Bologna Oh Bologna notes #14

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #14

Today is the day! My plane e-ticket arrived in the mail this morning. Only this morning? Yup :)

I guess… I’m ready, and yet, not ready. I mean. Everything that I should have and bring for the fair is ready! However, like I said in the beginning of this blog, I’m not used to leaving my kids behind for such a long time. So I know I will need a lot of tissue paper on the plane later. Even as I’m writing this blog, I already need some tissue paper. So I better stop now.

Okay. Please pray for me so everything go smoothly. If wifi allows, I will write/tweet (@arleen315) again from there.

Arleen

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #13 – Here comes the posters.

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #13 – Here comes the posters.

I think I’m almost set!

Clothes checked. Books checked. Name cards checked. Souvenirs checked. Laptop checked. External hard disk checked.

Other than that, I’m also bringing posters from illustrators! So over there there is this wall where all illustrators can put up their work! So I got posters from Herlina, EorG, Aaron and Benson to be put over there. The posters are sooo awesome I was tempted to stick them on the wall of my bedroom!  Haha :). Noo… of course I will bring them to Bologna and paste them on the wall on the first day!

(The cylindrical pipe is the container that will protect the awesome posters. Provided by Herlina. Thanks, Her! :))

This entry is short because I still have lotssss of non book related work to do before I go.

So … till tomorrow.

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #12

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #12

Yesterday I was instructed to come to Depdikbud for a briefing session and each of the speakers have to present his/her topics. Pak Goenawan Mohamad was there (for he was the head of the Book committee, the committee in charge of all preparations leading up to Frankfurt Book Fair in which Indonesia is the Guest of Honor this year). 

His briefing was brief, but we hang on to each and every important word he said. He told us all to put on a great show because this is for the country. And jokingly (although we know that he was serious) he told us to be on our best behavior (Ingatlah untuk selalu berkelakuan baik). Ibu Lucya Andam Dewi (head of IKAPI) was there to remind us that this is our chance to show that we (and our children books) do exist.  

We then went through the program run down again for the 4 days. Who gives what talk when and where. We went thru the booth layout again. 

All right, Pak, Bu. Please pray so that the Indonesia team can do our best!

We had our passports back with the visa and also the tickets had been booked for us (but not yet issued due to some bureaucratic hurdle).

We are leaving in 2 days time! I can’t believe it!  Better start packing my bag (and pray that the tickets are issued in time :))

Till tomorrow.

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #11 – A little bit of worry at the Embassy

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #11 – A little bit of worry at the Embassy

Getting the visa at the Italian Embassy was arranged by the panitia. So it was a breeze. I only had to be there for about an hour or so and the interview only took 2 minutes. They only asked me where I’m going and when I’ll be leaving. I actually learned how to say Nice to meet you in Italian : Piacere di conoscerti. But as it turned out.. Everybody in the visa department of the Italian embassy are Indonesians haha :).

One thing, however, …. I had a little bit of worry at the Embassy...

Before I entered the embassy, I was asked to turn off my cellphone. A normal procedure, I guess. So I did and went inside. After I was inside, I remembered that I should have at least told my husband that I was going to turn off my cellphone for an hour or so. What if he tried to contact me and he couldn’t and he got worried? What if he got a call that said that I was hospitalized and needed money and so he had to transfer a certain amount? He would then try to call me and if he couldn’t reach me, he would think that I was really lying helplessly at the hospital, right?

My worry did not come out of thin air. We heard such things happening and only a few days before it happened to us!

t was Java Jazz.  I’m not the type of person who go to live concerts (especially when you have to pay to go inside a crowded area and have to stand to watch something from a far that you can’t even tell whether it’s really your artist up there or just an impersonator). But my daughter, being a teenager that she is, insisted on going. And besides, I happened to have free tickets from my colleague at the office. So I entrusted my daughter to my office colleague and they went.

After the concert, my husband picked my daughter up at 1 am and they arrived home before 2 am. At 2 am, when my daughter was already sleeping safely in her bed, our house phone rang. When we picked up, on the other side was a girl crying, telling us that she was our daughter and that she was arrested by the police for possession of drug.  And soon the phone was taken over by a man, telling us that he was a police at Mabes and that he suggested that we settle this outside the system (secara kekeluargaan).

Had I not seen with my own eyes that my daughter was sleeping soundly in her bed,  I would have panicked. Still, it was shocking and unnerving to get that kind of call at 2 in the morning. How did he know my daughter’s name? How did he know our house phone number? And the strangest thing of all, how did he know that my daughter was out at Java Jazz that night? (She very seldom goes out till late).

I guess we just have to be extra careful these days.

Till tomorrow.

