2 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

From the Editor-in-ChiefAsian/Pacific Book Development (ABD)is published quarterly by the Asia/PacificCultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU),Tokyo, with the cooperation of UNESCOand UNESCO Member States in Asiaand the Pacific. ABD serves as anewsletter for UNESCO’s networkingprogramme, Asia-Pacific CooperativeProgramme in Reading Promotion andBook Development (APPREB), for whichACCU is the regional coordinatingagency. News articles in the Asian/PacificPublishing Scenes of ABD (pp10-19) arecontributed by the national correspon-dents of 22 countries in Asia and thePacific. Articles and photos without indicationof copyright (© followed by owner’sname) may be reprinted for educationaland non-commercial purposes providedthat they be accompanied by a creditline “Reprinted from Asian/Pacific BookDevelopment, published by Asia/PacificCultural Centre for UNESCO” includingauthor’s name and volume/number.Three voucher copies should be sent tothe Editor-in-Chief. Opinions expressed in signed articlesand news of the correspondents arethose of the authors and do not neces-sarily represent the opinions of ACCU orthose of the Editorial Committee of ABD.

Editorial Committee MembersAmadio A. Arboleda Josai International UniversityShonosuke Kanehira Publishers Association for Cultural ExchangeTakashi Kasahara Kodansha Ltd.Kanji Maeda Sanshusha Publishing Co., Ltd.Gow Michiyoshi Design DirectorMasaaki Shindoh Shogakukan Inc.Muneharu Kusaba ACCU

Editor-in-Chief

Muneharu KusabaDirector-General, ACCUEditorial Office

Book Development and LiteracyDepartment, ACCU

Design

Gow MichiyoshiKazuyo Nakamura

Published in co-operation with UNESCO

All correspondence shouldbe addressed to:The Editor-in-Chief, ABDAsia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO(ACCU)6, Fukuromachi, Shinjuku-ku,Tokyo 162-8484, Japanphone: (81) 3 3269 4445, 4435fax: (81) 3 3269 4510e-mail: book@accu.or.jphttp://www.accu.or.jp,http://www.accu.or.jp/appreb

©Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre forUNESCO, Tokyo, August 2001Printed in Japan byKyodo Printing Co., Ltd.

Munehraru Kusaba

The year 2001 marks the 30th anniversa-ry of the establishment of ACCU in 1971.Next issue will carry a brief chronologicaltable, which will enable our readers tosee how ACCU started and developed tocover present programmes. I hope thefruits gained in the 3 decades andprevious few years as Tokyo BookDevelopment Centre will be furtherdeveloped and utilized in the future yearswith the co-operation of our worldwidecontributors who share the same goal.

Following from the previous issue, thisissue presents today’s literature andcontemporary writers in several Asianand Pacific countries. The articles discusspopular and influential literature intoday’s publishing scenes. The bookscovered are moving and enjoyable. Askillfully constructed story can deliver aworld more real than actual life and canmake readers experience a world com-pletely different from their own, notpassively like other visual media, butthrough stimulating their imagination. Itreflects life and society and is deeplyrooted in the culture of its origin. Be-cause of this, though literature may notaccount for the majority in the total

number of publications, it has a greatinfluence over people’s thoughts.Contemporary literature will lead readersto know the society today, and thus, it isworth reading other culture’s writings forbetter mutual understanding. In short,literature can provide people with thepleasure of reading.

Lastly, I would like to announce that anew site, Asia-Pacific Cultural HeritageProtection Database opened in July 2001.(http://www.nara.accu.or.jp/chdb/index_e.html) Though partial at themoment, it will be an extensive databasecovering various aspects of culturalheritage in Asia and the Pacific. ACCUwelcome your comments and sugges-tions to further develop the site as wellas other websites reflecting our pro-grammes, namely, APPREB, Literacy DataBase and Noma Concours.

