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Mohana Gill Wins Gourmand Award for Best in the World (Best Asian Cuisine Book), 2014

5/27/2014

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Mohana Gill's latest book, Myanmar: Cuisine, Culture & Customs has been awarded the World Gourmand Award's prestigious title of Best in the World (Best Asian Cuisine Book), at their recent 2014 award ceremony in Beijing.

This is not the first time the prolific cookbook writer has won recognition from the World Gourmand organisation. Fruitastic (2006) won the Gourmand's Award of the Jury; Vegemania (2007) won Best Vegetarian Book in the World award; and two of her children's books, Hayley's Fruitastic Garden (2010) won Best Health and Nutrition Book (Malaysia) while Hayley's Vegemania Garden (2010) won Best Vegetarian Cuisine Book (Malaysia).

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While all the books are special to her, Mohana's Myanmar book is a homecoming for her as she was born and brought up in Myanmar. The book contained not only recipes but also photographs of places in Myanmar. Mohana also had the pleasure to launch her book during the Myanmar Literary Festival in February this year at the Monument Bookstore.

The book was also launched in Kuala Lumpur at the beautiful Carcosa Sri Negara where guests were served specially prepared Myanmar cuisine with recipes from the book. His Excellency U. Tha Aung Nyun, Ambassador of the Union of Myanmar in Malaysia launched the book. Special guests include Mr Ramachandran, Executive Director of the National Book Development Council of Singapore, family members and friends.

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Yusof Gajah Lingard Agency part of the Malaysian team at Tokyo Book Fair

5/17/2014

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May 2014. The Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency will be exhibiting at the 21st Tokyo International Book Fair from 2-5 July where Malaysia will be the Theme Country. The Malaysian team comprising 20 Malaysian companies and organisations will be led by the Malaysian Institute of Translation & Books (ITBM).

ITBM has organised a number of activities during the fair including book launches by Datuk Lat and Yusof Gajah.

Yusof Gajah will be launching Sang Montel, published by ITBM and his latest book, Eledoodle. The VIP officiating the launch is Mr Shinji Tajima, president of the International Center for Literacy and Culture, Tokyo.


"We are highlighting a number of books especially picture books by Yusof Gajah, Emila Yusof, Jainal Amambing, Rossiti Aishah Rashidi and Mohana Gill. One of Yusof's early books, The Real Elephant has been translated into Japanese and is still in print today," said Linda Tan Lingard, director of the Agency.

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Apart from picture books, the Agency is also highlighting a book of poems for children by Mahaya Mohd Yassin. The poems in the book, 'Sakura', were written by Mahaya when she lived in Japan a number of years ago.

At the same time, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Tokyo, has invited both Yusof and Linda for an evening of talks and fellowship. The talks will focus on Malaysian children's books with Yusof sharing his experiences as an illustrator of children's books.

"I have never ceased to be amazed at how books can connect us and it is indeed what our Agency is committed to doing - connecting authors and readers from different parts of the world," said Linda.


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Yusof Gajah and Zakiah to Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2014

4/28/2014

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April 2014. Yusof Gajah and his wife, Zakiah, are off to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair which runs from 30 April to 5 May. 

Zakiah will be conducting batik painting activities at the fair's Creativity Corner while Yusof will have a stand at the Illustrators' Corner in addition to conducting several activities for children. Last year, Malaysian illustrator, Emila Yusof was the invited guest at the Illustrators' Corner.

Yusof Gajah has always been in demand for drawing and story telling activities with children, both in Malaysia as well as overseas and Zakiah has been his constant helper.

In recent years, however, Zakiah's batik painting workshops have been gaining popularity and she has been active in several book fairs and festivals in Malaysia as well as overseas, including Singapore, Shanghai, Korea and now, Abu Dhabi. Apart from teaching batik painting, Zakiah also paints large batik pieces which have been displayed at Nami Island, Korea; and Langkawi Island, Malaysia. 