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #10 – Here comes the kipas(fan) Bali

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #10 – Here comes the kipas(fan) Bali

From the 6,500 invitation emails that I sent, I got about 20 or more replies, mostly informing me that they are NOT in the position to buy, but in the position to sell.

Backtracking a bit… whom did I send the 6,500 invitations to? Those are the list of exhibitors both at Bologna Book Fair and at Frankfurt Book Fair. I got the email list from Pak Hary of Pesona edu (one of the panitia tim Indonesia. Thanks so much, Pak Hary). When giving us the emails and his briefing the other day (that we have to try to make appointment before we go), he already warned us that all of the exhibitors become exhibitors because they want to sell, not buy. And I feel that every country should adopt that attitude (even though I’m quite confused now .. because if everyone wants to sell, then who will buy?) So I was prepared when I received those replies. And for all the replies that sounded promising, I emailed them one more time to make sure they understand that I’m NOT in the position to buy, but in the position to sell.

In the end, I managed to secure around 5 appointments. Not bad :).

I, of course, need souvenir for these wonderful people who are willing to meet me to look at my work. So.. I went ahead looking for it.. and I found the perfect one! Attached is the kipas Bali (kipas/fan that is used to do Bali dance) that I ordered. And I have put the Indonesia 17,000 islands of imagination logo on each of them. Do you like it?

Till tomorrow.

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #9 : Here comes the Batik :)

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #9 : Here comes the Batik :)

She picked the one with the fur :). She said it’s more stylish :). Well, if you know me/have seen me before, you know that I’m far from stylish :). Style is not my first priority. But I guess it’s oke to be stylish once in a while, right?

However…  since I’m now 5 kg thinner than when I was in college (is that a good thing or a bad thing? :) ), the coat is way too big for me. Both the fur one and the pink one were too big it feels like wearing a big tent.

So I had to, once again, borrow from my mom. (This is an advantage of having a mother who is more stylish than you are :)) Attached is the borrowed coat. Not a long one, but I think it should be enough because.. I have also ordered myself some long sleeved underwear.

And now… what will I wear when I give the talk? I have lots and lots of batik dresses (I wear that almost everyday) but all of them were knee length and neither have long sleeves. So I have to take care of that next. I immediately BBM my trusted batik supplier : Sekar Batik. Oke.. this may sound like an advertisement.. but it’s not. This is a fact : I have, on many occassions, received good comments on the batiks that I wear. I have more than 10 batik outfits that I ordered from Sekar Batik. So of course in the time of confusion like now… I turn to them. This is their facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/sekar.batikfull.1

After several discussions, we decided on a yellow and a purple top and they will make a matching skirt for them with a special length that I ordered. The skirt has to be longer than their usual standard length because it has to hide my boots :). (Although some of my friends said that batik dress and boots can go together, I still think that batik dress should go with selop so the boots simply had to be hidden :)).

Attached are my first ever long sleeve batiks.

Now I’m definitely ready for the 4-14 degrees Celcius! :).

It’s time to make appointment with as many publishers as possible. How do I do that?

Will tell you tomorrow!

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #8 – Here comes the coats!

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #8 – Here comes the coats!

And of course I couldn’t just go there in boots and beanie and scarf, right? I’m a children book writer, not a striptease dancer, for Heaven’s sake! :).

So I rummaged thru my closet and found… nothing! I was looking for my old coats (I had two but I have not seen them in the last 16 years or so) and they were not there!

But then a few days later, when I was looking for something else in my daughter’s closet, guess what I found? My good old coats! You see, before I got married, I stayed in that room (that has become my daughter’s room). After I got married, I moved to a bigger room and that room became a baby room for my daughter (and she is using it till now). I guess when I moved to my current room, I left my coats there (knowing that I won’t be needing them for some time).

Seeing the old coats brought back many wonderful memories of my college years. And I’m glad that they were still there, waiting for me loyally, still in good condition (I laundered them before putting them in the closet), ready to be used whenever I need them. 

These are the two coats. One pink, one light brown with fur (fake :)) on the neck area.  I couldn’t decide between the two. And my daughter was the one who finally made the decision for me.

Which one do you think she picked?

Will tell you tomorrow :).

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #7 – Here comes the beanie :)

Bologna Oh Bologna notes #7 – Here comes the beanie :)

Remember we had the flood at the beginning of last month? The water in my house was 40 cm high, almost reaching my knees. But because this was not the first time (and won’t be the last time) we had the flood, my family and I already had our suitcase ready since new year :). So in the morning, when the water started to go in, we put our suitcases in the car and left for higher ground :).

In our new place, there was nothing we could do, really. We looked out of the window to look at the water level, to try to see whether they are going up or going down. We look far into the clouds to see whether the rain is going to stop soon or not or whether it’s going to rain again later or not. And all those time longing for the time when we can go home (and face all the smelly furniture :)).

