Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival 2018 Schools Programme Dear teachers and librarians, The Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival 2018 will be held from 5 to 16 March and we are very happy to share our line-up of authors who will be participating in our Schools Programme. The Schools Programme has been an essential part of the Young Readers Festival since its inception. Every year, we bring Festival authors to schools for talks and workshops, creating unique opportunities for young people to meet with the writers they love. In 2016/17 we hosted over a hundred sessions to reach over 8,000 students, which is a great increase showing the growth of our Schools Programme over the years. We strongly believe that literature should be a vital component of every child’s education regardless of his or her background and reading ability. By connecting excellent writers with young readers, we hope to promote higher levels of literacy in Hong Kong and to nurture a generation of outward-looking, globally engaged citizens. This year’s line-up features a series of award-winning and bestselling authors from Hong Kong and overseas, including Vera Brosgol, Kate De Goldi, Gus Gordon, Frances Hardinge, Ritu Hemnani, Ellen Oh, Kenneth Oppel, Blair Reeve, Jason Reynolds, Cheah Sinann and Holly Thompson. In order to ensure that as many students as possible are able to benefit from our Schools Programme, we have reduced ticket costs and introduced a pricing cap. Don’t forget that if you are from a government or aided school you are eligible to apply for our School Subsidy Scheme. Ticketing information is summarised on page 23. Please read on for more information about our authors, their availability, as well as the talks and workshops available. Should you have any questions about the Schools Programme, please contact me at phillipa.milne@festival.org.hk or 2877 9797. Thank you! All best wishes, Phillipa Milne Festival Director
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Authors Vera Brosgol Vera Brosgol was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984 and moved to the United States when she was five. She studied animation at Sheridan College, and spent ten years at Laika Inc. drawing storyboards for feature animation on films including Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings. Her first graphic novel, Anya’s Ghost, was published in 2011 by First Second Books. Her first picture book, Leave Me Alone!, was published in 2016 by Roaring Brook Press and was a Caldecott Honor recipient. She writes and illustrates books full-time in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Photo credit: George Baier I
Kate De Goldi Kate De Goldi writes fiction for all ages. She has been the recipient of the Katherine Mansfield Short Story Award and twice winner of New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year. Her novel, The Ten PM Question, won the Corine International Book Prize in 2011 and has been translated into many languages. Her most recent novel, From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle, won the Esther Glen Award in 2015 and is also published internationally. In 2016 Kate co-edited Annual, (with Susan Paris) a literary miscellany for 9-12 year olds. Annual 2 is currently underway. Kate reviews children’s books on Radio New Zealand and is a frequent presenter and interviewer at literature festivals.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Gus Gordon
Gus Gordon is an internationally acclaimed illustrator and author. He has illustrated and written over 80 books for children. His illustrations are known for their loose and energetic line work, mixed media and humour. His writing is always anthropomorphic. He attributes this to his love of Kenneth Grahame's Wind in The Willows. Gus's first picture book, Wendy, was a Notable Book in the 2010 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Picture Book of the Year Awards. His second picture book, Herman and Rosie, now published in twelve countries, has been internationally acclaimed and awarded. In 2016 and 2017, Gus was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature.
Frances Hardinge Frances Hardinge spent her childhood in a huge old house that inspired her to write strange stories from an early age. She read English at Oxford University, then got a job at a software company. However, by this time a persistent friend had finally managed to bully Frances into sending a few chapters of Fly By Night, her first children’s novel, to a publisher. Macmillan made her an immediate offer. The book went on to publish to huge critical acclaim and win the Branford Boase First Novel Award. Known for her beautiful use of language, she has since written many critically acclaimed novels, including Verdigris Deep, Cuckoo Song, the Costa Award-winning The Lie Tree and most recently A Skinful of Shadows.
