical circumstances. This difficult time was marked by many beginnings and one of the most important was restoration of Lithuania's independence in March of 1990, which opened gates to new international relationships, ideas, and initiatives. Then, in 1993, we started to celebrate the biggest holiday for everybody who are connected to children's literature by establishing one of the biggest awards – award for the Best Book of The Year for Children and Young Adults. Čiuožyklos muzika (The Music of Skating Rink) by Bitė Vilimaitė (1992) was the first book awarded in this category. It is worth mentioning that the award was initially financed and continues to be financed by famous Lithuanian basketball player Šarūnas Marčiulionis. During the last 24 years The International Children's Book Day has become one of the most important events of year for writers, artists, publishers, librarians, schools and university teachers, researchers and many others in the field of children's literature and reading in our country. With an increase of importance and attention to children's literature in general a number of awards during those years have also increased. We now have 9 awards that cover all field of children's books. All of these awards are given to the most prominent creators of the year after competent juries carefully consider all nominations.
The winners of the previous (2015) year are: - The Best Book of The Year: Atjunk (Disconnect) by Rebeka Una The celebration of The International Children's Book Day in Lithuania comprises two parts. In the first part children's literature researchers discuss the new books published in the previous year, highlighting important things and criticizing bad things that happened in the world of children's literature. The second part consists of announcement of winners in all award categories. They are given prizes and diplomas and lastly the winner of The Best Book of The Year is crowned and usually delivers an acceptance speech. The celebration is concluded with theatre performance which based on good children's literature. This year it was The Snow Queen by H. C. Andersen. |
From France
Discovering Belgian children's literature
Every year, IBBY France dedicates its seminar "Reading in the original language" to a guest country. This year, the guest of the 17th edition was our fascinating neighbour, Belgium! The seminar was held at the French National Library, on March 21, 2016. It received the support of Wallonie-Bruxelles international and the Flemish Literature Fund. This seminar is an opportunity to collaborate with other IBBY sections, to exchange information and organise the event in common. From the very begining of the project, we worked with IBBY Belgium, represented by Eva Devos for the Dutch speaking branch and Natacha Wallez for the French speaking branch. Eva Devos and Natacha Wallez took part in the event by presenting a panorama of children's literature in Belgium and the context it evolved in. They also read the book Un secret pour grandir / Een geheim waar je groot van wordt, by Carl Norac, illustrated by Carll Cneut, in French and Dutch. IBBY Belgium was of a great help in determining whom to invite among the Belgian authors, illustrators, translators, librarians, and reading promoters. We also had the pleasure of welcoming Wally De Doncker, IBBY's president, who gave a very committed speech "A child is a child. An individual" on IBBY, its history, its current projects and the challenges it faced. The public met with Els Beerten and Eva Kavian, authors, Mélanie Rutten and Tom Schamp, illustrators and Maurice Lomré, a translator. They also listened to Lauren Moosen, from the Ministry of Culture of the Wallonie-Bruxelles federation, who talked about a reading promotion project in Wallonie-Bruxelles. Bruno Vermeeren, coordinator of the Flemish association of libraries, archives and documentation centres, presented a panorama on public libraries and reading in Belgium. Michel Defourny, a well-known Belgian researcher in Children's literature, made a conclusive speech summarizing the seminar. The programme of the seminar can be downloaded here.
