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.