Photo Credit: David Levenson
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Ritu Hemnani Ritu Hemnani is a former ESF student and Secondary School teacher who is ethnically Indian, holds a British passport and calls Hong Kong home. Her short stories and articles have been published in the Asian Literary Review, Reader’s Digest and Expat Living Magazine. Gope and Meera – A Migration Story is her first published children’s book. Ritu is a committed writing ambassador for the Home of Loving Faithfulness, which serves the mentally and physically disabled of Hong Kong. When not writing, teaching or voice acting for audio books or educational toys, Ritu delights in poetry, theatre and is a busy wife and mother to three extraordinary kids!
Anjali Mittal Anjali Mittal is a graduate from the University of York. She now lives in Hong Kong, with her husband and two boys. She has presented at primary schools in Hong Kong, China, United Kingdom and Africa, engaging children in discussions on how to get inspiration for a story. Her latest adventure series, involving Zack and Kante, are also published in Chinese and sold in Hong Kong. Anjali believes that children can use their imagination to escape into a magical world and anything is possible if you try. Her latest book, The Fallen TetraStars, was launched in January 2018. Photo Credit:DFS Studio
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Ellen Oh Ellen Oh is co-founder, President and CEO of We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing diversity in children's literature. She is the author of the middle-grade novel The Spirit Hunters, its sequel The Island of Monsters, which is forthcoming in autumn 2018, and the YA fantasy trilogy the Prophecy series. She is also the editor of WNDB’s middle-grade anthology Flying Lessons and Other Stories and the upcoming YA anthology A Thousand Beginnings and Endings.
Kenneth Oppel
Kenneth Oppel is an award-winning author for young readers. His Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide, and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn was winner of a Michael L Printz Honor Book Award, and the Canadian Governor General's Award for Children's Literature; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children's Novel of the Year by the London Times. He is also the author of Half Brother, which has won both the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award as well as their Young Adult Book Award — the first time in the awards' history the same title has won both honours. His latest books are The Nest (which won the 2016 CLA Book of the Year for Children Award) and Every Hidden Thing. Photo credit: Mark Raynes Robert
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Blaire Reeve New Zealander Blair Reeve has been writing and performing a rhythmic and comical style of performance poetry since 1995. He graduated from Massey University in 2012 and then turned his attention to creative writing. He completed his Masters in 2014, and one year later published his first children's book Hogart The Hedgehog Turns Nink. In September 2016 he published his second book for young readers, Greta von Gerbil & Her Really Large Lexicon. He performed poetry at the TedXWanchai event in October 2016.
Jason Reynolds
New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds is the author of the critically acclaimed When I Was the Greatest. He is a National Book Award Finalist, a Kirkus Prize winner, a Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honours. His work includes the recently published Long Way Down and Miles Morales: Spider Man, as well as The Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), As Brave As You, the first two books in the Track series, Ghost and Patina. He is on faculty at Lesley University for the Writing for Young People MFA Programme.
Photo credit: Kia Chenelle
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Wendy Shang Wendy Wan-Long Shang writes about the many experiences of Chinese-Americans with humor, heart and a sense of history. Her debut novel, The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, was described by Booklist as "captur[ing] the seemingly unbearable unfairness of being a tween balanced between two cultures." The Great Wall of Lucy Wu received several awards, including the Asian-Pacific American Librarians Association’s Children’s Literature Award for 2012. Her second book, The Way Home Looks Now, was inspired in part by the incredible performances of Taiwan’s Little League team in the 1960s and 70s. Her most recent book, This is Just a Test, was co-written with Madelyn Rosenberg and examines Chinese-Jewish identities and similarities. Wendy is also an attorney, mother and wife living outside of Washington, DC.
Cheah Sinann Cheah Sinann is a former editorial cartoonist with The Straits Times, where he also produced the popular comic strip The House of Lim for eight years. His cartoon strip Billy & Saltie, which highlights environmental issues in a humorous manner, appears in The Borneo Bulletin in Brunei and The Daily Frontier in Bangladesh. His collection Billy & Saltie: Cool Croc was published in 2010.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Holly Thompson Holly Thompson is a longtime resident of Japan and author of the verse novels Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth, The Language Inside and Orchards. Her picture books include the lyrical Twilight Chant, One Wave at a Time and The Wakame Gatherers. She edited Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories, a collection of 36 Japan-focused stories, including ten in translation. She writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction for children, teens and adults, and teaches writing in Japan, the U.S. and places in between.