"I am happy that many people, both children and adults like batik painting. And I am grateful to have the opportunity to share with them the joy of batik painting," said Zakiah. "I thank the Perbadanan Kota Buku that I have the chance to share batik painting in Shanghai and Singapore last year and more recently at the KL book fair," she added.

We hope the children at Abu Dhabi will also enjoy batik painting with Malaysian batik ambassador, Zakiah. 

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Karangkraf Publishes Dina the Little Malaysian Girl

4/6/2014

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Malaysia's leading publisher, Karangkraf, has signed on children's book writer and illustrator, Emila Yusof for a series of books based on Dina, her little Malaysian girl character. 

Karangkraf will be publishing two Dina books, Taman Bunga Emak Saya (My Mother's Garden) and Dapur Emak Saya (My Mother's Kitchen) in time for the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair in April. 

Originally published in English as early readers, and now available as ebooks at www.kotabuku.my, the two books have been expanded to suit the Malay reading market. Readers of the Malay edition will have a fuller story while the illustrations will surely enchant little girls as Dina is your regular Malaysian girl. Read more...


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Five-book Korean rights sale for Yusof Gajah

4/6/2014

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The Korean rights of Yusof Gajah's Creative Learning Series, comprising five books, have been sold to Econ Publishing house based in Paju Book City, Seoul. The deal was brokered by sub-agent, Lee Hansang. Apps for the books, by another Korean company, is also part of the deal. 

Lee, who met Yusof a few years ago at Nami Island said,"I love Yusof Gajah's work and am delighted that his books will be available for Korean children."

The books are expected to be published next month, in time for the Paju Book Festival in May. Established more than 15 years ago, Econ is part of the large publishing group Munhak donne (meaning Literacy Town).


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German Rights Sold for books by Yusof Gajah and Jainal Amambing

4/6/2014

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German rights for 'Where Is My Ball?' by Yusof Gajah and 'The Magic Buffalo' by Jainal Amambing, have been sold to Baobab Books, Switzerland. Baobab Books promote a broad and diverse range of books translated from other languages into German to promote reading skills as well as encourage intercultural dialogue. 

Yusof Gajah's iconic elephant images in 'Where is my ball?' are among his most startling and original works where elephants of different colours and shapes look for their missing coloured balls.

'The Magic Buffalo', which had won the Encouragement Prize in the 16th ACCU (Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO) Noma Concours, 2008, tells the story of an orphan boy and his toy buffalo. Jainal's wonderful illustrations bring to life the village life and how children play.

The German edition of both books are expected to be published in Q3 this year.

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Bologna and beyond

3/28/2014

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It has been a busy fair for the Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency this year at the Bologna Book Fair with a few deals signed and more being negotiated.

Yusof Gajah sold German rights to his book, "Where is my red ball?" and Arabic digital rights for the same book, with more books from his "Creative Learning Series", already sold to Korea, to be added. 


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German rights for Jainal Amambing's "Magic Buffalo" were also sold to Baobab Books, based in Switzerland. Baobab is a specialist publisher that promotes cultural diversity in children's and youth literature.

CEO Badr Ward of Dubai-based digital publisher, Lamsa Kids World, was thrilled with the creative and bright colours of Yusof Gajah's illustrations.

"We provide interactive digital books for children and you can really do so many fun and creative things with Yusof Gajah's books," he said.

He was pleased to add two books by Emila Yusof, "My Mother's Garden" and "My Mother's Kitchen" to the Lamsa platform which currently reaches more than 200,000 children in the Arab world.

"While the little girl character, Dina, is not Arabic, we also want to expose our children to other cultures. And with our technology, we can make the books interactive to give a fun learning experience for children," he added referring to the learning environment that the Dina series provides.

The two Dina books, in a bigger format with richer content and in the Malay language were displayed at the Bologna Book Fair by Karangkraf, a leading publisher in Malaysia.


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On Wednesday, Yusof Gajah was busy at the China Children's Press and Publication Group (CCPPG) stand in Hall 26 where he was one of the illustrators feted at their launch, 'Let's Tell Stories Together' - a Fruitful Collaboration on Children's Literature between China and the Rest of the World.

