The Languages of Children’s Books: Celebrating the National Year of Reading at the University of Reading

The Languages of Children’s Books:

Celebrating Translation and Linguistic Diversity

Co-organised by the Centre for Book Cultures and Publishing and Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism at the University of Reading, in partnership with Outside in World and as part of World Kid Lit month.

This mini festival will be held in person on the London Road campus of the University of Reading, with all panel sessions and lightning talks offered for online participants.

In person registration for this event has now closed. To register to join online, free of charge, please click here.

The festival booklet, containing the programme and details of the exhibitors and contributors is available here: Languages of Children’s Books Festival Information Booklet.

Languages are a central part of bringing diverse books to readers, and ensuring those stories speak to them. This one-day festival celebrates the work taking place across different sectors of the of the children’s book world (academics, advocacy organisations, creators, educators, librarians, publishers, translators) to promote children’s access to stories in translation, multilingual storytelling and linguistic diversity in their books. As part of the National Year of Reading in the UK, we believe it is important to showcase the many ways in which the languages of their books can inspire young people to get reading.

The mini festival will be structured around panel discussions, interactive workshops, showcases, and exhibitions, and close with a book launch and drinks reception. It is intended to bring together people from a variety of fields and backgrounds who are interested in children’s books and languages (broadly interpreted).

This event has been generously funded by the AHRC Impact Accelerator fund, the Centre for Book Cultures & Publishing and the Centre for Literacy & Multilingualism.

Programme

All events will take place on the London Road Campus

10am – Coffee and registration (Building L22 Room G01)

10.15 – Welcome (Building L22 Room G01)

Dr Sophie Heywood, University of Reading | Centre for Book Cultures and Publishing

Patricia Billings, Outside in World | Milet Publishing

10.30 – 11.15 Panel 1: Reading for pleasure in the ‘super diverse’ 21^st century: what is the research telling us? (Building L22 Room G01)

Moderator: Dr Daisy Powell, University of Reading

Speakers:

• Dr Anish Harrison, National Literacy Trust
• Dr Darren Chetty and Prof Karen Sands O’Connor, UCL/ University of Sheffield
• Prof Sabine Little, University of Sheffield
• Dr Laura Shapiro, Aston University

11.15-11.30 – Break

11.30 – 12.15 – Panel 2: Multilingual and translated books and the National Year of Reading: industry perspectives (Building L22 Room G01)

Moderator: Dr Megan Farr, Bath Spa University I Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru/Welsh Books Council

Speakers:

• Jake Hope, Award Executive, The Carnegies
• Anam Zafar, Translator | World Kid Lit
• Anna Ridley, Head of Children’s Publishing, Thames & Hudson
• Christofere Fila, Associate Publisher, Lantana

12.15-1.15pm Lunch

12pm onwards: Exhibition space (Building L22 Rooms G06-7)

• Publishers’ stands (including: Do Re Mi Books, The Emma Press, Flying Eye Books, Lantana, Little Hibba, Mantra Lingua, Milet, Otter-Barry, and Pushkin Children’s Books)
• Exhibitions (including IBBY UK honours books and Palestinian children’s books, Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru | Books Council of Wales, exhibition of Welsh and bilingual children’s books, and ClearVision Project in collaboration with Dr Lily Stone, exhibition of touch language books for children with sight impairment)
• Posters: PhD students and research projects
• Pre-recorded lightning talks:
  • Gareth Osborne, ‘Cybercity 1 app – fostering critical media literacy across languages’
  • Ella Fox Plaisted, ‘Opening up world stories: translating for dyslexic readers’
  • Lori Sieling, ‘Reading the World in the multilingual special education classroom’
  • Emma Steel, ‘Every Cherry: Big Stories, Fewer Barriers’
  • Greta Friggens, ‘The Outside in World translated children’s books collection’

All participants are invited to join the Spectacular Translation Machine during the lunch break. This literary translation installation led by translator Sarah Ardizzone will centre on the eerie and beautiful French graphic novel Monstres by writer Stéphane Servant and illustrator Nicolas Zouliamis. (Building L24, Room G06)

1.15 – 2pm panel 3 – The languages of accessibility (Building L22 Room G01)

Moderator: Professor Holly Joseph, University of Reading

Speakers:

• Professor Emma Pagnamenta and Vesna Stojanovic, University of Reading
• Dr Vishnu Nair, University of Reading
• Chantal Bryan, Director, Teach Us Too
• Alex Strick, Outside in World/ Reflecting Disability Study

2-2.45pm Project Showcase- Young Creative Translators: Engaging Young People in Reading Through Creative Translation (Building L22 Room G01)

Chair: Dr Charlotte Ryland, Stephen Spender Trust/ University of Oxford

Speakers:

• Dr Stacie Allan, Stephen Spender Trust
• Ms Natalie Delidjani, White Woman Lane Junior School
• Ms Rosa Torr, National Centre for Writing

2.45-3pm Break

Translation workshops: 2-3pm 

The Spectacular Translation Machine: workshop for French students, Y9 and upwards. This literary translation installation led by translator Sarah Ardizzone will centre on the eerie and beautiful French graphic novel Monstres by writer Stéphane Servant and illustrator Nicolas Zouliamis. (Building L24, Room G06)

Arabic translation workshop with literary translator and editor Anam Zafar. Join award-winning translator Zafar in translating extracts from her co-translation of Lena Merhej’s moving and funny graphic memoir Yoghurt and Jam (or How My Mother Became Lebanese). Set in Lebanon, Merhej explores hybrid identities, the civil war and growing up in a large multilingual family through a journey into her mother’s past. Participants will discover how to decode books like a professional translator, the challenges of translating humour, and more! (Museum of English Rural Life Studio)

Building L22 Room G01 Lecture hall: all participants

3-3.30pm Presentation and readings from the Spectacular Translation Machine Led by translator Sarah Ardizzone

4pm – Bilingual book launch for When you were a cloud by María José Ferrada and Azul López, translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel (The Emma Press) Includes discussion with translator Lawrence Schimel, presentation of bookmarks and marketing materials designed by Y10 Spanish students from local schools as part of the Stories on the Move project

4.30-5pm Refreshments in the quad (weather permitting)

5pm – Festival close