SCBWI Retreat: Gauteng representatives

Jenn, Rozenn, and LeAnne
Jenn walking up the big hill
Paddy and Joan cheer other delegates
Phylis, LeAnne and Sindiwe on a walk to the hill above Goudini
Carol recording an event
Rozenne, Phylis and LeAnne at dinner

SCBWI Retreat: From story board and manuscript to published book

From story board to published book: How to find your own way in the world of publishing - a talk by international literary agent Susanne Koppe. For snippets from this talk given at the SCBWI Retreat at Goudini from 5-9 May, click on the title above.

Book Design

For some tips regarding Book Design discussed at an SCBWI meeting in Cape Town, click on the title above.

Spoke, Rillers en ander Grillers

Fantasi Books/Boeke has a great opportunity for writers to create ghost stories. Click on the title above for more information.

Also, see the link to Fantasi Books in the Websites of Interest on below right.

Katrine Harries Award for Children's Book Illustrations

For the winners of the 1999-2001, 2002-2003, 2004-2005 and 2006-2007, click on the title above.

Centre for the Book

Nombulelo Baba has taken over as Project Co-ordinator for the Children's Literature Programme at the Centre for the Book from Colleen Higgs who resigned at the end of February. For more information, click on the title or visit

http://www.nlsa.ac.za/NLSA/centreforthebook

Local Language Publishing Program Writing Competition 2008 Room to Read

Cash prizes for the best five stories.
Click on the title above for details.

Cape Town Book Fair

Cape Town Book Fair, 2008

The Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA), and the organisers of the Frankfurt (European) Book Fair will be organising the Third International Book Fair in Cape Town, (June 14-17, 2008). SCBWI SA has already been allocated a stand and we are working with the organisers to plan their “Kids Zone” and the Pin Board area like in 2007. We plan to provide the opportunity for children’s book writers and illustrators (SCBWI SA members only) to display their work and to make contact at our stand with representatives from the international and local publishers who will be coming to the Fair.

SCBWI will have a critique session a week before the Book Fair to help our writers and illustrators prepare for the Fair and a Get-together after the Book Fair for feedback and generally book talk.

Dates will be confirmed and posted on www.scbwi-za-capetown.blogspot.com/ closer to the time.

For more on the Cape Town Book Fair, e-mail them at: info@capetownbookfair.co.za
or visit their website at: www.capetownbookfair.com or phone: +27 (0)21 418 5493

Illustrators' Rates

Have you ever wondered what you should be charging for illustrating? SAFREA (Southern African Freelancers' Association) suggests some minimum rates. These can be accessed at: http://www.safrea.co.za/. For the rates suggested in 2007/2008, click on the Title above.

Resources for Writers in SA compiled by Colleen Higgs

Colleen Higgs left the Centre for the Book at the end of February 2008. She developed a Resource list over her years working there and shared this with the e-group before leaving to start Modjaji Books. Her list is very valuable and can be accessed at

http://scbwi-za-news.blogspot.com/2008/03/resources-for-writers-in-sa-compiled-by.htm

Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Retreat

For the full programme and costs of the Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Retreat

at Goudini Spa from May 5-9 2008, see

http://sa-writers-illustrators.blogspot.com or click on the Title above.

This is a wonderful opportunity, NOT TO BE MISSED!

Nominations wanted for the Katrine Harries Award

Nominations awaited for the Katrine Harries Award for Children's Book Illustrations

The Katrine Harries Award, originally the only and most prestigious award in South Africa for children's book illustrations, but which has been dormant for the past ten years, will again be awarded from this year.
For the complete article, click on the title above.

Exclusive Books IBBY SA Award

At the SCBWI meeting held on Tuesday 20 November 2007 at UNISA Penny Hochfeld discussed the Exclusive Books IBBY SA Awards.

Exclusive Books, in association with IBBY S.A., has taken on the sponsorship of the award for the best original children's picture book or illustrated children's story book published in South Africa.

For the EXCLUSIVE BOOKS IBBY SA AWARD for 2007, they invited submissions of books published between 1 January 2006 and 30 June 2007. Fifty-six entries were received and evaluated by the jury.

The jury consisted of various people associated with publishing of children’s books as well as experts in Fine Art and book illustration. Other members comprised the Chairperson of IBBY SA, the IBBY SA Executive member responsible for the awards portfolio, and members co-opted from the areas of design, public and school libraries, academic librarianship, and book-selection for children.

The rules require that the award is for a picture book or illustrated children’s story book adjudged the best in the period of adjudication. The writer and illustrator must be South Africans, whether living in South Africa or not; or non-South Africans living and working in South Africa. The book must be an original work written in any of the official South African languages and it must have been published in South Africa.
Importantly, the award is given to a book that is recognisably South African in character.

