July / August 2002 Vol. 34, no. 4

Call for Papers

THE FUN OF READING:
International Forum on Canadian Children’s Literature

Organized by the National Library of Canada

June 26-29, 2003
Ottawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Canada
Conference Web site www.nlc-bnc.ca/forum

The year 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of the National Library of Canada. To celebrate this historic occasion, the National Library will host The Fun of Reading: International Forum on Canadian Children’s Literature. The Forum  -  a multidisciplinary conference and its companion activities, a variety of engaging public events with and for young people  -  will take place in Ottawa, with affiliated activities across Canada, from Thursday through Sunday, June 26-29, 2003.

The purpose of this initiative is to celebrate and promote Canadian children’s literature in all its rich cultural, linguistic and regional diversity and strengthen the presence of this literature within Canada and on the international stage.

A nation’s literature for children expresses the country’s values and realities  -  its languages and identities, history and geography, themes and images. Fittingly, Canadian children’s literature flourishes in both French and English and reflects the strong regional distinctiveness of the country. In recent years, it has been further enriched by the contributions of Aboriginal and culturally diverse Canadian creators.

Yet children’s literature is still a relatively young field in Canada and it faces many challenges. To strengthen mutual understanding and create opportunities for cooperation among those committed to this literature, the Forum will gather together  -  for the first time  -  all the partners whose efforts support our literature for young people: the writers, illustrators and storytellers who create it; the translators, publishers, teachers, librarians and booksellers who bring the books to children in Canada and abroad; young Canadian readers and their families; Canadian literature specialists from Canada and other countries, literacy groups, policy-makers and the media.

Confirmed keynote speakers: Dominique Demers, children’s literature professor and award-winning writer; Tim Wynne-Jones, award-winning writer; Michel Noël, award-winning writer; C. J. Taylor, artist and member of the Steering Committee.

The names of other keynote speakers and illustrators will be announced on the conference Web page: www.nlc-bnc.ca/1/7/n7-3100-e.html.

THEMES

• Reading Patterns and Habits: imaginary world of early childhood (panel discussion)*, early childhood reading programs, storytelling and stories from different regions, book clubs for children and teenagers, favourite books (panel discussion)*, reading in an electronic environment, oral traditions and the written word, the reading life of a child, books and the development of a child’s self esteem, non-fiction books, gender reading habits, magazines, censorship in children’s literature (panel discussion)*, writing for children and adults, comic books, science in fiction and non-fiction books.
• The Role of Public Libraries and School Libraries: children’s needs in public libraries (panel discussion)*, literary and literacy programs in public libraries, the state of school libraries across Canada (panel discussion)*, the school library at the heart of school life, reading as a factor in social cohesion, family literacy program, Canadian stories in the curriculum.
• Tales, Stories and Discovery of the Self: the sacred tradition of the Aboriginal storyteller, the natural world and the urban or imaginary environment, stories and literary traditions from multicultural backgrounds, translation and children’s books, historical novels in the classroom, traditional tales and Canadian myths, ownership of stories, humour and irony, Canadian children’s books and the foreign market.
• Illustration: the writer/illustrator creative approach, visual literacy, the natural world and the urban or imaginary environment, creation and retelling, regionalism in Canadian children’s illustration, illustration as a language, illustration as a story within a story, multicultural and Aboriginal representations, illustrators’ styles and techniques.

* All panel discussions will be chaired by a session president who will lead the presentations and discussions.

Submission Procedure

Submissions should include the speaker’s name, institutional affiliation, address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers, a short one-paragraph biographical note, the title of the paper or presentation, and an abstract of 400 - 500 words. Papers and presentations are welcome in English and French. Sessions will be organized by children’s writers or illustrators, teachers, librarians, publishers, translators, academics and university students. Each session will be 90 minutes in length (including discussion time) and will consist of papers of 20 minutes duration.

Selection Criteria

Presentations will be chosen by the Selection Committee. All decisions are final.

Registration fees will be waived for speakers.

Audio Visual Requirements

Along with your proposal please send any A/V requirements you may have. We can provide the following equipment on a limited basis: a screen slide projector, data projector, overhead, and a TV/VCR combo. Any additional A/V equipment (including specialized items) should be provided by the presenter.

Deadline

All entries must be received no later than October 15, 2002. The selected presenters will be notified by December 15, 2002.

Preferred submission method is via e-mail at the address below. Regular post mail is, of course, also accepted. For reasons of compatibility, please send attachment in Word (.doc), Text (.txt) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) ONLY. If this is not possible, please send your proposal in the body of an e-mail.

Entries should be submitted to:

Selection Committee
International Forum on Canadian Children’s Literature
National Library of Canada
395 Wellington Street, Room 196
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4
Canada
E-mail: forum@nlc-bnc.ca

For more information about the International Forum on Canadian Children’s Literature, please visit our Web site at www.nlc-bnc.ca/forum.