The AFCC held from 6-9 May in Singapore was the first such festival to be held in this region. Its aim was to encourage the development of Asian Content for children - not just for Asia but for the world.

I attended the festival and found it be exhilarating and stimulating. It was also good that it was in neighbouring country Singapore and was a four-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur.

There was an impressive roster of speakers. Nury Vitachi's opening speech had everyone in stitches but he also pointed out the need for greater creative expressions among Asians who tend to be factual.

There were so many sessions available - one is spoilt for choice. Apart from writing and illustration-oriented sessions there were also sessions for publishers, parents and teachers/educators.

I was most interested in talks on new media and technology by Greg Childs and Warren Buckleitner as the way forward in publishing for children. Teri Tan from Publisher's Weekly talked on books from Asia that have been successful overseas as well as the many production methods that add value to products. Daphne Lee [writer, editor and columnist of StarMag - Tots to Teens] spoke on the importance of multicultural literature. She also spoke later at the Earshot Cafe on her new imprint, OneRedFlower Press and the first book published under the imprint, My Mother's Garden by Emila Yusof.

Malaysian artist and award winning children's book writer and illustrator, Yusof Gajah launched a collection of his books with special guest, former Malaysian Ambassador to Singapore, Dato' Parameswaran. We were also treated to a video of Yusof with Beethoven's resounding Symphony no 9 playing in the background.

The Festival also provided the opportunity to meet several Malaysians including Margaret Lim, author of the Payah series, set in Sarawak; SCBWI member Gwen Smith; Mohana Gill, author of the wonderful books - Fruitastic and Vegemania and Sharon Bakar who moderated a session.

At the media mart, a number of publishers brought books from Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and India. I did not miss this opportunity to enrich my collection of children's books with a few more books from around the region - wish I could buy more!

The Festival was truly an excellent opportunity to learn from experts and to understand better the children's book industry in the region, meet people and network, and make new friends.

Be there next year!

Emila's blog lands her a Peugeot

New Straits Times - 2010/04/04
By Halim Said    


KUALA LUMPUR: Quitting her 9am to 5pm job three years ago turned out to be a step in the right direction for freelance illustrator Emila Yusof.

She finally had the time to concentrate on her family, painting and her favourite pastime, blogging.

An avid blogger since 2007, Emila blogs on just about everything including her families' activities, her flamboyant 7-year-old son Yassin, and her paintings and drawings.

She also manages her own online kiosk called "Littleshop", which offers a variety of her artwork for sale.

With her enthusiasm for blogging, it was not surprising that Emila jumped at the chance to take part in the Blog for FT, a four-month competition to inspire bloggers to create a positive buzz about the Federal Territories.

Her eye-catching entry won the grand prize in the public category and with it, a brand new Peugeot 308 VTi.

Emila, however, could not make it for the prize-giving ceremony at the Sime Darby Convention Centre, recently.

She was instead represented by her husband, 47-year- old Mohd Zaim Mohd Tahet, and her son, Yassin.

In an online interview later, Emilia told Streets that her son had inspired her on her winning blog.

"My son and I like to go around the city and visit places where the whole family can enjoy.

"The blog is also meant as a learning tool for parents to familiarise their children about places in the city," said Emila.

Her winning entry "KL: A to Z Fun Things to Do & Places to Visit with Kids" is posted on her blog www.emilayusof. com.

It is in the format of a 27-page interactive book comprising sketches and information on places of interest in the city.

Emila had also posted several postcards depicting places of interests in all the three Federal Territories which can be downloaded for free from her blog.

The postcards are illustrated by her.

Apart from the public category which Emila won, the Blog for FT contest also had other categories, namely, media, international and youth.

Columnist Cheong Peck Beng won a Kia Optima Novus under the media category while Australian Barbara McKay topped the international category.

The youth category was won by active community service volunteer Yeow Minyi.

McKay won holiday packages while Yeow won a notebook.

The prizes were presented by Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin who was happy with the response to the contest.

He said the contest had attracted more than 4,000 entries and 300,000 page views.

"The blogs were not only viewed by Malaysians but also those from foreign countries. I believe it is a big success.

"This will help promote Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya to the world," said Raja Nong Chik.

The Bologna International Children's Book Fair 2010 is the biggest book fair in the world focusing on children books. It's a trade fair that attracts publishers and media from all over the world. At the fair, rights are bought and sold and new books and new technology are launched. So it's certainly very exciting and the Agency is glad to  be there this year. We have a stand at the Malaysian pavilion and displayed our clients' books and artwork. This year we also sponsored a Malaysian children's book author and illustrator, Emila Yusof to visit the fair. It's Emila's first visit to Italy so it's certainly a good experience for her.

At the same time, the Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrator (SCBWI) had their biennial convention a day before the fair and also had a booth at the fair itself. So it was a pretty busy time for me as I had duties at the SCBWI booth as well as at the Malaysian pavilion.

I was pleased to see that the books we brought received good response and many people stopped and admired Yusof Gajah's Elephabet, Mother&Child, Emila's Little Guardians and many others.

The very first time I exhibited at the fair last year, I was rather overwhelmed by the many quality books on display but this year I feel our books (from our increasing number of clients) are certainly competitive and truly outstanding in some cases (please allow me my small moment of pride as I am certainly proud of the work produced by our clients and am working hard to promote them to a wider market).

