2024-07-08 03:10:31
A must-see for every winter break, the 32nd Children’s and Youth Book Fair. It will be from this Monday until Sunday, July 28 at the CCK (Sarmiento 151), with free admissionThe programme is varied, and will feature the participation of more than 70 publishers and more than 300 activities designed for families to enjoy, including a “Youth Party” for teenagers.
“The goal is to encourage children and young people to enjoy reading,” he says. Ezequiel Martinez, General Director of the Book Foundation,in dialogue with Page 12. The foundation, which is in charge of organizing the fair, seeks to contribute to the cultural and educational training of children and young people. In addition, the aim is to establish links not only with readers but also with schools and institutions that are part of the publishing industry.
For this reason, in the days leading up to the winter holidays, from July 8 to 12, the fair opens its doors for visits by students and teachers. Reservations can be made at https://www.el-libro.org.ar/feria-infantil-y-juvenil/reserva-de-visitas-escolares/
Within this framework, there will also be training sessions for specific audiences. On Wednesday 17th, the sessions for industry professionals will be held, free of charge and with prior registration. Meanwhile, on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th, it will be the turn of the sessions for Teachers and Reading Mediators. In this case, registration is charged and the inauguration will be in charge of Margarita Mainé. On the other hand, towards the end of the fair, on Friday 26th, the Pregonero Awards will be presented, the most important recognition for the disseminators of children’s and young adult literature.
The official opening will take place on Friday, July 12. For the second time in the history of the Children’s and Young Adult Book Fair, the opening speech will be given by a writer. In 2023, Gigliola Zecchin (Canela) She was in charge of the first opening speech. And on this occasion, it will be the author and illustrator Pablo Bernasconi who will take the baton. “Bernasconi is one of our leading representatives of children’s and young adult literature. He is a great illustrator with more than 45 published books, translated into 15 languages, and his work represents us in a praiseworthy way and projects us within the genre at an international level. So we are very pleased with his participation in this inauguration,” defines Martínez, who anticipates more details of this new edition.
–Last year there was a section designed especially for young people. Will that experience be repeated?
–Every year, we put more emphasis on not forgetting the growing youth audience, even through social media. That’s why we are in close contact with the world of bookfluencers who, through Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, promote reading. That’s why, on Saturdays and Sundays we’re going to have a program dedicated exclusively to young people and the topics that interest them, from emotions in young adult novels, the construction of romance and relationships in sagas, or thrillers, a genre that they follow a lot. In this framework, some influencers, who have recently become writers, will be presented to tell their experiences. Classics will also be addressed, such as the Percy Jackson and the The Hunger Gameswith debates, trivia and tributes, and there will be a world championship of international authors who will compete with their books through public voting. The goal is to have many activities that attract the young public that is growing and staying the same.
–How do you assess the state of children’s and young adult literature in terms of content?
-Twenty years ago, or less, there were many topics that were not addressed, such as gender diversity, bullying or dysfunctional families. And this, fortunately, has been changing, and these types of topics are dealt with in an appropriate manner according to age. Precisely, we have an initiative during the teaching and training days for reading mediators, which is called the Great Crossing. In this activity, there are specialized guides in each of the topics such as children’s narrative, books for early childhood, comprehensive sexual education, bullying, grooming, comics, graphic novels, poetry or picture books. In this way, a teacher interested in knowing what options there are for poetry for children or young people can contact this guide so that he can accompany him to the stands that have in their catalogs that type of material that he is looking for. The contents have multiplied in a very wide way, and books of this type are very well displayed at the fair and arouse a lot of interest in teachers.
–There will also be special days to build bridges with various sectors of the publishing industry. What lines of discussion will be opened in this regard?
-At the professional conferences we try to strengthen the sector through debates and exchanges. One of the questions that will be raised is how to bring bookstores closer to readers, given that Argentina is one of the countries with the most bookstores, with more than 1,200 throughout the country. The problem of how to make an editorial plan and what are the challenges when printing a book will also be discussed. Because getting paper today is a very important problem, especially for children’s books that are not cheap because they use a particular weight, illustrations and color. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the costs and benefits, and whether they are printed in the country or abroad. All these questions are discussed at the professional conferences that are very attractive and very helpful for those who are taking their first steps in the publishing industry.
–Today, literature has to compete, more than ever, with all kinds of digital consumption. In this context, what is the relationship between children and young people and paper books today?
–We believe that it doesn’t matter what device young people use to read, but rather fostering their pleasure in reading.The idea is to speak to them through the same channels through which they communicate, and the success that the last editions of the International Book Fair, which takes place in April, have had to do with the realization of the International Meeting of Bookfluencerswhich is exploding with young people. The connection between children and paper books is important, but we cannot deny the importance of promoting reading through other means.
* For more information on registration, reservations and detailed programming of the fair: www.el-libro.org.ar