List of Correspondents (22 countries)

Bangladesh—Syed HusainProfessor, Department of History, University ofDhaka, Dhaka 1000Bhutan—Rinzin WangmoLibrarian & Youth Information Officer, YouthGuidance & Counseling Division, EducationDepartment, Ministry of Health & Education,Thimphu

Cambodia—Pech SavryAdministration Office, Non-Formal EducationDepartment, Ministry of Education, Youth andSports, No. 169, Preah Norodom Blvd., Boeung KengKang 1, Chamkar Morn, Phnom Penh

China—Wu XushengExecutive Editor-in-Chief, Information on Publication,No. 38, Tai Ping Qiao Xi Li, Fengtai, Beijing 100073

Fiji and the South Pacific—Linda S. CrowlPublications Fellow, Institute of Pacific Studies,University of the South Pacific, PO Box 1168, Suva

India—S. C. SethiPresident, The Federation of Publishers’ & Booksell-ers’ Associations in India, c/o Jaico PublishingHouse, G-2, 16 Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi110 002Indonesia—Alfons TaryadiChairman, Advisory Board, Indonesian BookPublishers Association (IKAPI), Jl. Kalipasir 32,Jakarta 10330

Iran—Mansoor KadivarDirector, International Affairs Department, Institutefor Intellectual Development of Children & YoungAdults, Hejab Ave., Laleh Park, Tehran

Japan—Yoshiaki KiyotaPresident, Shuppan News Co., Ltd., 2-40-7 Jimbocho,Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0051Laos—Soubanh LuangrathDirector of Children’s Cultural Centre, Ministry ofInformation and Culture, PO Box 6244, Vientiane

Mongolia—Jambyn DashdondogDirector General, Mongolian Children’s CulturalFoundation, PO Box 2106 46/46, Ulaanbaatar

Myanmar—Myo ThantAdviser, Sarpay Beikman Board, Printing andPublishing Enterprise, Ministry of Information, 529,Merchant St., Yangon

Nepal—Gokul Prasad PokhrelChairman, Nepal Press Institute, Anam Nagar, POBox 4128, KathmanduNew Zealand—Barbara ElseWriter, 39 Heke Street, Ngaio, PO Box 29-023,Wellington

Pakistan—Ahmad FarazManaging Director, National Book Foundation, 6Mauve Area, G-8/4, Taleemi Chowk, Islamabad

Papua New Guinea—Stephan B. WaineFestival Officer, National Cultural Commission, POBox 7144, Boroko, NCDPhilippines—Dominador BuhainPresident, Philippine Educational PublishersAssociation, 84 P. Florentino St., Quezon City

Rep. of Korea—Jong-Jin JungSecretary General, Korean Publishers Association,105-2, Sagan-Dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Singapore—R. RamachandranChairman, National Book Development Council ofSingapore, c/o National Library Board, 1 TemasekAvenue #06-00, Millenia Tower, Singapore 039192Sri Lanka—Deepali TalagalaDirector, Information, National Science Foundation,47/5, Mailtland Place, Colombo 7

Thailand—Chintana BhaigasuyeeDirector, Book Translation Institute, Department ofCurriculum and Instruction Development, Ministryof Education, Bangkok 10300

Viet Nam—Phan Thanh HaoAssistant Editor-in-Chief, The Education and TheTimes, 1B Le Ngoc Han St., Hanoi

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 3

Background

Since the appearance of modern literature in Indonesia in1920, there has been a steady flow of writing through timesof war, rebellion, political and economic crises, power strug-gles, and so on, all of which provided impetus to the work.There were novels about society and people in the Dutchcolonial era, short stories, drama on the problem of Japanesepower in Indonesia, novels about the era of the Indonesianrevolution and liberal democracy era, and the communistrebellion in 1965, and also criticism in literature of the NewOrder under the Suharto regime. The works of Indonesianmodern literature always deal with its cultural environment.This is understandable, because most Indonesian writerscome from the educated middle class, who have always beenvictims of the mismanagement of power.

The most commonly used forms of writing are the shortstories and poetry, because they are easy to publish in week-ly or monthly magazines. Since the 1970s these types of writ-ing have also been published in the newspapers. In bookform, a work of literature is quite difficult to find. A novelwriter whose work is in the newspaper continuously, some-times has to wait for five or ten years before the work is pub-lished in book form. This kind of serious literature does notsell well, unless it becomes controversial.