So when you are too anxious to do anything, you crochet :).

Yes, of course I brought my needle and yarn. And these were what I made. Perfect for Bologna?

Till tomorrow :)

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #6 : The Boots :)

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #6

Oke, now that the presentation materials are done, we move on to take care of other stuffs. What other stuffs? I actually don’t really know. I have never been sent to Bologna before. I have never been sent to any other overseas book fair before. In fact the only book fairs that I had been to are Jakarta and Indonesia book fairs. I’m really really what you call “dusun” :).

Thank God IKAPI held a socialization session in their building and I was inviting to this session.

In the session, I learned a few things:

1.      I will give my talk in the Indonesia stand (Pad 29 stand A/29). (I suddenly feel nervous :))

2.      The temperature there ranges between 4 to 14 degrees Celcius. (I suddenly feel cold :))

3.      It will take almost 20hours to fly to Bologna.  (I suddenly feel tired :))

4.      All the other exhibitors will try to sell their books. Hence, I will be trying to sell to someone who is also trying to sell. (I suddenly feel confused :))

5.      To make the trip more fruitful, we have to make appointment with as many publishers as possible before we go there. If we only ask for an appointment after we arrive there, we won’t get any because all of their schedules will be fully booked. (I suddenly feel anxious :))

At the end of the day, we were to surrender our passports to start the process of visa application.

So… first thing first… 4 to 14 degrees Celcius? Do you know that I only have 1 pair of sandal that I wear every day and 1 other more formal pair of shoes that I haven’t seen in more than a year. And neither one of them covers my toes. So It’s time to find a pair of boots that I can borrow.

I didn’t have to look very far. My mom has one! Attached are the boots and they fit me perfectly and for a while I felt like a Cinderella :).

Will show you my other cold fighting gears tomorrow! :)

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #5

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #5

I took the second option. Once I put a book cover in my presentation, I’m NOT going to take it out ever! What went inside, remained inside.

I rewrote my script. Sure I can’t dwell too much on each book, but I made the slide number very big on the right hand bottom corner. And as I proceed with my talk, I will let the audience know that if they want to talk more about a particular book, they can just take down the slide number and thus they can refer to it later when talking with me or emailing me.

Here are 2 of my 35 slides. Slide number 22 and 23 from the section of dissecting books by their topics and these two slides deal with the topics on Indonesian stories-illustration and Religious stories. Whose books are those? Raise your hands if you see your book! :)

Till tomorrow :)

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #4

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #4

The last one got picked! (Did you guess right? :))

And I should have known that that one was the most suitable one because like I said before, this year, Indonesia has been selected as the Guest of Honor in the biggest book fair in the world, the Frankfurt Book Fair. And hence, in all the other preceding book fairs, Indonesia will get more attention than before, and more than the other countries.

Oke! We have our topics. And so it’s time to get to work. I’ll spare you the boring details on how I organized my presentations by dissecting the books by reading skill, by format, by characters and by topics. But bottom line, after walking from one fellow author’s facebook page to another and then another and then another for days. After “forcefully borrowing” book covers and book pages from all those authors’ facebook pages. Believe me, facebook really helps me a lot this time :).  To all my fellow authors whom I bugged with facebook/whatsapp/bbm messages, asking them for this and that and this and that, thanks for your help and patience! You know that I’m talking about you, right? :).

And also after emailing editors from many publishers to ask for book covers and book pages (of authors whose facebook pages I don’t know). I ended up with 35 slides filled with hundreds of book covers and sample pages. And when I timed myself, it took me 2 hours to explain all that! Woaaa… I will only be given 1 hour!

Back to laptop! I inventoried my options. I had only two, actually. Either I cut down on the number of books or I speak less about each of them.

Which option did I take? (Want to guess again? :) there are only 2 options. So your chance of guessing right is 50% :)

Will let you know tomorrow.

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #3

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #3

Oke! And now that I have said yes, I have to start working on my talk. I mean, I can’t just stand there and show slides after slides filled up with lovely pictures of my children since they were babies, can I?  It would be sooo great if I can, right? But of course the government doesn’t pay for my ticket and hotel just to have me dwell on how chubby my daughter was when she was small or how cute my son is.

So I proposed 8 topics (4 universal topics and 4 Indonesia related topics) that I feel I’m comfortable with:

The 4 universal topics that I proposed were:

1.       Books vs Gadgets : the future of children book in the midst of gadget savvy children. This is to address the issue of competition between books and gadgets and how to balance a children’s time between books and videogames.

2.       Idea, oh idea, where art thou? This is sharing on many ways that I used to find ideas for my books.

3.       Bilingual Picture Book: A Good Intention or a Rude Distraction? This topic was proposed and was rejected before but I think I can put a twist in it to make it more interesting.

