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Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators British Isles Conference 2010
13-14 November, University of Winchester Main Campus, SO22 4NR

Our third, two-day, annual conference offers the opportunity for those who are published or unpublished to network with other authors, illustrators and publishing professionals, to work on their craft and learn more about marketing their books and the realities of today's children's book market.

Speakers include Marcus Sedgwick, Lynne Chapman, Mini Grey, Linda Chapman and David Fickling. A limited number of one-on-one manuscript and portfolio reviews with editors and art directors will be available. We will also be offering individual website reviews with a professional web designer. There is an optional critique meet on the evening of Friday the 12th, an open portfolio exhibition on Saturday 13th and various competitions for authors and illustrators.

Join us to celebrate 10 years of the SCBWI-BI and our members' recent success at our exclusive party on Saturday night!

Booking is now open at http://www.britishscbwi.org/conference2010/
Limited places available.

Laure Atkins writes:

Children's literature has always courted controversy, from eighteenth-century debates concerning the dangers of fairy tales to publications of the last fifty years­­--such as Falling (1995) by Anne Provoost or Doing It (2003) by Melvin Burgess--that further challenge notions of what is suitable reading material for young readers. Nor can children's authors stand aside from the conflicts and political debates of their age, since these will resonate at some level in all writing for the next generation.  This conference will address controversial subject matter in children's fiction; the fictional coverage of national and international conflicts, and question any lingering assumptions that children's literature is, or should be, apolitical.

The conference will include keynote presentations by well-known writers, publishers and academics. Proposals are welcomed for workshop sessions (lasting about 20 minutes) on the following or other relevant issues/areas from any period in the history of international children's literature:

• representations of war - from a historical perspective, or thinking about the way in which children's book engage with contemporary/ongoing conflicts;
• generational conflict - an area of conflict that has been explored throughout the history of children's literature and that crosses literary form and genre;
• sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll:  counterculture in children's literature;
• the engagement with gender/sexuality in books for young people;
• depictions of violence - in prose fiction, picture books or graphic novels;
• the way in which  books challenge or subvert prevailing constructions of childhood;
• dystopian children's literature;
• controversies ensuing from perceived tensions between authors' lives/biographies and their child audience;
• breaking formal boundaries - considering alternative narrative forms such as experimental novels or picture books; electronic narratives; fan fiction etc.;
• historical perspective and its impact on the subversive/controversial nature of children's literature - the way in which ideological shifts can generate new readings or/ reactions to children's books;
• controversies thrown up at different points in the history of children's literature;
• the multifarious ways in which children's literature has engaged with religious or political issues;
• the ways in which children's literature has broken/challenged boundaries, traditions and taboos.

We welcome contributions from interested academics and others researchers in any of these areas. Brief accounts of the papers that are presented at the conference will be published in the Spring 2011 issue of IBBYLink, the journal of British IBBY.

The deadline for proposals is 31^st August  2010. Please email a 200-word abstract (for a 20-minute paper), along with a short biography and affiliation to Laura Atkins:  L.Atkins@roehampton.ac.uk

Children's Books Ireland Conference

Booktrusted

The shortlisted books for the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2006 are:
Siobhan Dowd A Swift Pure Cry
Ally Kennen Beast
Paul Magrs Exchange
Anthony McGowan Henry Tumour
Marcus Sedgwick The Foreshadowing
John Singleton Angel Blood

Diversity Matters: growing markets in children's publishing

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster
24-25 June 2006
Saturday 24, 10.00am � 5.00 pm; Family event: 6.00-8.00 pm
Sunday 25, 10.00am � 1.30 pm

Keynote Speakers:
Malorie Blackman & Trevor Phillips, Chair CRE
Contributing authors include:
Beverley Naidoo, Mary Hoffman, Bali Rai, Ken Wilson-Max and poetry with John Agard

This major conference from Arts Council England, organised by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, provides a unique opportunity to raise the profile of the market for culturally diverse children�s books and to explore opportunities for development in this area.

Drawing together people from across the industry, conference delegates will include publishers, writers and illustrators as well as booksellers, librarians and teachers. It will also feature a public showcase event open to local families.

Workshops will focus on: development of the market; informing and stimulating growth; showcasing good practice

For more information, or to book a place, please visit the website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/diversitymatters

FICTION FOR CHILDREN COMES OF AGE - a one-day conference at Homerton's Faculty of Education, Hills Road, Cambridge
09:00-17:30, Saturday 23rd April
Registration fee: ?75* (student concessions ?35)
Speakers:
Julia Eccleshare
Geoff Fox
Nikki Gamble
Peter Hunt
Jan Mark
Philippa Pearce
Kim Reynolds
Margaret Meek Spencer
Nicholas Tucker
Victor Watson
Tel 01223 767600 for application form

N.B. The full registration fee includes a signed paperback copy of The Coming of Age in Children's Literature by Margaret Meek and Victor Watson