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Chinese launch of a co-operative programme with international writers and illustrators.
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Yusof Gajah with writers and illustrators at the China Children's Press & Publication Stand
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IBBY President Ahmad Redza with Brazilian Roger Mello, this year's winner of the Hans Christian Andersen award.
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Yusof illustrated the book, "How to Teach an Elephant to Jump" written by award-winning Chinese author, Xiao Mao. 

"I hope our publishers will establish long term cooperative ties with partners overseas so that more Chinese children's literature as well as picture books can reach international readers on a regular basis," says Li Xueqian, President of the group in a news release.

China's Xinhua.net quoted Ahmad Redza Khairuddin, president of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), that China is at the forefront of the children's book market for its "proactive way of approaching literature." 

A Malaysian, IBBY President Ahmad Redza is noted for his commitment to diversity in children's literature both at home and abroad. 


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L to R: Chris Cheng, Jean Liu, Angela Cerrito, Sayed Munawar, Fred Minn and Hafiz of KotaBuku
The Perbadanan Kota Buku (PKB) or the Malaysian Book City Corporation held a forum on Wednesday with the topic: 'Celebrating Diversity in Children's Literature' with speakers Sayed Munawar, CEO of PKB; Fred Minn, Director of Nami Concours, Korea; Jean Liu, CEO ofMoker, Taiwan and China; Angela Cerrito, International Asst Advisor, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI); and Chris Cheng, Board Member of the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC),Singapore.

Fred Minn gave a comprehensive overview of Nami Island, the story book island which was impressive both in scope and vision. Nami Island is known for their international co-operations with regular country-focused festivals on the island itself.

Angela Cerrito said that SCBWI now covers more than 70 regions worldwide with more than 22,000 members, making it the largest children's book writers and illustrators organisation in the world today. A physical therapist herself, Angela commented on the importance of having diversity and inclusiveness in children's literature to encourage understanding and acceptance. 

Chris Cheng gave a concise outline of what happens at the annual Asian Festival of Children's Content in Singapore and highlighted the new Rights Exchange programme at this year's festival which will be held from 29 May to 4 June. Chris is also on the International Advisory Board of SCBWI, a strong supporter of AFCC.

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In her presentation, Jean Liu demonstrated the animated books Moker had done for several books represented by the YGL Agency including "My Mother's Garden" by Emila Yusof, "Puteri Toman" by Rossiti Aishah Rashidi with illustrations by Farrah Ashiela Samsuri; and "The Proud Butterfly" by Jainal Amambing.

"It was amazing to see the books come to life," said Linda Tan Lingard, director of the Agency who has signed several books deal with Moker since 2012 and added a few more at Bologna.

Among the new additions was a ten-book series of Sang Kancil, the eponymous mouse deer in Malaysian folktales illustrated by Jaafar Taib, a prominent Malaysian artist of wild birds and who had made his name as founder and creator of several long running comic magazines. The Sang Kancil books will be published by Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia or the Malaysian Institute of Translation & Books.

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Mock ups of Sang Kancil books by Jaafar Taib
"It's just wonderful to meet people from different parts of the world who are passionate about children's literature; we can learn so much from each other," said Linda.

At the Bologna book fair, Linda followed up on some discussions that were started at the New Delhi World Book Fair in February this year and new announcements will be made soon.

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Malaysian and German publishers meet at the German collective stand
The Frankfurt Book Fair organised a Malaysian-German publisher get together at the German collective stand on Monday. Within one hour, each party was introduced to more than six publishers from the other side.

"It was good to meet and talk with some German publishers and I thought the DIY mechanical kits for children by a publisher was particularly interesting. I like to meet many different people and get to know what is outstanding about their books or products and keep a sort of storehouse of information that can be accessed later," said Linda.

