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 )