(MENAFNEditorial)
SINGAPORE -Media OutReach - 24 April, 2014 -The shortlisted candidates for the Scholastic Asian Book Award 2014 were announced by Ms Claire Chiang, Senior Vice president of Banyan Tree Holdings and Chairperson of the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC), at the festival's press conference held at the National Library Building today.
The Award, a joint initiative between the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) and Scholastic Asia, recognises outstanding writers of children's material in Asia and of Asian origins, is worth S$10,000 and will be presented to an unpublished manuscript or translation of an original work in English targeted at children aged between six to 18 years. Winners of the Award will be announced during the Opening Ceremony and Awards Presentation on 30 May 2014.
The submissions received were from authors hailing from a variety of Asian countries, including Malaysia, Bangladesh and Iran.
The following are the shortlisted titles for the award (titles are not listed in order of merit):
Scholastic Asian Book Award 2014 Shortlist:
- Dragonhearted: The Fine Spell of Words Alone by Thia Shi Min, Singapore
- Ergo Sum by Aditi Krishnakumar, India
- Sula's Voyage by Catherine Torres, Philippines
- What Things Mean by Sophia Lee, Philippines
- Robin and the Case of the Summer Camp Kidnapping by Vivek Bhanot, India
The High Commissioner of India, Ms Vijay Thakur Singh, was also present at the conference to address the audience on India's participation in the festival and gave an outlook of quality children's content in the future, with India being appointed as the Country of Focus this year.
"I am very encouraged by the efforts to promote quality content in Asia," Ms Singh said. "It is my wish that children from around the world will get access to the treasure trove of stories and cultures in Asia, fostering cohesion and mutual understanding while ultimately, learning."
In line with AFCC'S efforts to bring quality content to children through a variety of platforms that are enriching and interactive, representatives from StarHub and transmedia TV network ZooMoo demonstrated its learning channel on the animal kingdom. The ZooMoo channel, available on StarHub TV Channel 306, is accompanied by a second screen ZooMoo app. This app allows children to learn more about the animals they see on the channel, thereby providing greater interaction and encouraging individual learning. Interested members of the public may learn more about ZooMoo at the AFCC Media Mart and Book Fair.
"Every year, we are heartened to see the number of delegates and the public coming to the AFCC growing. We remain steadfast in our mission to bring quality children's content to our young readers," Mr Kenneth Quek, Festival Director of the Asian Festival of Children's Content, said. "As such, we have raised the number of free programmes at the AFCC for more people to participate in."
This year, free AFCC language programmes at Community Libraries will be available to the public, through sponsorship from the Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism. Children and accompanying parents may attend the educational workshops and talks chaired by noted literary practitioners like Tang Sulan, Jumaini Ariff and Malavika PC.
Other free programmes include the Media Mart and Book Fair, with booths from a variety of international and local publishing houses, and digital educational tools from the likes of Samsung and StarHub. There will also be free talks by notable authors from around the region, as well as exciting performances which include an art battle between illustrators James Mayhew and David Liew.
Editor's Notes
The following Programmes will comprise AFCC 2014:
· 30 May -- 4 June: AFCC Media Mart & Book Fair, Book & Product Launches
· 31 May: AFCC Teachers Congress
· 1 June: AFCC Parents Forum, Free Language Programmes
· 1 - 3 June: AFCC Writers and Illustrators Conference
· 2 June: AFCC Rights Exchange
· 3 June: AFCC Media Summit
· 4 June: AFCC Masterclasses
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