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From Germany
The German Children's Literature Award (Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis) is celebrating its 60th Anniversary
This year, the German Children's Literature Award is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Since 1956 it has been given annually to outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. The award is endowed with a total of 62,000 Euros and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It is organized by the Arbeitskreis für Jugendliteratur/IBBY Germany. From the beginning it has always been an international award, thus books from languages other than German are also eligible – provided that they have been translated and published in German. The prize is intended to encourage the development of children's and young adult literature, to arouse and maintain public interest in those works, and to stimulate discussions in this field of literature. The goal of the award is to strengthen children and young adults in their personal development and to offer guidance to the vast German book market. Each year a jury of literary specialists and critics awards prizes in the categories of Picture Book, Children's Book, Young Adult Book, and Non-Fiction. Furthermore, an independent young adult jury awards its own prize. This jury consists of six reading clubs from all around Germany. On 17 March 2016, this year's shortlist was presented at the Leipzig Book Fair. The list of the 2016 nominations can be found at www.djlp.jugendliteratur.org. The award winners will be announced on 21 October 2016, at a ceremony during the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year's Special Award for Lifetime Achievement will be given to a German author. To mark the award's 60th anniversary, an anthology with stories by Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis awardees will be published in July under the title Was ist los vor meiner Tür? by Jacoby&Stuart. Furthermore, several events will take place to celebrate the jubilee: a reading festival for children, a seminar for mediators of children's literature and an international authors' evening with the laureates Martin Baltscheit, Rose Lagercrantz and Iva Procházková. For more information go to: www.jugendliteratur.org. |
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Elisabeth Etz und Kathrin Steinberger were awarded the Kranichstein Youth Literature Grants (Kranichsteiner Jugendliteratur-Stipendien) at the Leipzig Book Fair in March 2016. The awards are annually given by the Arbeitskreis für Jugendliteratur/IBBY Germany and the German Literature Fund (Deutscher Literaturfonds) to two authors of books for young adults whose first works are very promising, but who have not yet received recognition for them. The scholarships are endowed with 12,000 Euro each (paid over the duration of six months) and are meant to enable the authors to work on a book project. An independent jury chose the winners on the basis of the books in German submitted for the German Children's Literature Award / Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis. For more information see www.jugendliteratur.org. |
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Call for applications: Workshop for translators of German children's and young adult literature in September 2016 On 4-9 September 2016 the Arbeitskreis für Jugendliteratur e.V. (IBBY Germany) and the Robert Bosch Stiftung will host the seventh annual workshop on the translation of German literature for children and young adults entitled ‘Kein Kinderspiel!' (‘No child's play'). It will take place in Hamburg/Germany. The five-day workshop offers 15 translators of children's and young adult literature the opportunity to tackle specific problems of the genre and discuss current trends. Participants will have the chance to meet authors, critics and publishing representatives, and find information on grants and residencies as well as about existing networks. Above all, the workshop aims to be a centre for encounters, inspiration and exchange of ideas. Though professional translators into all languages are welcome, the focus will be on translators into ‘small' languages from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, North Africa and Turkey. The workshop will be held in German. Further details may be obtained from www.jugendliteratur.org and www.bosch-stiftung.de/brueckenbauer. |
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Around the World in 70 Maps The International Youth Library presents a new Travelling Exhibition featuring Three Centuries of Cartographic Treasures from Children's Literature. Maps are a special kind of functional literature that depict the world in its entirety or in segments: continents, countries, oceans, mountains, islands, cities, buildings, travel routes and many more. However, maps are not "reality” but rather two-dimensional representations of how people imagine the world to be, how they perceive it and order it, how they orient themselves in it. Maps have long played an important role in children's and youth literature. They are often used in non-fiction books to make locations and landscapes easier to visualize, for instance by inviting readers to let their fingers trace along the routes of explorers and discoverers. In children's and young adult fiction, especially in novels and picture books, maps also depict and locate important settings and events. While some of this fiction features maps of the world as we know it, other texts map fictional places in the real world or include maps of completely fantastical places, which appear utterly realistic due to the minute drawings of their creators. This exhibition showcases 70 enlarged maps found by the International Youth Library in its holdings, including maps from valuable books in the historical collections, as well as unusual cartographic examples from newer children's books. It was first presented in 2014 in the International Youth Library in Munich and since summer 2015 has been available in slightly revised English-language and German-language travelling versions. The maps have already been on display at the Bergen University College in Norway, the Biblioteca Civica in Verona, Italy, and in public libraries in Bayreuth and Reutlingen, Germany. In November 2016, they will be presented at the children's book fair FILIJ in México-City. The exhibition, consisting of 40 banners, can be borrowed by interested institutions. Further information can be found on the International Youth Library website. |
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| At the International Youth Library, in Munich. © Karten | At the Biblioteca Civica, Verona (Italy). © Karten | Biblioteca Civica, Verona (Italy). © Karten | ||
From Greece
Read & Share The Greek Section of IBBY – Circle of Greek Children's Books - is running on the ‘Read & Share” activity for the second consecutive year. The activity is based on an open library-exchange programme that functions according to a free lending system in order for children to have immediate access to books and develop a love of reading from an early age. In cooperation with schools from all over Greece and other institutions (hospitals, Municipalities, children's guests' houses etc), IBBY Greece establishes "little houses” that host books at schoolyards, squares, parks and other places. The books come from various publishing houses and have been submitted to IBBY Greece to be assessed by the different juries that have been awarding prizes for the last years. Children can borrow books freely, read and return them so that they can be borrowed by the next reader. When they return a book, children can borrow more. They can even leave their own books and share them with other readers. This way, sharing books becomes a way of sharing the joy of reading!