The publication of serious literature depends on the bigpublishers, which do not seek only profit. A publisher in thecolonial era, Balai Pustaka, was famous for publishing thiskind of books. It could be done because the colonial govern-ment subsidized it in order to control what people shouldactually read. After independence, Balai Pustaka was takenover by the Indonesian government, and still publishes liter-ature frequently.

Another publisher which has also published serious liter-ature since independence, is Pustaka Jaya. This is a privateinstitution managed by Ajip Rosidi, a writer. Other publish-ers not as productive as those mentioned above, includeDjambatan, Gunung Agung, Pembangunan, and recentlyGramedia, Obor, and Granesia.

Poets, mostly the young ones, prefer to publish their owncompilations of poetry. Indonesian literature in book form

consisting of novels and compilations of short stories, sup-posedly amounts to about 2,500 works, including translatedliterature from other countries.

Current Literature

The last political era in Indonesia was the ‘New Order underthe Power of Suharto’ regime (1966-1998). Until the 1990s,Indonesian literature had developed well, because of the aidof the Jakarta Arts Council which held control of an art cen-tre called Taman Ismail Marzuki. In 1968, this council wasfully supported by the governor of DKI (specific region)Jakarta, Ali Sadikin, who had a liberal vision. This art councilorganized several activities, one of them being a novel anddrama script-writing competition, the results of which weresurprising. Many works with a new vision appeared, such asthat written by Putu Wijaya, (a novelist and playwright),Danarto (a short-story writer), Budi Darma (a short-storywriter and novelist), Sutardji Calzoum Bachri (a poet), AbdulHadi WM (a poet), Iwan Simatupang (a novelist), and ArifinC. Noer (a playwright). Now, their works have become clas-sics of modern literature.

But during the late 1980s, the Indonesian government start-ed to repress certain literature, especially, that which wasabout ‘the Power’. A number of poetry readings and dramaswere banned. Also, the great novels of Pramoedya AnantaToer were prohibited and could not be circulated. This situa-tion ended with the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998. Thefollowing period, called the Reformation Era, brought a kindof euphoria of freedom, such as had happened in 1966 and1945. In this situation, without any prohibition, were bornseveral significant works of literature.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer

No writer like Pramoedya Ananta Toer had caused so muchdiscussion in Indonesia since 1980. This writer, born in 1925,published his first novel, Kranji-Bekasi Jatuh, in 1947. Since1957, he has written 9 novels and 3 collections of short sto-ries. In 1980, after being released from the prison in BuruIsland by the government of the New Order, he caused up-

Recent Writers in Indonesia

Jakob Sumardjo

Pramoedya Ananta Toer delivering a public lecture in Tokyo, Japan in 2000(photo courtesy of Japan Foundation Asia Center)

Pramoedya Ananta Toer and hisrecent play Mangir(Photos courtesy of Mr. A. Taryadi)

4 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Saman by Ayu Utami Dewi Lestari

roar amongst the Indonesian people with a quartet of novelscalled Bumi Manusia (The Earth of Mankind), Anak SemuaBangsa (Child of All Nations), Jejak Langkah (Footsteps), andRumah Kaca (House of Glass). Those novels were based onthe biography of a reporter who was very actively involvedin the national movement, called R. M. Tirtoadisuryo (Minke).This figure had never been mentioned as a pioneer of thenational movement of educated people in Indonesia.Pramoedya made him appear as such, with due dedication.The government of the New Order prohibited these novels.In spite of that, this writer still continued to publish otherworks underground, such as Arus Balik (Reverse Stream) in1995. The latter is an historical novel which tells about thefall of the independence and the golden age of Java that usedto depend on the sea, shipping and international trade, thentended to become an agricultural state governed by author-ity and a conventional system.

Another novel, Gadis Pantai (The Girl from the Coast), is areprint of his work from 1962. In 1999 he published a novelcalled Arok-Dedes based on the mytho-history of Java. It canbe seen that he was drawn towards several figures in thehistory of Indonesia who came from the common people,and had successfully changed the history of their nation.