Of course it doesn't just end here. The fair is a good opportunity for market research and networking and continuous follow up is essential to turn those interested queries into sales for our clients. So here's to hard work and wish me luck!

With the support of the Sabah State Library, Yusof Gajah was at the regional library in Kota Kinabalu on 29 Jan 2010. Staff from the library put up a puppet show about a frog who wants to see the world. The children were engrossed in the story and were not at all surprised when the father frog blew himself up so big, he burst with a bang! I have to confess I was a bit taken aback! We thank Mr Wong, Director of the Sabah State Library for his hospitality. It was a delight meeting someone who is so enthusiastic about books and keen to engage with children. Also thanks to Jaiton and other staff of the library. We came away very impressed with the work the library has done and hope to collaborate with them on future activities. LT

Since we started our website last year, we've received a number of queries from writers and illustrators who would like us to represent them and help them get published. We are a new agency (started last year) and have a list of existing clients. We do not want to make a lot of promises but one thing we can promise is that we will work hard and do the best for our clients. At the same time, it is easier for us to do our best if our clients are responsive to queries and to suggestions as well as willing to do their part in promoting their books.

We have added a Submissions page and look forward to hearing from you! LT

We are updating our website to include our list of clients - talented writers and illustrators. We have also included a list of resources that will help you in your writing and illustrating and to meet like-minded people. Coming next is our submission guidelines as we look forward to hearing from you. Stay tuned! LT

We welcome 2010! It's the year of the white tiger and the Chinese regard tiger years as 'interesting'. This means it will be full of challenges and unexpected things are likely to happen. In other words, it will be anything but dull. So depending on how you look at it, it could be a year of opportunities, for with challenges and changes come opportunities but we must be prepared for those opportunities. How shall we prepare ourselves? Well, by tying lose ends in our lives, making sure our work is done to the best of our abilities and being alert and ready to do better. Easier said than done because it means we have to work hard. As the saying goes, 'Opportunity comes to those who work for it'.

Forgive me for being preachy but I am really admonishing myself. At the same time, I am excited for we already have a few great books that are ready to be published in the next few months; we will be preparing to take these books to international fairs; and we hope to do much more in Malaysia through the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Among others, we will be working with the Society to hold regular activities that will be useful to Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and we believe we will find talent here. LT

We launched Yusof Gajah's latest book, 'Elephabet - Amazing Activity Book' at Kinokuniya, KLCC on Sunday 13 Dec 09. The crowd started coming before the scheduled time and Daphne Lee, our coordinator, kept the children occupied. Yusof and Zakiah arrived on the dot! Soon Yusof was showing the eager children how to draw and engaging them by getting them to draw as well. The four best drawings received the Elephabet Magnetic Pad while consolation prizes were the Elephabet stickers. Everyone enjoyed themselves, not least Yusof himself!

ART: Elephant man
2009/11/18

SUZANNA PILLAY

Artist Yusof Gajah draws inspiration from these gentle animals for his works. SUZANNA PILLAY writes.

TO most people, the humble elephant is just another creature that calls the jungle home. But for Malaysian artist Yusof Gajah, the animal has come to represent much more.

Apart from being a versatile muse for Yusof’s art, it is now synonymous with the artist as a brand which makes his artwork distinctive.

“In this era, branding plays such an important part in marketing and selling a product. The same goes for art. Everyone can paint but to be known as an artist takes time.

“If you have a huge capital, you can spend a lot of money making a name for yourself through branding, but for most artists, this is very difficult. I guess I was lucky that my passion for drawing elephants earned me the nickname of Yusof Gajah, and the name stuck.”

He believes his work conveys the message that sometimes you don’t have to look for complicated subjects to paint, as he is able to reinvent and showcase his favourite pachyderm in different styles of painting all the time.

His work is loved in Scandinavia, England, Japan, Indonesia and Germany and looks set to win over new fans worldwide.

At the recent Frankfurt International Book Fair this year, two of his latest books Elephabet and Mother & Child were a big hit with visitors there.

“I take the elephant as the main focus in my art and I can do anything with it. You just need a creative mind and skills,” said Yusof.

His fascination with elephants stems from the fact that these majestic creatures play a very important role in many societies and cultures around the world.

Apart from representing deities in some religions, they are used as a means of transportation and weaponry.

They are also easy creatures for people to recognise and relate to because only two species remain in the world — the African and Asian elephants. Yusof paints both in his work.

He recently launched both books together with his solo exhibition Yusof Gajah@Aliyaa.

The exhibition will be on until Nov 29 at the Aliyaa Island Restaurant and Bar in Lorong Dungun, Damansara Heights. Incidently aliyaa is Singhalese for elephant.

“It seemed like a fitting place to hold my exhibition considering it was in keeping with my elephant theme.”

“The books are the first two printed for adults and are a series of sketches and water colours which I did while travelling around the world. They are like a journal to me. I think it’s time artists in this country have more of their work printed in books,” he said.

Mother & Child is a selection from a series of water colours celebrating motherhood and the family.
Meanwhile, Elephabet is a book using elephant drawings to illustrate the 26 letters of the alphabet and is an ABC of inspirational messages on life as seen by Yusof. It has been received well both here and at the Frankfurt book fair.

Elephabet flash cards are also available for children and Yusof is also in the process of completing EleDoodles for them too.