Dora Tsang Dora Tsang is a children’s author and illustrator based in Hong Kong. She is the winner of the 20th Eye Level Children’s Literature Award, and she published her first picture book, Much Hairdo About Nothing, in 2013. She lives with her pet chinchilla in a little white house surrounded by banana trees on a tropical island. She is also a writer of novels, a maker of art and a lover of life.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Howard Wong Howard Wong is an award nominated writer and creative consultant. His passion for creative content, narrative and intellectual development has led him to work in animation, comics, high-end collectible toys, mobile & web games, transmedia narrative development, intellectual property development, marketing and branding. He has written for Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Bandai and other leading industry companies. His collaborative works in comics have been nominated for the Joe Shuster Award's Gene Day Award, Comic Book Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favourite Graphic Novel and Ghastly Award for Favourite Horror Anthology. Howard has been nominated for the Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
In-School Talks and Workshops This is our list of talks and workshops available. Tickets are priced at HK$50 per student for talks and HK$100 per student for workshops. If your school is looking for a particular kind of talk or workshop, we are happy to accommodate where possible. For workshops, the maximum capacity of students varies from 20 to 40 depending on the author. To book a visit, please contact Jacqueline Leung via email at jacqueline.leung@festival.org.hk or via phone at 2877 9770.
AUTHOR
DATES AVAILABLE VERA BROSGOL 12 – 16 LEAVE ME ALONE! Talk (Ages 5-8) March (Mon – Fri)
SESSION
Join author Vera Brosgol and a little old grandmother on an epic journey across mountains and seas (and the moon!) as she reads from her quirky and loveable picture book, Leave Me Alone! She will also be walking students through drawing a character from her book so budding young illustrators will have a chance to try their hand at illustrating characters with their own creative touches.
INTERACTIVE MEET & GREET: THE VERA BROSGOL STORY Talk (Ages 10-16) This talk is a thought-provoking and in-depth look at Vera Brosgol’s personal journey towards becoming a writer and illustrator. She will be talking about her experiences as a new immigrant in the US, showing things she drew as a child and sharing her insights on writing and illustrating. She will also hold a special screening of her student film.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
MINI COMIC WORKSHOP Workshop (Ages 8-15) This is a fun and creative workshop where students will get hands-on experience in collaborative minicomic-making. They will learn about the art of storytelling and the importance of self-publishing from an accomplished author and illustrator who also got her start making minicomics. Students will be busy thinking about storylines, characters, and settings, as well as learning to blend images and words together.
KATE DE GOLDI
13 – 16 March (Tue – Fri)
MEET KATE DI GOLDI!
WRITING WORKSHOP WITH KATE
Talk (Ages 9+) Join celebrated author Kate De Goldi as she introduces us to some of her most colourful characters, including the inimitable movie director Barnaby (The Cutting Room of Barney Kettle), worry-prone Frankie (The 10pm Question) and Perry, a young girl grappling with her grandmother’s memory loss (The ACB with Honora Lee). Kate De Goldi is the recipient of the Katherine Mansfield Short Story Award and twice winner of New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year. Workshop (Ages 10+) As a children’s author acclaimed for her vibrancy and touch of realism, Kate will share the tools of her trade in this workshop. Students will be immersed in interactive writing activities aimed to exercise students’ imagination and creativity! Kate will also be talking about her writing journey and how she came to become a children’s author.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
A LOLLY LEOPOLD STORY Talk (Ages 5-9) Lolly Leopold, a smart and sassy primary school student, hates when it's club time at school because she just can’t fit in with any of them. By the end of the year, Lolly is one of the only three students not in any clubs, so together, they form their own watch-grass-grow club. Find out how Kate brings the story of Lolly and her friends to life as a picture book in this exciting storytelling session!
GUS GORDON
7 – 10 March (Tue – Sat)
HOW TO MAKE COLLAGES
Workshop (Ages 6-12) Collage is interesting because it’s the only medium that can construct its own narrative or within another! In this workshop, Gus will show examples of the clever way he and other artists use collage to tell stories. He will also conduct a hands-on workshop using collage techniques and lots of beautiful paper. Let’s get messy and have loads of fun!
WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING PICTURE BOOKS Talk (Ages 6-12) Picture books aren’t as simple as they may seem at first glance! Join Gus as he walks students through the process of brainstorming story ideas, sketching roughs, storyboarding, writing to publication. This is an engaging, interactive session for students to learn about the complex relationship between words and pictures and how they work together to tell a story.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
DRAW WITH GUS! Workshop (Ages 6-12) In this interactive session, Gus will conduct a drawing workshop using techniques and exercises to show students the various aspects of illustration in a simple and effective way. Students will learn many tips and tricks, such as how to draw faces, expressions, heads, bodies and animals. Young illustrators will get busy creating their own work!
CREATING STRONG BOOK CHARACTERS Talk (Ages 6-12) All the best books have appealing, memorable characters – funny heroes, scary villains or otherwise! Gus will explore what exactly makes a good character and how to draw one, visiting his book characters and others to demonstrate various character types.
FRANCES HARDINGE
5 – 9 March A SKINFUL OF SHADOWS (Mon – Fri) Talk (Ages 14+)
As the winner of the 2015 Costa Award, Frances Hardinge, is famous for her talent in crafting fantastical coming-of-age tales with unpredictable plot twists and charming heroines. In this session, Frances will talk about her creative career and will also share her inspirations behind her stories – reality and deception, dark corners of the human mind, magical realism and historical fantasy.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
RITU HEMNANI 5 – 7, 9, 12 – 14, 16 March (Mon – Wed, Fri)
A TALE OF MIGRATION Talk (Ages 8-11) History isn’t always tucked away in thick bundles of text! In her picture book, Gope and Meera – A Migration Story, Ritu tells a tale of the Partition of India and explores the themes of migration, cultural heritage and resilience in the face of adversity. She will also share her personal writing voyage and her recent discoveries as an author living in Hong Kong.
DRAMA WORKSHOP WITH RITU Workshop (Ages 10-12) This drama workshop is a lively retelling of history and explores themes of migration and cultural awareness. Join Ritu Hemnani, author of Gope and Meera – A Migration Story, in a fun and immersive session of roleplay for children to get a glimpse of one of the largest mass migrations in world history – the Partition of India.
ANJALI MITTAL
5 – 9, 12 – 16 March (Mon – Fri)
WHAT INSPIRES US TO WRITE A STORY? Talk (Ages 7-12) Where do ideas come from? What gives us inspiration to create a story? In this one-hour session, Anjali Mittal will discuss how real life experiences play a part in creating stories. She will demonstrate how through her own experiences the adventures of Zack and Kante have evolved, taking them to Africa, Hong Kong and Europe. The children will be given tips on writing, editing their work and being published. The end of the session will be open to questions and answers.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
ELLEN OH
12 – 15 March (Mon – Thur)
PROPHECY Talk (Ages 13+) Ellen’s exhilarating series, Prophecy, blends ancient history with fast-paced action and revolves around Kira, a lone female warrior in the king of Hansong’s army. In this engaging talk, Ellen will share her inspirations and motivations behind writing a strong female character such as Kira. Students will also get the opportunity to learn about the Korean folklore behind Prophecy from her.
WRITING YOUR FIRST BOOK
Talk (Ages 13+) In this informative and dynamic session, Ellen will speak about writing a first draft. She will guide students through the process of writing the series, from researching to writing the first draft, and teach them about finding inspiration and formulating ideas. She will be getting budding young writers thinking about ideas for their own first book!
KENNETH OPPEL
12 – 16 March (Mon – Fri)
WRITING THE SILVERWING TRILOGY
Talk (Ages 9-14+) Kenneth’s Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. In this talk, Kenneth will speak about how he wrote the series – bat facts, sound technology, natural history, folklore and exotic locations from around the world.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
EVERY HIDDEN THING Talk (Ages 9-14+)
Romeo and Juliet meets Indiana Jones in Every Hidden Thing, an epic tale of dinosaur bone hunting, bitter rivalries and romance. In this engaging session, Kenneth takes students back to the Wild West in 1872, the real warring palaeontologists and the “Bone Wars” that inspired his novel.
