An Impressive London Conference On Books for Children And Young Adults
On September 27th, the British magazine The Bookseller organized an ambitious and very well attended conference under the heading Keeping Children´s Books at the Centre of the Universe.
The conference programme was highly ambitious, interesting and entertaining. The speaker list featured writers, publishers, editors, PR-managers, marketing agents, television station directors, computer games designers and people from various other areas.
Top-notch Speakers
The conference programme was highly ambitious, interesting and entertaining. The speaker list featured writers, publishers, editors, PR-managers, marketing agents, television station directors, computer games designers and people from various other areas. Each speaker gave a 10-15 minute long address on different, clearly defined subjects with a concise and visually aided presentation. Each speech dealt some aspect of books for children and young adults, entertainment for children, reading, book sales, social media, television programming, methods in advertising, young adults´ consumer patterns and various other subject matters.
Nordic Publishers as honorary guests
The conference guests were around 300 and this year, Nordic publishers and editors of books for children and young adults were given a place of pride, along with representatives from literary Centres in all of the Nordic countries. The aim was to strengthen the relations between publishers in the Nordic countries and in the UK and take a closer look at what´s happening in the British children´s and young adults´ culture scene. The Nordic guests were found the conference extremely interesting and exciting. The Icelandic delegation consisted of editors Birgitta Elín Hassell, from the publishing house Bókabeitan, and Sigþrúður Gunnarsdóttir, from Forlagið publishing house, as well as Hrefna Haraldsdóttir on behalf of the Icelandic Literature Center.
Children´s books are gaining ground
Among other topics, the conference guests discussed the most effective ways to reach young readers and how to, for that purpose, tap into the various other media young people are using daily, by employing those media in an original and positive way. Sales numbers show that children´s books are selling markedly better than before and that there is a momentum for the genre at present. This year will most likely turn out to be a record year in book sales in Britain. In that context, many spoke of the importance of books being readily available to the general public in every place imaginable, such as a grocery store. It turns out that the most common question a parent or other buyers ask a publisher is: Where can I buy that book?
Thinking visual – thinking big
There was also a lively discussion on the matter of high quality adaptations for television of books for children and young adults. Publishers were encouraged to think in visual terms when publishing books for the younger readers – and also to always think big, think globally. These are only a few examples of the many discussions at this marvellous conference. The programme in full and the names of all speakers can be found here.