6th March – Panhellenic Day against Violence and Bullying at Schools For the second consecutive year, the Greek Section of IBBY collected books that refer to school violence and bullying and created a poster with the motto, With the books on your side, say to violence "step aside” written by the author Vagelis Iliopoulos and designed by the illustrator Diatsenta Parissi. In March and April 2016 there was an exhibition of illustrations in the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Palaio Faliron as well as other events with the same topic in cooperation with several institutions all over Greece (schools, universities, Municipalities etc). In addition, the first rucksacks were made containing books about school violence, mottos referring to Violence and Tolerance written by Greek authors as well as the educational programme that accompanies them. Schools can borrow these rucksacks for free.
The International Children's Book Day poster was translated in Greek by the honorary president of IBBY Greece, Mrs. Loty Petrovits-Andrutsopulou. On April 2, the annual celebration for the International Children's Book Day took place. During the event prizes were awarded to institutions and people who promote reading as well as to the creators of children and young people's literature for their distinctive writing, illustration and translation of books in 2015. The event took place under the auspices of the Municipality of Athens and a new reading campaign – "Read and Change” – was launched. The campaign has been initiated by the Association of Greek Publishers and Booksellers and (ENELVI), The Greek Section of IBBY and the Hellenic Authors' Society. |
From Spain
From the United Kingdom
From Estonia
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Bookbird. Issue 54.1, 2016 As I write this, the Paris talks on climate change have just closed. The commentators are optimistic; maybe there is hope for the planet after all. Yet from my December horizon in southern Sweden, I am reminded on a daily basis that the autumn temperatures have never in a hundred years been so high. "Winter is not coming," to paraphrase a well-known series. And closer to the polar regions, the situation is even worse. There, the thawing permafrost and diminishing icecaps have already harmed or altered the ecology drastically. The flora and fauna, as well as the people there, are living under increasing pressure. One can only wonder how this will affect the way of life and culture of the indigenous peoples. Of course, minorities and Indigenous populations already struggle to maintain their unique cultural and historical characteristics in the face of majority culture and globalization, but what is happening now is an ecological sea change (literally); it threatens the material and ecological foundations of those cultures especially. This issue of Book-bird focuses on Indigenous children's literature. The cover is from Arctic Stories by the author Michael Kusugak (discussed in one of the articles) and illustrator Vladyana Krykorka. The illustration—with the Inuit girl, the huskies, the snow and ice—can serve as a reminder of a world and way of life that may be rapidly vanishing. All peoples should of course have the right to choose and shape their own future: to adopt and embrace the new, but also to choose what to keep of the old ways. However, when the world is damaged, such options are reduced—and most drastically for those who are the least to blame. Thus, to me the illustration also serves as inspiration to continue the fight against global warming. Maybe this is what the girl is telling the black bookbird on the cover; maybe she is sending us a message. But these are just my private musings. Roxanne Harde, who I welcome back to Bookbird as guest editor for this issue, provides a critical yet personal introduction to the theme, where she draws on her own extensive work and research into Indigenous children's books. In her overview, she