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.

SCBWI Malaysia: Supporting Malaysian Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

By DAPHNE LEE

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

I'M taking a break from recommending Christmas gifts to write a little about the Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Malaysia.

Founded in 1971 by a group of Los Angeles-based children's writers, the SCBWI now has regional chapters in other parts of the United States, as well as international chapters in countries like Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Monolia, the Netherlands, Russia Spain and Taiwan. This year, the Malaysian chapter was registered and on Nov 20, it held its first conference, at the LimKokWing University of Creative Technology.

The president of the Malaysian chapter is Linda Tan Lingard who is an avid reader and collector of children's books. Like many Malaysians with a passion for children's literature, Lingard is aware of the dearth of quality Malaysian children's lit. She ventured into publishing to address this dearth and, to date, her company, Oyez!Books, has published over a dozen titles by Malaysian and expat writers and illustrators.

Lingard decided to start the Malaysian chapter of the SCBWI because she felt that Malaysian authors and illustrators need support and would benefit the most from being part of an international and well-established organisation.

It is hoped that the SCBWI Malaysia will provide Malaysian children's book writers and illustrators with professional advice and information, as well as a platform for networking. The society hopes to hold regular conferences and organise talks and workshops for its members. The conference last week featured an exhibition of illustrations from Malaysian picture books; a talk by artist, illustrator and writer Yusof Gajah (on becoming a children's book writer and illustrator); and two panel discussions.

I moderated one of the discussions (about the importance of creating Malaysian children's literature for Malaysian children), while the other (on the use of illustrations in Malaysian children’s literature) was moderated by picture book illustrator Sarah Joan Mohktar. Panelists included graphic novelist Chin Yew; Linda Tan Lingard, providing the publisher's perspective; and Sireh Anuar, cartoonist and lecturer at University Multimedia.

The illustrations shown at the exhibition showed that Malaysia boasts illustrators of great promise. Artwork on display included award-winning pieces from [right] Yusof Gajah's Gajah Sejati (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka); Steven She's minimalist line drawings from Kindness from a Great Ape (Future Ace Publications), Emila Yusof's beautiful watercolours from Sedna the Eskimo Girl, a story in the Oyez!Books's collection Wonderful Folktales from Around the World; Chin Yew's acryllics from the graphic novel The Boy Who Loved Clouds [below left]; and Mie Mambo's comic art from his soon to be published Tapir series (Kaki Komik).

I am excited about the SCBWI as I think it's hightime we had a society that encourages, supports and nurtures those who wish to write and illustrate children's books, as well as all those involved in one way or other (directly and indirectly) in the production, promotion and distribution of Malaysian children's literature.To join the society please email lindalingard@yusofgajahlingard.com.