His old novel, Larasati (1960), was republished in 2000along with Gadis Pantai. His most recent work is a play calledMangir, also based on the rebellion of a leader of the com-mon people who had a liberal attitude, against the authorityof the king of Mataram.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer is considered as the oldest au-thor still writing who holds a consistent view of ‘people pow-er’. He is also the most productive writer with the greatestamount of work in Indonesia, and has won a great deal ofmerit for the quality of his work, given by a number of ob-servers in literature. (see p. 11)

Seno Gumira Ajidarma

This writer, born in 1958, is considered a very productivewriter of short stories. At first, he wrote mostly poetry, andlater on he moved to short stories. Recently, he tried to writea novel, which is now being serialized in one of the Jakartanewspapers. This first book of short stories was ManusiaKamar (1988), followed by Penembak Misterius (1993), andanother 6 collections of short stories. His most recent workis Matinya Seorang Penari Telanjang (2000). In general, hisshort stories are characterized as surrealistic, based on actu-al events in the society that caused an uproar (the fight againstpreman ‘someone who enslaves another people,’ and thecruelty in East Timor). Seno Gumira Ajidarma skillfully ma-nipulates mundane life into his pure imagination. His workshows how life is sometimes similar to the imagination, howlife is possible without imagination, how a man can live fullyin his imagination, and how he takes advantage of imagina-tion in his real life.

The Newcomers

In 1998, literary circles in Indonesia were surprised by thepublication of a novel written by a young woman called AyuUtami. Her novel, Saman, was one of the contenders in anovel-writing competition held by Jakarta Arts Council. With-

in one year, this novel has been reprinted ten times. The styleof writing is so direct, smart, and about the life of youngpeople who have a global vision, and are brave enough toformulate a new morality for youth. It has brought a freshand new approach to novel writing in Indonesia. Althoughthis novel is the first part of an intended series, people arestill waiting for the follow-up.

Another newcomer is a young woman as well, called“Dee,” or Dewi Lestari (born in 1976). In 2001 she publishedher first novel called Supernova. (see p. 15) This novel hasbeen reprinted 5 times in only 6 months. The work of DewiLestari (she is also a singer) brings a vision of a new spiritu-ality based on several inventions of modern science in the20th century. It has popular story lines, which could be foundeasily in television serials, that is, love affairs, the brokenlove among celebrities in Jakarta. Within the framework of apopular story, the author would like to show the truth abouther vision of a new spirituality in the theory of chaos, turbu-lence, probability, holism, and so on. Dewi has also prom-ised to follow her first novel with others about the newspirituality.

Fruits of Literature Magazines

Indonesian literature since independence (1945) has devel-oped through magazines of culture and literature. In thosemagazines one could find short stories, poetry, drama, andliterary criticism. The only literature magazine that still has agood circulation is Horison. This magazine was started in1966, by a writer called Mochtar Lubis and through it a lot ofchange has come about in the art of writing by new writers.A writer of mystico-surrealistic short stories, Danarto, start-ed his career through this magazine, and, many young writ-ers still feature their works. Young poets who appeared lateron can be noted, such as Afizal Malna, Soni Farid Maulana,Agus. R. Sarjono, Acep Zamzam Noor, Agus Noor, and Gustf. This magazine also put an insertion about literature edu-cation in schools, to help teachers in teaching the literatureof their nation.

(translated by F. X. Widaryanto)

reference:Titles by Pramoedya Ananta Toer:

Kranji-Bekasi, jatuh (Kranji-Bekasi is a region near Jakarta, famous in the historyof the struggle against the Dutch), Arok-Dedes (Ken Arok and his wife Ken Dedes,who are legendary figures), Larasati (name of a woman), Mangir (name of avillage, whose leader is called Ki Ageng Mangir)Titles by Seno Gumira Ajidarma:

Manusia Kamar (man who loves staying indoors and dislikes outdoor life),Penembak Misterius (mysterious shooters), Mantinya Seorang Penari Telanjang(the death of a stark-naked dancer)

Jakob Sumardjo

Born in 1939. Graduating from IKIP Bandung in 1970, he is a historianand currently lecturer in Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia (The IndonesianDance Institute), Bandung. He has written and edited more than 16 books,most of them about Indonesian literature. The most recent of his worksis Konteks Sosial Novel Indonesia (The Social Context of IndonesianNovels) 1920-1977 in 1999.Jakob SumardjoJl. Pasir Layung, X/1 Padasuka, Bandung 40192, Indonesia