comments on the themed texts: three articles, a Letter, and an essay in the Children & Their Books section. I am also happy to announce that yet another Bookbird editor emerita, Barbara Lehman, makes a comeback in this issue in the capacity of Postcard editor. As usual, there is also a full review section (the "Books on Books") collected and edited by Christiane Raabe and Jutta Reusch of the International Youth Library in Munich. Liz Page reports from the wide world of IBBY. In the Letter section, we find Nita Berry writing on the topic "Social Change through Children's Books—An Indian Perspective." And finally, a text that I have slotted, tongue in cheek, under the heading "Dogs & Their Books"—an essay by Helene Ehriander on a project with "reading education assistance dogs," or "Book Dog." In other words, there is much to read in this issue of Bookird for human and canine alike. Björn Sundmark |
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Bookbird. Issue 54.2, 2016 Bookbird 54.2 (2016) My grandmother Gerda used to read H. C. Andersen's stories to me. She read about The Ugly Duckling and The Red Shoes; she read about The Steadfast Tinsoldier and The Wild Swans. Sometimes her throat would get dry, or the story would make her sad (or both). That was my cue to fetch her a glass of water. After a little pause, she would continue to read. Her voice was old and comforting, and a bit hoarse. A few years later, when I was too big to sit in her lap, she gave me her six big blue Andersen books – "to Björn," it says, in her shaky-old handwriting. Therefore, when editing this issue of Bookbird, I have been reminded of Andersen's stories, hearing them in my grandmother's voice, and seeing Andersen's name and his work connected, again and again, to the 57 nominees and to their work – thousands of stories. Yes, it has been wonderful to see the books submitted from IBBY sections from all over the world, books by authors and illustrators nominated to the Andersen prize. It is often said that the winner takes it all, but to my mind, what is most remarkable is the range and quality of the nominees, and that the books have come from all over the world. They are all winners to my mind; and we, the readers, are all privileged as long as there are such outstanding authors, illustrators and storytellers in our midst. Andersen and my grandmother would agree, I am sure. In this special issue of Bookbird all of the nominees are presented on one page each: a short text, a photo and illustration, and the titles of five important works. This means that there is little room left to make an ordinary Bookbird, with articles, reviews, and essays. However, to make this Nominees' issue into something more than a catalogue I wanted to provide something more. That is why you will also find two author interviews, one with David Almond (Andersen Prize winner 2010) and one with Cornelia Funke. If the 57 presentation texts are the distilled commentaries and assessments about the work of outstanding authors and illustrators, the interviews aim for something else. They allow David Almond and Cornelia Funke to speak in their own words and on their own terms about their work. Björn Sundmark Bookbird can be read on-line through Project Muse. |
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libri liberorum, Jg. 16, Heft 45-46, 2015 – "Crosswriting” (appeared in March 2016) |
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Helena Bergendahl (IBBY Sweden)
Ana Mª Cendán Doce (IBBY Spain)
Hasmig Chahinian (IBBY France)
Carolin Farbmacher (IBBY Germany)
Sabine Fuchs (IBBY Austria)
Ferelith Hordon (IBBY UK)
Eva Kaliskami (IBBY Greece)
Tülin Kozikoğlu (IBBY Turkey)
Libby Limbrick (IBBY New Zealand)
Leelo Märjamaa (Estonia)
Frixos Michaelides (IBBY Cyprus)
Inga Mitunevičiūtė (IBBY Lithuania)
Liz Page (IBBY)
Zoltán Pompor (IBBY Hungary)
Björn Sundmark (Bookbird)
Erik Titusson (IBBY Sweden)
Maria Luise Weber (International Youth Library, Germany)