The shortlist of five titles was published some weeks before the final award was announced. The award was announced at an Exclusive Books event on 11 September in Johannesburg.

Robin Malan announced that the Exclusive Books IBBY SA Award was awarded jointly to:

The Cool Nguni (written by Maryanne Bester, illustrated by Shayle Bester, published by Jacana Media) to award and reward adventurousness and a quirky sense of fun in the jaunty image projected through both text and illustrations.

Fynbosfeetjies (written by Antjie Krog, illustrated by Fiona Moodie, published by Umuzi) to award and reward professional excellence and artistry in both the writing and the illustration of the funky fairies.

Ouma Ruby’s Secret (written by Chris van Wyk, illustrated by Anneliese Voigt-Peters, published by Giraffe Books Pan Macmillan) for the humanity and the homespun South African authenticity of both text and illustrations.

UTshepo mde / Tall enough (written by Mhlobo Jadezweni, illustrated by Hannah Morris, published by Electric Book Works) for the magic of its story and the sophistication of its illustrations.

Zanzibar Road (written and illustrated by Niki Daly, published in English by Pan Macmillan and in Afrikaans by LAPA Uitgewers) for the professionalism and experience of the writer and illustrator as much as for the fun he has and gives young readers.

Excerpt from presentation by Robin Malan (Chairman of IBBY SA) at Awards Event held on 11 September 2007.

The award will be made every second year, from 2007 onwards. Exclusive Books and IBBY SA hope that this new Award will encourage the publication of wonderful new South African children's books, as it rewards talented authors and illustrators.

IBBY SA's Representative South African Books for Children and Young People

IBBY SA has drawn up 100 Representative South African Books for Children and Young People

• The books are recognisably African in character.
• The authors and illustrators are South Africans, or non-South Africans living and working in South Africa.
• The books are in print.
• The books are mentioned in the list in the language in which they were originally written. Many titles have been translated into other South African languages.
• The books are intended for children and young people: we have not included titles that are geared to an adult market, even if popular among younger readers.

For the full list, click on the Title above.

email info@ibbysa.org.za
website www.ibbysa.org.za

To request a printable brochure, please email
booksforafrica@iafrica.com

What township children are reading: a case study of three schools in Atteridgeville / Saulsville

At the SCBWI meeting of 20 November 2007, Nicoline Wessels and Hannalie Knoetze, lecturers at UNISA, shared some of the results of their research on the reading patterns of township children.

Many University lecturers have noticed the poor reading skills of their first year students and suggest that these are approximately on a grade 8 level. This means that some first-year university students are reading at the level of first-year secondary school learners. In addition, only 19.1% of South Africans reach a desired level of reading for adults. This has established a need for research.

Nicoline Wessels and Hannalie Knoetze, from the Department of Information Science, are carrying out research in three primary schools as part of an inter-disciplinary project.

The three selected schools are functioning primary schools with interested and enthusiastic principals. English is a second or even third additional language for the learners who come from all over South Africa and even further afield. Schools A and B have 600 learners, with School C, registering over 1400 learners. At least 80% of the children qualify for the feeding scheme and all three schools have been declared non-paying fee schools. One of the schools did not have electricity for more than three months this year .

School libraries have been established in each school and each library has been stocked with books from organisations such as Biblionef. The book stock comprises English, Sepedi, and in School C’s case also IsiZulu books. There are between 1-3 books per child. The ratio of books to learner will move towards a more desirable and internationally acceptable one as more books are added. In each case, a school librarian has been trained and they are supervised by a project manager. In addition, the researchers have initiated a number of reading related activities such as book clubs, book buddies etc. Other interventions include the twinning of schools.

The reading levels of learners have been tested periodically throughout the project.

Although their research has not been completed, it already points to a number of findings, for example:
• Children find it difficult to learn to read in English because the phonetics of English is so different from that of African languages.
• The level of most reference books such as World Books, is too high.
• There are not enough high interest, low level books available.
• Many of the so-called children’s classics are inappropriate.
• There are not enough books available in African languages.
• English books are more popular among the children.

Some books have been found to be more popular than others. These include:
• TV programme spin-off books;
• High interest, low level books;
• Beginning to read books;
• Multicultural books;

Since the implementation of the project, there has been steady improvement in reading levels, the latest level for grade 7 being 48% in School A. This was originally established as 31%. Thus, the implementation of libraries and reading related activities does seem to influence reading skills. However, the researchers express anxiety about what will happen to the school libraries and reading within the schools when the project closes down.