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At the Malaysian country stand led by the Book City Corporation, Norhayati Razali, Manager in charge of Book Industry Development and Ishak Hamzah, vice-president of the Malaysian Book Publishers Association were seen inviting people to the coming Kuala Lumpur Trade & Copyright fair which will be held from 22-24 April while a Publishing & Rights Conference will be held on 21 April. The Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair will be held from 24 April - 4th May and is an exciting fair that attracts more than 1.5million visitors every year.

The YGL agency will be taking a stand at the KL Fair. "We have a number of new books and the KL Trade & Copyright fair is ideal for us to introduce those books. Typically, the fair is good to meet publishers from around the region," said Linda.

"In addition, we're keen to introduce some foreign titles that we have identified at the Bologna book fair," she said. This included the Borre series of readers from Netherlands which now total more than 200 titles and foreign rights have been sold to Korea and China.



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Yusof Gajah Lingard signs Evi Shelvia as latest talent

3/24/2014

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Evi Shelvia
March 2014. The Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency has signed Evi Shelvia as the latest illustrator on their list. 

"I have been observing Evi's works for some time and love them all but her latest, for a book, Alice and Coco by Quek Sue Yian, shows that she is not only talented but is also a good illustrator who is able to tell a story with her illustrations," says Linda, director of the agency.

As one of the illustrators represented by the agency, Evi can expect book deals, promotion and publicity as well as opportunities to develop her artistic aspirations.

Principal director of the agency, Yusof Gajah, himself an award-winning children's book writer and illustrator, is always keen to develop and promote young illustrators and is pleased to welcome Evi on board.
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Illustration for the book, Alice and Coco by Quek Sue Yian about a group of children living in a home.
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The Power of Stories by writer Elif Shafak

1/21/2012

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Excerpts of transcript: read the full transcript http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/elif_shafak_the_politics_of_fiction.html

"In my mid-twenties, I moved to Istanbul, the city I adore. I lived in a very vibrant, diverse neighborhood where I wrote several of my novels. I was in Istanbul when the earthquake hit in 1999.When I ran out of the building at three in the morning, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. There was the local grocer there -- a grumpy, old man who didn't sell alcohol and didn't speak to marginals. He was sitting next to a transvestite with a long black wig and mascara running down her cheeks. I watched the man open a pack of cigarettes with trembling hands and offer one to her, and that is the image of the night of the earthquake in my mind today -- a conservative grocer and a crying transvestite smoking together on the sidewalk. In the face of death and destruction, our mundane differences evaporated, and we all became one even if for a few hours. But I've always believed that stories, too, have a similar effect on us. I'm not saying that fiction has the magnitude of an earthquake, but when we are reading a good novel, we leave our small, cozy apartments behind,go out into the night alone and start getting to know people we had never met before and perhaps had even been biased against."

"Writers are entitled to their political opinions, and there are good political novels out there, but the language of fiction is not the language of daily politics. Chekhov said, "The solution to a problem and the correct way of posing the question are two completely separate things. And only the latter is an artist's responsibility." Identity politics divides us. Fiction connects. One is interested in sweeping generalizations. The other, in nuances. One draws boundaries. The other recognizes no frontiers.Identity politics is made of solid bricks. Fiction is flowing water."

"Books have saved the introverted, timid child that I was -- that I once was. But I'm also aware of the danger of fetishizing them. When the poet and mystic, Rumi, met his spiritual companion, Shams of Tabriz, one of the first things the latter did was to toss Rumi's books into water and watch the letters dissolve. The Sufis say, "Knowledge that takes you not beyond yourself is far worse than ignorance."The problem with today's cultural ghettos is not lack of knowledge -- we know a lot about each other, or so we think -- but knowledge that takes us not beyond ourselves: it makes us elitist, distant and disconnected."

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The Calistro Prize – A Gift for Malaysians

12/25/2011

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The Calistro Prize is a RM30,000.00 gift from a private company, Calistro Consultants Ltd to promote children’s books in Malaysia. Malaysians above 18 years stand a chance to win RM10,000.00 and have his/her work published.