THE APPRENTICESHIP OF VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN Talk (Ages 9-14+) Explore the fascinating Frankenstein myth with Kenneth and his two novels, This Dark Endeavour and its sequel Such Wicked Intent. Prequels to the classic Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Kenneth’s books follow the extraordinary life and adventures of 16year-old Victor Frankenstein who would later become a "mad scientist".
HALF BROTHER Talk (Ages 9-14+) This is the story of teenager Ben Tomlin, whose scientist parents adopt a newborn chimpanzee and raise it as a human baby, to see if chimps are capable of learning human sign language. It isn't long before Ben forms a powerful bond with Zan – but is Zan a lab specimen, or his little brother? In a session interspersed with short readings from the book, Kenneth will talk about the sources of inspiration and his research for this award-winning tale. Half Brother won the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award and their Young Adult Book Award – the first time in the awards' history the same title has won both honours.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
A LIFE SCRIBBLING Talk (Ages 9-14+) Kenneth got his first book published at 17 and has since authored the bestselling Silverwing series, the Governor-General award-winning Airborn, Half Brother and The Boundless. In this talk, Kenneth goes back to his earliest writings in school, his inspiration and tips for the aspiring writer.
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP WITH KENNETH OPPEL Workshop (Ages 9-14+) This is a fun workshop that starts with word games before getting to the basics of story creation: brainstorming, plot, character, structure, good guys vs. bad guys, humour, tricks of the trade, revision! Students will get busy with a few short writing exercises, so be prepared to do quite a bit of scribbling!
BLAIR REEVE
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5 – 9, 12 – 16 March (Mon – Fri)
GRETA VON GERBIL & HER REALLY LARGE LEXICON Talk/Workshop (Ages 10+) What’s so fun about learning new vocabulary? Find out when Blair Reeve talks about his comical narrative in verse Greta von Gerbil & Her Really Large Lexicon! Greta von Gerbil is a tiny little rodent with a really large vocab. When she walks around Rodentville using lots of big words, her fellow townsfolk start to feel threatened. A pair of Chipmunks steals her thesaurus, but instead of destroying it, the local gangsters decide to take revenge. They plan to outsmart Greta by using her thesaurus to make sentences with the biggest words they can find, and a crazy word battle commences.
Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
HOGART THE HEDGEHOG TURNS NINK Talk/Workshop (Ages 6-11) Hogart the Hedgehog Turns Nink is a rhythmic, comical narrative written to be read aloud. Read along with Blair Reeve as his characters come alive with interesting rhymes and voices. Blair will also talk about what inspired him to write his book for kids!
SLAM POETRY!
Workshop (Ages 10+) Learn all about slam poetry and why spoken word poems are so much fun to watch and perform. In this interactive session, Blair will introduce poetic techniques and writing exercises that go towards creating a short performance piece. Students will get to learn how to express themselves through a few vocal exercises and by crafting narratives of their own.
JASON REYNOLDS
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7 – 9 March LONG WAY DOWN (Wed – Fri) Talk (Ages 12-18)
Jason Reynolds was tricked into being a writer. For years his aunt would only give him books for Christmas. He’d force a smile, and when no one was looking, Jason would toss that year’s “bad gift” on the shelf until the sixth grade, when he discovered poetry. It was then that his world was opened, and he went back and started tearing through all the dusty, stiffened books, suddenly grateful for every page. Now the author of four New York Times bestsellers and co-author of another two, Jason is a National Book Award Finalist and an awardee of multiple awards. Hear him speak about his writing journey and how he got there in this inspiring session.
Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
WENDY SHANG 6 – 9 March THE ART OF EDITING Talk (Ages 6-12) (Sun – Fri)
Wendy Wan-Long Shang’s The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, which is about a precocious and sprightly young Asian-American girl learning to navigate between multiple cultures, has received several awards, including the AsianPacific American Librarians Association’s Children’s Literature Award. She has worked as a juvenile justice attorney, and is now a special projects coordinator for the Pretrial Justice Institute, a well as a children’s book author. In this talk, Wendy will walk students through the process of editing based on her own experience while working on The Great Wall of Lucy Wu.
