<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Fairy Tale Association has organised this autumn’s
\nleading event focusing on children’s and youth literature. Running as LittleLIT
\nDays, the event brought together more than 650 children who enjoyed workshops,
\npublic reading sessions and book launches, staged as part of the aforementioned
\nproject. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For
\na whole week, more than 25 online events were held, dedicated to pupils. Among
\nthem, reading workshops offered by Romanian authors of children’s and youth literature,
\nstaged in schools around Bucharest, Timi\u0219oara and Cluj. The activities were
\ndedicated to professionals in the field on children’s literature, such as
\nauthors, illustrators, translators, editors, PR specialists, book sellers. Part
\nof the events also targeted the lay public. Together was this year’s theme,
\npurposefully thought out as a feasible alternative to the social environment we
\nlive in, marred by fear, loneliness and isolation. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Writer Victoria P\u0103tra\u0219cu, one of the founders of the Fairy Tale Association:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When we thought out this project, that is a year ago, we never imagined things
\nwould be just the same, that we will still be confined indoors. We would have really
\nliked to enjoy all that, together with the children, to be able to join them,
\nto take their questions. Things were not the same just as we would have liked
\nto, which doesn’t mean we cannot be together even in these difficult conditions,
\nso that the LittleLIT story may continue, beautifully. LittleLIT stemmed from a
\ncollaboration between the Fairy Tale Association and EUNIC. What we had there,
\nfrom the very outset, was an idea in a nutshell, it was a project by means of
\nwhich we thought of taking writers of contemporary Romanian literature for
\nchildren to their readers, so that the latter may have the chance to know those
\nwho craft the stories. The little ball that we had in the beginning had grown
\ninto a maiden edition, in 2019, themed LittleLIT Mirrorings, where we had partnerships
\nwith five foreign cultural institutions. Back then we had five foreign guest writers
\nwho gave workshops for Romanian writers as we very much want the Romanian
\nwriters to have examples of good practice, so they may know how to make themselves
\nbetter known, how to become better writers, how to refine their writing. And it
\nwas also then that we staged meetings with potential readers, we took those writers
\nto the meet the children, in schools or in rather underprivileged milieus,
\nwhere children do not have access to culture.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nLittleLIT Days, Together schedule has been thought out to highlight the importance
\nof the book and reading for the development of children and in a bid to give
\nthem the opportunity to get acquainted with books what were written for them,
\nand with those who wrote them. Equally, the project seeks to create a space of
\ndialogue between children’s literature professionals (writers, editors,
\nprofessors, reading promoters) from Romania and from other European countries. So
\nThe Fairy Tale Association continues to strengthen the dialogue with schools
\nand the teaching staff, offering teachers specific methods for using literature
\nas a method for teach the content-based items in the curricula. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Victoria Patrascu:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We somehow felt lonely and lost in the great Romanian literature and we
\nthought it was unfair for the children’s literature to be viewed as a
\nCinderella of literature. There weren’t back then, and there still aren’t
\neither, as we speak, any awards for Romanian children’s literature or if they exist,
\nthey’re not being awarded. Notwithstanding, there is an increasing number of
\nwriters of children’s literature, writers whose success has been growing. Some
\nof us have got round to participating in international fairs, in the meantime,
\neven at the International Children’s Book Fair in Bologna, which is something
\nextraordinary, we have become increasingly aware of the importance of children’s
\nliterature in the world. This literature shapes up readers, it a literature
\nthat has been developing one year after the next. Although book sales are on
\nthe wane, children’s literature is on the rise, literature for children brings
\nmoney and that’s what editors should be interested in. Many of them realized, and
\nthat is precisely why they created special collections, they realized children’s
\nliterature does have its perks, apart from those we know already: those of bringing
\nup the new readers, of developing children’s emotional balance, of helping them
\ndevelop. Now,
\nreturning to the 2018 moment, when we founded the Fairy Tale Association, things
\nfared worse than they fare today, so we thought of turning pro. We had some
\nexamples as well, many of them from the Nordic countries, telling us that when
\nwe were together, we were able to do a lot of things. And that’s what happened,
\nwe were a nucleus made of four writers, Adina Rosetti, Laura Gr\u00fcnberg, Iulia
\nIordan and myself, who started up this Fairly Tale Association. But here we are,
\nthree years on, we are 20 writers already, we have three caravans who reached dozens
\nof communes, as well as hundreds of workshops on the record. Also, we organize
\nthis event as well, the LittleLIT Days, under the form of a children’s
\nliterature festival. As of late, we also have a YouTube channel we want to
\ndevelop.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There were three keynote online launches of LittleLIT
\nDays’ special guests this year. Swedish writer \u00c5sa Lind, Swiss author Dana
\nGrigorcea and Romanian writer Lavinia Brani\u0219te gathered more than 2, 000 young
\nreaders. Equally successful were the two big events dedicated to specialists and
\nthose interested to find out more about contemporary Romanian children’s
\nliterature – the webinar Incubator themed The domestic book market for
\nchildren: a magical, otherworldly world facing worldly problems and the Masterclass
\ngiven by the special guests.<\/p>\n
(Translation by Eugen Nasta)<\/p>\n
\n
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