The man behind the prize, Dr David Kirkham, the founder and director of Calistro Consultants, is a British national who has been visiting Malaysia for almost thirty years now and has a home in Malaysia.

How did the prize come about and how did the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) got involved as the secretariat for the prize? The story is one of serendipity.

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President José Ramos-Horta & Yusof Gajah
It was at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore in May 2010. We were enjoying some refreshments after an inspiring speech by H.E. José Ramos-Horta, the president of East Timor and the winners for two awards –the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award and the Scholastic Asian Book Award - had been announced. 

Everyone was in a happy and congratulatory mood. I was with an SCBWI member, Ean when Malaysian artist and mentor of SCBWI, Yusof Gajah, strolled over. 

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Dr David Kirkham with Yusof Gajah
I mentioned that it would be good if SCBWI could find a sponsor for an award in Malaysia and Ean said she knew someone she could approach. I thought no more of it but Ean was true to her words. Not long after that, back in Kuala Lumpur, I was introduced to Dr Kirkham.

Dr Kirkham studied English at Cambridge and geology and geomorphology with London University and has an MSc in Development Management and PhD in crisis management. He now runs a management consultancy and lectures at several universities.

Dr Kirkham’s early career was in the arts. He worked in the theatre, both sides of the footlights, was director of a rural arts centre in the UK, ran a regional film theatre and has directed many productions. He also served for 22 years in the Royal Artillery (Territorial Army).

Having worked in Malaysia and lived here, Dr Kirkham has a soft spot for Malaysia and confessed to being addicted to teh halia, cili padi and durians. His flamboyant personality hides a sharp incisive mind and he has a good understanding of this country.

We had several conversations on the topic of language in Malaysia that would later influence the Calistro Prize.

We wanted the competition in English as it's an international language and also in Bahasa Malaysia as it's our national language.  That means we will need to have two categories (in terms of language not to mention the different genres) and we will probably need two sets of judges. And inevitably the question was raised: so what about the Chinese language, what about Tamil and so on. Finally we came to the decision that as we want Malaysian stories by Malaysians, we will open it to any languages in use in Malaysia and in recognition of the importance of the national language, the winning work will be published in Bahasa Malaysia and the original language it was submitted. 

We would still want an English version but for that we will look for another publisher, ie it's not under the remit of the prize.

To aid the judging, we require a synopsis in English of not more than 300 words. I think if one cannot summarise their stories in 300 words, they probably don't have a strong story in the first place. Entries will be read by a team selected by SCBWI especially to meet the different languages. The best stories will be put forward to the judges. The judges will compile a shortlist of 10 stories and we will have the necessary work translated into English for final judging.

So writing skills are still important for eg if there were two similar stories, the better written one will have a better chance. We will also help the winners to improve their work (whether text or illustrations) for publication. We can do that if there's a good story.

Does this imply we do not think Malaysians can write? Of course not! This competition is not aimed at discovering literary skills but to encourage Malaysians to tell their stories – they can use words or a combination of words and illustrations.

This is not entirely unusual: the Noma Concours by the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO had a picture book award a few years back and various languages were accepted but a synopsis in English must be provided.

We hope this will encourage more Malaysians to tell their stories and that they can learn to write / illustrate better. SCBWI will also be having a schedule of talks and workshops on the craft of writing and illustrating for the whole of next year. We also work with different partners and an important one is the Asian Festival of Children's Content every May in Singapore. Prominent internatioanl speakers are invited to speak at the Festival and we want to encourage more Malaysians to take advantage of that to improve themselves and to network.

Having said all the above, we do not know what submissions we will get and this being the first year of the prize, we would like to keep it open and adjust as we go along. But if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask and we will also be compiling an FAQ.

There is so much more we want to do but we will have to take one step at a time. SCBWI is excited at this opportunity and thank Dr Kirkham for his generosity. This is a good start to the New Year! LT

Note: Linda Tan Lingard is the President of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Malaysia


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