4.       What it takes to be a Super Writer. This is a portrait that shows that the job description of a writer these days has expanded to much more than just writing.

The 4 Indonesi related topics were:

1.       A Year in a Life of a Picture book in Indonesia … and how to Make this Life a Better one. This talk presents the challenges that we face in the industry and suggestions to make it better.

2.       How to raise a book loving child in a society that is not a reading society. This one deals with the challenges that mothers face in a place where reading is not yet a way of life.

3.       How to be a children book writer in Indonesia (and to remain as one). A sharing on my own journey as a writer.

4.       Indonesia : a colorful country with a rainbow of books. This one is a showcase of what we, a nation that is rich in culture, have to offer the children of the world.

Which one do you think get picked? Do you want to make a guess? :)  Now this will be harder to guess than whether or not I would say yes, right? :)

Will tell you tomorrow :).

(If you need more information to make your guess, attached is the more detailed proposal. If it's not clear enough, you can either save it and zoom in or look for a more clear version on my facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/arleensbooks )

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #2

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #2

I said yes.

Of course I did. (Did you guess that? :))

I said yes simply because my daughter said I had to go so I could try the spaghetti Bolognese there. And isn’t this what I have been dreaming of since 11 years ago?

Oke.. I better update you what Bologna Book Fair is all about. It’s the biggest children book fair in the world where there will be around 1,200 children book publishers from 75 countries getting together to buy and sell rights. All the players (publishers, editors, writers, illustrators) in the children book industry will be there. About 25,000 people are expected to be in the 20,000 square meter area. There website is here:

http://www.bookfair.bolognafiere.it/en/the-best-venue-for-childrens-publishers-to-meet/878.html

And all of this actually didn’t start with that email that I mentioned in Notes #1.

It started a few weeks before that. It was in the morning and my phone beeped telling me that there was an incoming BBM message. It was from my publisher, Mbak Noni. Because I have changed my handset recently, I don’t have the original message. I wished I had saved it. But I remember more or less what it said:

Bu, tolong email CV. Sekarang juga, ya. Mau direkomen untuk berangkat ke book fair.

And I answered:

Siap, Mbak!

I didn’t need to ask which book fair she was talking about. There could only be two book fairs that she might be referring to. One is Bologna Children book fair and the other one is Frankfurt book fair in which Indonesia is the guest of honor this year.

Later on I learned that there were others who also recommended my name without even telling me. And here I was, feeling that I already owed too many people too many favors throughout my writing career. And suddenly I realize that there are still so many other people who had helped me without my being aware of it at all! How oh how am I going to repay all that kindness?

Oke.. I think I’m too emotional to write more now.

Will write again tomorrow.

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #1

Bologna Oh Bologna Notes #1

If you hear the word Bologna, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

When I asked my daughter, who likes eating more than I do, the first thing that came to her mind was Spaghetti Bolognese. The Bolognese sauce, known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese, is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna, Italy.

As for myself, a children book author, the first thing that came to my mind was, of course, the Bologna Children Book Fair, the most prestigious children book fair that takes place in March every year. Ever since I started writing 11 years ago, it has always been my wish to go there one day.

And thus, a month ago, when I got an email from Mbak Yanti, my editor that said:

Dear Arleen,

We submitted your name as one of the speakers for Bologna Book Fair and your name has been approved.

The slot is 31 March 10:00-11:00

Are you willing to go? Ticket and accommodation will be provided. Details later.

Please respond ASAP.

I had to pinch myself and had to read the email three times just to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming and that she was really talking about THE Bologna Children Bookfair, and not asking whether I wanted to join her for lunch with spaghetti bolognese as the menu (because her birthday was coming soon :)).

My heart, of course, leaped.

But I couldn’t say yes right away.

You see, I’m just not the travelling type. I’m the type of person who love my routines. I want my freshly squeezed juice (and I’m sure it’s not that easy to find papaya in Bologna and the hotel most likely wouldn’t want to lend me their juicer), I want my homemade soy bean milk and my steamed egg (3 white eggs without the yolk and just a dash of Maggie soy sauce). But most of all, I’m just not used to being away from my kids for more than one day (the trip will take about a week). And yes, there is my office work, as well, but I think I still can make myself stay away from my colleague for a few days. They are not as cute as my kids, anyway.

So I asked for a few days to think about this. The excuse that I gave was March is a very busy month for a finance person like me and thus, I may not have enough time to prepare the necessary presentation material in time, especially because we don’t have a topic yet (they suggested a topic but it was not approved).

Will write again tomorrow to tell you about my decision. Can you guess what it would be? I’m sure 99% of you would guess correctly :).

Arleen