International Pro Day

Friday, March 31

from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Grand Atelier Concert Hall of Lieu Unique

Young Adult publishing tackles conformism and withdrawal; intercultural’s wicked and wild side

Open to all, Pro Day brings together publishers from the world over, librarians, artists and non-profit representatives to reflect collectively on the following:

  • Why use illustrated books to foster awareness of cultural diversity among children, and how best to employ them in everyday learning environments?
  • In an increasingly global world, what are ways wherein to keep preferences, stories and illustration from succumbing to standardization?
  • What steps may be taken to drive groundbreaking collaborations between “small” creative publishing houses?
Registration

9:30 am • Welcome

What is l’œil du monde?

Presentation by Kitty Crowther, Festival patron.
Eli Commins, Director of Lieu Unique.
Christine Morault, Publisher at éditions MeMo and Chair of l’œil du monde.
René Phalippou, Assistant Regional Director of Pays de la Loire Cultural Affairs

10:00 am • L’œil du monde in figures and in action!

Libraries are adopting publishing houses? A behind-the-scenes look at the project!

Lise Martin, Coordinator of l’œil du monde.
Christelle Capo-Chichi, Literary mediator.

10:20 am • Albums wide open on the world

What options exist for helping young readers embrace other cultures?
How does the intercultural dimension appear in the albums of l’œil du monde’s publishing houses? And what effect does it have on children here? Three exchanges between publishers from afar and local librarians.

Eric Dusabimana, Bakame Editions (Rwanda) and Hélène Grandhomme, Head of the Documentary Resource, Tissé Métisse association.

Gita Wolf, Tara Books (India) and Frédérique Coquelet, Head of Young Adult Services at the Angers Municipal Libraries.

Ho-Baek Lee, Jaimimage (South Korea) and Marion Chaigne, Head of the Preservation Department at the Nantes Municipal Library.

Facilitator: Christelle Capo-Chichi, Instructor, trainer and literary mediator.

11:45 am • Katsumi Komagata, The Three Bears and Smallworld

Spiritual heir to Bruno Munari, Leo Lionni and Tana Hoban, this is the story of how Katsumi Komagata first came into contact with the artistic nebula of non-profit The Three Bears, which pushes for and publishes artistic books for children. This first encounter naturally led him to join the ranks of Smallworld, an independent and multicultural publishing house collective, fostering a language that speaks to all without altering the singular character embedded in each continent represented.

Élisabeth Lortic, Librarian, The Three Bears, Smallworld.
Facilitator: Cristina Correro, Professor of Spanish and Children’s Literature at the universities of Nantes, Barcelona and Glasgow.

2:00 pm • Keeping standardization at bay

Whether licensing, series or books, a spin-off existence is anything but fiction…
What does it take to stand out from the crowd and assert one’s originality in a globally-driven editorial world evermore conformist?

Kitty Crowther, Illustrator, Patron of l’œil du monde.
Deanna Belluti, Event and Exhibit Director of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
Nathalie Donikian, Literary Editor of the Montreuil Children’s Book Fair.
Peggy Espinosa, Petra Ediciones (Mexico).
Arianna Squilloni, A buen paso (Spain).
Isabel Minhós Martins, Planeta Tangerina (Portugal).
Svein Størksen, Magikon (Norway).
Facilitator: Cristina Correro, Professor of Spanish and Children’s Literature at the universities of Nantes, Barcelona and Glasgow.

3:30 pm • New horizons: cross-border and beyond

How to brainstorm effectively to give rise to new forms of alliances between independent publishing houses? Online or on the ground, Internet versus in-person, which strategy is most appropriate for enhancing collective visibility? Food for thought aimed at spurring new types of partnerships, both in Europe and further abroad.

Paolo Canton, Topipittori (Italy).
Tereza Horváthová, Baobab (Czech Republic).
Magdalena Klos, Wytwórnia (Poland).
Christine Morault, éditions MeMo (France).
Sam McCullen, dPICTUS platform (England).
Ilaria Tontardini, Hamelin association (Italy) 
Facilitator: Amandine Glévarec, Journalist.

In action

All events are available in either simultaneous or consecutive interpretation: headphones are at your disposal for the duration of the event upon providing a form of identification. You may also use your own earphones if equipped with a mini-jack. Throughout the day, musician Jak Belghit will be embarking listeners with his guitar on an acoustic journey of the countries featured by l’œil du monde.