INSPIRATION MATTERS! Talk (Ages 6-12) The Way Home Looks Now is a poignant story of healing and loss, family, and the great American pastime, baseball. In this engaging session, Wendy will talk to students about the importance of finding inspiration as a writer by drawing from her own experience writing The Way Home Looks Now and The Great Wall of Lucy Wu. Students will leave the talk feeling inspired and equipped with the tools to help them improve their writing.
CHEAH SINANN 12 – 16 March (Mon – Fri)
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HOW TO CARTOON Talk (Ages 12+) Cheah Sinann is a former editorial cartoonist with The Straits Times, where he also produced the popular comic strip The House of Lim for eight years. His present cartoon strip Budi & Saltie, which highlights wildlife and environmental issues with wit and humour, appears in The Borneo Bulletin in Brunei. His latest work is The Bicycle, a World War Two story in the form of a graphic novel. In this talk, Cheah will share with students the rigours of running a daily comic strip and the creative processes behind writing a graphic novel.
Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
RACE AGAINST TIME! Workshop (Ages 13+) In this workshop, students will explore the ultimate challenge a cartoonist for a publication faces - coming up with a good idea in a specific time frame. Mental block, stress, pressure—all of these situations are part & parcel of the job, and knowing how to deal with them is the key to being a successful cartoonist. Cheah will be guiding students through these challenges with a series of fun activities to get their time management skills (and imaginations!) fired up.
HOLLY THOMPSON
5 – 9 March POEM FEST! (Mon – Fri) Talk/workshop (Ages 5-9)
This is a fun introduction to poems and poem writing for young writers. Holly will use short example poems both serious and silly as prompts for students to generate their own works.
DESCRIBING THINGS WITH POETRY Talk/Workshop (Ages 10-18) After reading scenes written in poetry, students will learn to write poetry about their immediate environments combined with the stories they inspire. This is based on Holly’s project of notice poems, in which she writes a poem a day about Kamakura, the Japanese town where her verse novel Falling Into the Dragon’s Mouth is based.
FROM FACT TO FICTION Talk/Workshop (Ages 10-18) How do you generate stories from observation and real life experience? Join Holly as she describes the process behind creating compelling narratives by recounting actual events. Students are prompted into crafting a plot outline and drafting a scene of one plot point.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
TELLING YOUR STORIES IN VERSE Talk/Workshop (Ages 10-18) What is a verse novel? This is a fun and informative session for students of all writing levels and backgrounds! Holly will introduce the different approaches to writing novels in verse and demonstrate the narrative tools and techniques that can be used when crafting story scenes in verse.
PRESS CONFERENCE Workshop (Ages 10-18) Summon your inner journalist… Students need to do background research on author Holly Thompson prior to her visit, and prepare an interview and follow-up questions. Students will then compile their notes into a news article.
TOMO: FRIENDSHIP THROUGH FICTION – BACKGROUND AND STORIES Talk/Workshop (Ages 10-18) Tomo is a rich anthology of 36 short stories connected to Japan. In this session, Holly will explain the cultural context and reasons for creating Tomo. She will also share updates on Japan since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
DORA TSANG
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5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 16 March (Mon, Tue, Fri)
READ ALOUD WITH DORA! Workshop (Ages 5-7)
Dora Tsang is a children’s author and illustrator based in Hong Kong. She is the winner of the 20th Eye Level Children’s Literature Award. In this fun session, Dora will invite students into her magical storybook world by reading her picture book, Much Hairdo About Nothing, to them. She will also be conducting enjoyable follow-up activities with them.
Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
MUCH HAIRDO ABOUT NOTHING Workshop (Ages 8-12) In this interactive workshop, Dora will be guiding students through hands-on activities such as creative writing exercises that will incorporate elements from her picture book, Much Hairdo About Nothing. Students will be exploring the relationship between words and pictures with Dora’s expert guidance. Wigs will also be involved (we won’t say much more)!