Reviva Schermbrucker

Reviva Schermbrucker will be presenting a Writing Course in Johannesburg from 10 to 14 March 2008. See right-hand side for course details and how to register.

Born in Israel in 1954, Reviva arrived with her family in South Africa aged 5 and a half. Reviva became a South African in Johannesburg in the 60’s. After matriculating, she attended WITS (the University of Witwatersrand) and began a Fine Art degree. She completed her undergraduate degree in Philadelphia ,USA and followed it up with a Masters in Fine Art from the University of Wisconsin. She returned to South Africa to a life in Cape Town, married to Peter. Before and in between raising their two sons, she taught art at what was then known as the Cape Technikon and at various schools. But teaching has always been a second choice. Her real passion is making books.

Her first foray into children’s books was as a writer. Charlie’s House ( Songololo Books, David Philip) was illustrated by Niki Daly and first appeared in 1989.

A Child’s Garden (Tafelberg, 1992) is a practical book with a dual audience. It is chock full of fanciful ideas to be experienced in the garden by both children and their parents.

Reviva worked as a materials developer for ELRU (the Early learning Resource Unit) for 10 years producing children’s picture books and readers - including some that fit into matchboxes! (The Matchbox Library) - picture packs, an unique set of alphabet cards (Ah Bekutheni?), innovative games including updated card games (Snap! and Happy Families in South Africa) and a foundation phase numeracy kit (We all count!), award-winning posters and even the lyrics for a musical tape.

Cindy ( ELRU, 2001)is one of the five books in the Keteka series of readers which gives voice to actual children living in situations or communities which rarely make it into the world of children’s books.

Am I a Lion that Eats People? ( ELRU, 2004) is one of four books in the Mielie Book series which addresses tough issues such as poverty, prejudice and stereotyping in fresh and child-friendly ways.

Lucky Fish! ( Jacana, 2003) is a full-length novel for teenagers and adults based on fact. It is set in Johannesburg during the 1960s, and is told by a 13-year old boy named Steven whose parents, Ivor and Lucy, become political prisoners.

Alongside her work for NGO’s and educational publishers such as ELRU, PRAESA (Project for Alternative Education in South Africa) Maskew Miller Longman, Shooter and Shuter etc.– what she calls her ‘bread and butter work’-- Reviva has continued to write and illustrate children’s picture books for the general market

The Jam Tin and the Teacup ( Songololo Books, New Africa Books, 2002) follows the conversation between an endearing orangutan that emerges from the label of a jam tin (APE !– ricot) and a rather uppity damsel who is painted on the side of a porcelain teacup. An African Christmas Cloth, an advent calendar for children in Calendar form, was published by Jacana in 2005.

The works above are a sample of all she has produced. There is a novella for newly literate adults, a number of teachers’ guides and a whole lot of early readers. As Reviva says, “One has to keep producing in this field if one is to keep the wolf from the door.”

Journal of African Children's & Youth Literature (JACYL)

CALL FOR PAPERS
JOURNAL OF AFRICAN CHILDREN'S & YOUTH LITERATURE (JACYL)

Editor:Osayimwense Osa
Associate Editors: Betsie van der Westhuizen, North West University, South Africa Chikoko Muponder, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

The Journal African Children's & Youth Literature invites contributions from Children*s and Youth Literature theorists, practitioners, scholars and graduate students.

Please email papers to the editor, Osayimwense Osa, at Osayimwense@gmail.com OR Send a copy to the editor using the following address:

Osayimwense Osa, Editor
Journal African Children's & Youth Literature Department of Languages and Literature VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY
1 Hayden drive, Petersburg, Virginia 23806, USA

For almost eighteen years, JACYL has provided a forum for scholars in African children's and youth literatures to share their ideas and findings and promote the growth and development of scholarship in the genre.

We are interested in receiving essays in all aspects of children's and youth literatures in Africa and in the African Diaspora. Case studies illustrating the successful use of children's and youth literature in indigenous African languages and the like are welcome.

The following is a list of some areas you might like to address:
New directions in African children's literatures - African Children's literature and the media - Storytelling and African children's literature - African Children's literature in African languages - Online research in African children's and youth literatures - African children's literature in the primary/elementary school -
African children's literature in the high school- African children's literature in colleges and universities - Interdisciplinary nature of African children's and youth literatures - Research into African children's and youth literatures in English, French, Spanish, and in indigenous African languages - History, Roots, or Ancestry in African Children's and Youth literatures - African roots of world children*s literatures - African children*s and youth literature and AIDS.

Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive, and we welcome submissions on any aspect of children's and youth literature in Africa, in the African diaspora and in the international/global community.

osayimwense@gmail.com

Osayimwense Osa, M.A. Ed.D
Professor of English
Virginia State University
Petersburg, Virginia 23806
Tel: 804 454 - 1214 (H); 404 992 - 4322 (cell)

IBBY SA Honour List

IBBY SA has announced that the following books have been selected as IBBY SA’s Honour List to be presented at the IBBY World Congress in Copenhagen in 2008 as having made a significant contribution to recent South African literature for children and young people:

Author: Afrikaans
Jaco Jacobs: Suurlemoen (LAPA Uit-gewers, Pretoria, 2006)
Jaco Jacobs het hier daarin geslaag om op oortuigende wyse ’n regte, egte tiener-verhaal te vertel. Die sestienjarige Tiaan Fourie, saam met sy ‘partner in crime’, die baskitaarspeler en moeillkheidmaker Zane le Roux, word aangemoedig om hulle band vir die Rumoer-kompetisie in te skryf deur die musiekonderwyser. Hulle kry uiteindelik toe ’n vocalist en ’n drummer. Jaco Jacobs het ’n lewendige, vermaaklike en genuine jeugverhaal geskep met genoeg opwinding en humor en ’n sterk spanningselement om jong lesers te vermaak. Die karakters is werklik tieners; die styl lig, gemaklik en onderhoudend. Jaco Jacobs word geluk gewens met ’n oortuigende leesbare en toeganklike jeugverhaal.

Author: isiXhosa
Mhlobo Jadezweni: UTshepo mde / Tall enough (Electric Book Works, Cape Town, 2006)
Tshepo is a boy who wishes he was as tall as a beautiful tree. He plants himself in the ground, waters himself, and magically grows into one. But, as a tree, he soon comes to realise why it’s good to be a little boy, at least for now. Told in isiXhosa, and accompanied by an English translation, this book is about the worries of growing up and belonging. The story is funny, poignant and surprising, and fuses the mythical and the domestic in a quintessentially African fairytale. (from the publisher’s information sheet)

Author: English
K Sello Duiker: The Hidden Star (Umuzi Books Random House, Cape Town, 2006) (posthumously)
K Sello Duiker’s last novel, edited after his death by publisher Annari van der Merwe as a tribute to her friend and author, is something of a milestone for South African literature for young people. Eleven-year-old Nolitye takes upon herself the quest to bring together again the separated pieces of a magic stone that will both reveal and heal. So, yes, this is a fantasy story every bit as much as any in the great classic tradition, but the achievement lies in this fantasy being embedded in a uniquely South African reality: every taste, sound, sight and smell in the novel smacks of South Africa, and, specifically, of Phola township in Gauteng. Its authenticity is unassailable. We are the poorer for the loss of a talent such as Sello’s; but South African literature for young people is undeniably the richer for the survival of The Hidden Star.

Translator:
Russell H Kaschula: Emthonjeni trans-lated into isiXhosa from his own English Take Me to the River (New Africa Books, Cape Town, 2006)
Professor Kaschula has earned the respect of isiXhosa-speakers in the academic world; and he now adds to the small but growing body of stories in isiXhosa for young teenagers. Chance and the recent history of South Africa make the young black boy Zama and the young coloured boy Pieter next-door neighbours. But they make their friendship themselves. And it is the kind of friendship that proves it can withstand a number of severe tests and challenges. The author is unafraid of tackling social issues that are potentially controversial – and even divisive. He skilfully harnesses them to serve his theme of individual human bonds bringing and keeping people together.


Illustrator:
Anneliese Voigt-Peters: Ouma Ruby’s Secret by Chris van Wyk (Giraffe Books Pan Macmillan,Johannesburg, 2006)
This story is taken from Chris van Wyk’s memoir about growing up in Riverlea in Johannesburg, Shirley, Goodness and Mercy. He has rewritten, for a young audience, a story about his beloved grandmother Ruby. One day he meets his Ouma in town and she buys him two books. For her birthday two weeks later, he writes a letter which he wants her to read out. She makes the excuse that she does not have her glasses with her. His mother takes him aside and quietly tells him that Ouma Ruby cannot read. This gentle, very real story is sensitively illustrated in fine watercolours by Anneliese Voigt-Peters. Her images capture the essence of the neighbourhood and houses and the extended family inhabiting the boy’s world. A book to be treasured as a fine example of how an illustrator who knows her material and the environment in which the story takes place can produce illustrations typically South African in a quiet reassuring manner. She is highly applauded for this little gem of a book.

Taken from Lona Gericke's article in the IBBY SA Newsletter No 45, October 2007.