CHILDREN’S LITERATURE INDUSTRY DAYS ’22
Attention all children’s authors and illustrators, agents and publishers, students and professionals! November blues are cancelled this year! Come and join us on 16-18 November 2022 at the annual Children’s Literature Industry Days, on the sunny “Creator Island” in Vilnius UNESCO City of Literature.
About „Creator Island“
Children’s Literature Industry Days are a series of events dedicated to children’s authors and illustrators, students and professionals.
Join us for three days of exciting activities:
- University Day – public lectures and workshops with university students in Vilnius hosted by our international guests.
- Know-how Day – training sessions and workshops for children’s authors, illustrators, publishers, agents and students.
- Inspiration Day – presentations of illustrator portfolios and the Creators’ Evening filled with inspirational talks by industry professionals, discussions and interviews.
This year’s theme
The 2022 “Creator Island” will focus on human rights and diversity in children’s literature. We will be discussing stereotypes and how to break them as well as topics such as migration, disability and gender roles in children’s books. We will also share our experiences of engaging communities in creative processes, any lessons learnt and challenges currently faced by the publishers in the UK and across the Baltic region.
Participants
The Know-How Day is organised in partnership with “Pop Up Projects” (UK).
Sharing their experiences will be Dylan Calder, founder and Director of “Pop Up Projects” (UK), book author Sita Brachmachari and poet Cheryl Moskowitz (both UK), Elorine Grant, Art Director at “HarperCollins Children’s Books” (UK), Ken Wilson-Max, book author, illustrator, publisher at “HarperCollins Children’s Books” (UK), Linda Bondestam (illustrator, FI), Aušra Kiudulaitė (illustrator, LT).
Guests of Creator Evening: Sam McCullen, online platform dPictus creator (UK), book author, illustrator Kitty Crowther (BE), book author Rasa Bugavičute-Pece (LV), and others.
History
The first Creators’ Evening took place in 2017 as part of the inaugural children’s literature festival Children’s Book Island in Vilnius. Since then, book authors, illustrators and other industry professionals from Australia, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia and Latvia come here to share best practices every year.In 2021 the event was organised in collaboration with the team behind the Illustrators Survival Corner (Bologna Children’s Book Fair) and the Lithuanian Culture Institute. For the first time, activities were spread across three days and the event became officially known as the “Creator Island”. The Children’s Literature Industry Days.
Come and join us!
We are inviting anyone and everyone who feels passionate about children’s literature – students, professionals or amateurs. Browse our exciting list of events and join us in Vilnius!
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE INDUSTRY DAYS ’22 | PROGRAMME
Wednesday, November 16 | University Day
Vilnius Academy of Arts, Department of Graphic Art (5 Malūnų Str.)
10.00–11.30 Public lecture by illustrator Kristin Roskifte (NO).
The event is free and open to the public but registration is required.
12.30–16.30 Masterclass with illustrator Kristin Roskifte (NO).
The event is reserved for group of students of Vilnius Academy of Arts.
Vilnius University, Faculty of Philology (Universiteto str. 5)
10.00–11.30 – Public lecture on creative writing by Sita Brahmachari (UK).
The event is free and open to the public but registration is required.
Vilnius Children and Youth Art Gallery (39 Vilnius Str.)
19.00 Launch of “Morphing”, an exhibition by Ukrainian artist Oleksandra (Lesia)
Synychenko.
Thursday, November 17 | Know-How Day
Admission with “Creator Island” ticket only.
“Planeta” Film and Media Space (A. Goštauto str. 2)
10.00–12.00 Creative workshop “Building Bridges through Stories”
Writer Sita Brahmachari (UK) shares her experience of working in a refugee centre in London which became the inspiration for her children’s book “Swallow’s Kiss”.
Dylan Calder (UK), Creative Director at “Pop Up Projects”, discusses the “Rainbow Library” – a series of eight books developed through creative participatory programmes with young LGBTQ+ people across the UK and Ireland.
13.30–15.00 An Inclusive Approach to Editing & Art Directing Children’s Books
A talk with Elorine Grant (UK), Senior Art Director at “Harper Collins Children’s Books”, and Ken Wilson-Max (UK), children’s author, illustrator and publisher at “Harper Collins Children’s Books”.
15.30–17.00 Literature for Children With Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
A training workshop with poet Cheryl Moskowitz (UK) and illustrator Ken Wilson-Max (UK) on how to deliver literary workshops for children with a range of disabilities.
Vilnius Literary House (Šv. Jono Str. 11)
The event is free and open to the public.
19:00 Capturing diversity: translating our world into visual language
Evelina Daciūtė in conversation with picture book authors Aušra Kiudulaitė (LT) and Linda Bondestam (FI).
Organised in partnership with the Bureau of Vilnius UNESCO City of Literature, The Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Vilnius and Embasy of Finland in Lithuania.
Friday, November 18 | Inspiration Day
“Planeta” Film and Media Space (A. Goštauto str. 2)
9.30–11.00 Literature for Children With Special Educational Needs & Disabilities
A training workshop with poet Cheryl Moskowitz dedicated to the teachers of the “Teach for All Lithuania” programme.
The event is reserved for “Teach for All Lithuania” members only.
Illustrator portfolio reviews
Portfolio reviews are free to attend. If you would like to participate, please register here.
11.00–12.30 Portfolio reviews with Elorine Grant (UK), Ken Wilson-Max (UK)
14.00–15.30 Portfolio reviews with Dylan Calder (UK), Sam McCullen (UK) and Kitty Crowther (BE)
Creator Evening
Admission with “Creator Island” ticket only.
16:00–16:45 Sam McCullen (UK): Picturebooks crossing borders
16:45–17:30 Rasa Bugavičute-Pēce (LV): Dare to see through darkness
17:50–18:50 Human rights and diversity literature for children: challenges and possibilities
In conversation with Dylan Calder (UK), Rasa Bugavičute-Pēce (LV), Ulla Saar (EE),
Eglė Baliutavičūtė (LT), Anna Misiek (PL). Moderator: Jurga Tumasonytė
19:00–19:45 Kitty Crowther (BE): Books opening doors and windows for children
19:45–20:30 Kristin Roskifte (NO): Everybody counts
Tickets
All illustrator portfolio presentations and the University Day events are open to the public and free to attend.The general “Creator Island” ticket is also valid for the Know-How Day events and the Creators’ Evening.More information on the programme, registration and tickets will be available from late September.
All events will be translated into Lithuanian and English. Portfolio reviews will be held in English only.
For any enquiries, contact Kotryna Zylė, coordinator of “Creator Island”, on kotryna.zy@gmail.com
Event organised by
“Vaikų žemė”, Lithuanian Culture Institute.
Partners
“Pop Up Projects”, LRT, the Lithuanian Publishers Association, Vilnius UNESCO City of Literature, Vilniaus Academy of Arts, Vilnius University Philology Faculty, MRU Institute of Humanities, Lithuanian Writers’ Union, Planeta, Literatūra ir menas, 7 meno dienos.
Supported by
Lithuanian Council for Culture, Vilnius Municipality, “Norla”.