A WRITER’S JOURNEY Talk (Ages 8+) Dora will be sharing her own personal journey towards becoming a writer and give students an all-access look at her creative process, from how she creates characters and storylines to where she gets inspiration for her books. Budding student writers will be leaving this stimulating talk with new ideas and stories buzzing around in their heads.
HOWARD WONG
12 – 16 March (Mon – Fri)
COMIC WRITING 101 Workshop/Talk (Ages 9+)
Howard Wong worked with Hong Kong Disneyland and Marvel to publish a unique limited-edition series, Iron Man Experience: Hong Kong Heroes. In this exciting session, Howard will walk students through the process of creating new characters, worlds, and stories. He will reveal the inner workings of comic book writing and share his own tips and tricks for balancing images and words, and much more!
IRON MAN EXPERIENCE: HONG KONG HEROES Talk (Ages 10+) In this talk, Howard will take students on an epic journey through the world of creating superhero characters. He will get into the nitty-gritty of the processes involved in creating a superhero, from finding inspiration to refining ideas and building a character with dual civilian and superhero personas. At the end of the session, students will have the chance to create their own superhero with a backstory, and even draw them out!
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Pricing information Tickets are priced at HK$50 per student for talks and HK$100 per student for workshops. For non-subsidised schools, the price per session is capped at a maximum of HK$7,500 (i.e. you will not be charged more than HK$7,500 regardless of the number of students participating). For government and aided schools, the price per session is subsidised by up to 70%. Please complete the School Subsidy Scheme application and submit it along with your booking form.
TALK
WORKSHOP
PRICE PER STUDENT (HK$)
50
100
STUDENT CAPACITY
N/A
20-40 depending on workshop
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Booking Form Please send us the completed form either via fax at (852) 2153 9260 or via email at jacqueline.leung@festival.org.hk. You will receive confirmation of your booking within 5 working days of receipt of this booking form. Please note: • All bookings are on a first come, first served basis. If your booking is not successful in the first instance, we will offer alternatives. • Tickets are priced at HK$50 per student for talks and HK$100 per student for workshops. • The Festival reserves the right to change the programme, including the sessions for which booking has been confirmed. Once your booking is confirmed, payment should be received within 2 weeks or your reserved seats may be released. Name and title of contact person:
Name of school:
School address:
Email: Contact number: Fax: Event name
Preferred date and time
Author
No. of students
Age of students
Total cost (HKD)
Total
_________________________________ Signature and chop
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_________________________________ Date
Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk
Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival 2018 Application for School Subsidy Scheme All government and aided schools are eligible for the School Subsidy Scheme. The scheme serves to encourage the participation of government and aided schools committed to promoting English and nurturing a love of reading in our Schools Programme. The Festival reserves the right of final decision for the amount of subsidy. School name: ______________________________ District: ________________________ School type: 1. □ Secondary School 2. □ Aided
□ Primary School □ Government
□ Direct Subsidy
Contact person: __________________________ Position: __________________________ Email: _______________________________ Phone: _______________________________ 1. How did you hear about the Festival and our Schools Programme?
□ Festival website □ Friends/Teachers □ Promotional materials □ Newspapers □ E-newsletters
□ Other (please specify) ______________
2. At your school, how many subjects use English as a medium of instruction?
____ out of a total of ____ 3. Is English a foreign language for most of your students? □ Yes □ No 4. What is the approximate pass rate of your students in English language exams (e.g. HKDSE, TSA, GCSE etc.)? _____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Does your school organise or participate in any activities/programmes that promote the learning and use of English (e.g. book clubs, creative writing clubs etc.)? □ Yes □ No If yes, please elaborate: _________________________________________________________ Thank you for showing interest in our Schools Programme! Please send us the completed form via fax at (852) 2153 9260 or via email at jacqueline.leung@festival.org.hk. The result of this application will be advised together with the booking status.
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Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival www.youngreadersfestival.org.hk In association with Hong Kong International Literary Festival www.festival.org.hk