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 5

Korean Novel Market

Love stories which are more or less like melodramas are pre-vailing in the Korean “popular” novel market. Perfume ofChrysanthemum by Kim In Ha, The Eleventh Apple Tree byLee Yong Beom, Flower of Tears by Kim Min Gi and otherworks mesmerize the public with sublime and absolutely purelove stories under adverse circumstances rather than coldreality. Fish of Bones by Jo Chang In, in which the authortells us a story of a father whose wife left him and who istaken ill but looks after his children devotedly by himself untilhe dies; and Mother by Kim Jeong Hyeon, a story of a moth-er who gathers her separated family members and rebuildsher family, seem to just substitute the relationship betweenparents and children for the love between a man and a wom-an. Except for “fantasy” novels, which are just martial artsnovels, modernized to attract teenage readers, other genresof novels including detective stories, thrillers and science fic-tion, have not yet gained ground in Korea.

In the non-fiction domain, humanities and social scienceare on the decline while practical books such as foreign lan-guage learning books, and books on health and how to makemoney are selling well. In Sangdo (Business Morality), a best-selling novel by Choi In Ho, the author tells us the story of amerchant in the Chosun Dynasty and makes a strong im-pression on readers who want to learn something about howto make a fortune. Choi made his debut in the late 1960swith short stories about lonely individuals in the city andcaught the public’s attention. But after his work Home of Starsbecame a commercial success, he has “converted” to “com-mercial” literature. Lost Kingdom, a history novel and A Roadwithout a Road, a Buddhist novel, attracted a lot of attentionfrom the public, but were hardly appreciated in terms of“quality literature”.

Recent Trends

At the turning point from the 1980s to the 1990s, “from soci-ety to individuals” seemed to be the biggest issue for Kore-an literature. Writers and critics both regretted and criticizedthe superfluous ideology of the preceding decade. They madeefforts to bring the existential anguish of an individual tolight, free from socio-historic burdens. The evaluation crite-ria of a literary work had been its theme and effectiveness,

but that changed to “literariness of literature”, i.e. literaryperfectionism, in the 1990s. The literary tendency which mightbe called “estheticism” gained ground. Responding effec-tively to the changing demand of the time, Sin Gyeong Sukand Yun Dae Nyeong emerged as representative writers ofthe 1990s. Saseum Beolre Yeoja, a recent work by Yun DaeNyeong, combines existential questions with a few sciencefiction devices through the story of an amnesiac man.

It is characteristic of the Korean literature in the 1990s thatmore female writers were active than ever. They attractedwomen readers not with heavy and epic stories but withamusing ones. Their favourite themes for their novels wereisolation and the meaningless life which housewives feel,their escape from them, the shameful consequences of adul-tery and difficult struggle against the order of the patriarchalsystem. Two female writers, Eun Hee Gyeong and Ha SeongRan, impressed readers with Minor League and Hero of MyMovie. On a Boat of Glass, I Am Floating on a Strange Sea, arecent novel by Jeon Gyeong Rin, depicts very vividly thelove adventure of a woman who loves two men at the sametime but in different ways.

Active Writers in Korean Literature

Choi Jae Bong

A new bookshop in Seoul (photo courtesy of “The Book & The Computer”)

Fish of Bones by Jo Chang In

Sin Gyeong SukPerfume of Chrysanthemum by Kim In Ha

Eun Hee Gyeong and her novel Minor League

6 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Hwang Seok YeongKim Seong Dong

“Literaturism”, which was prevailing in the Korean liter-ary scene in the 1990s, became the target of criticism at theend of the decade. The realization that literature dealt withoverly individual and trivial matters and that the sole em-phasis was on esthetic perfectionism, led to criticism that itignored socio-historic issues and its social function. Nowthere was a demand for literature to be more interested andengaged in social issues in different forms. Along with thisconsciousness, regret about the commercialism which hadtainted literature in the 1990s, and criticism about the “liter-ature power” were brought up. The fact that the so-called“literaturism” in the 1990s was nothing but an excuse forthe commercialism of literature publishers, and that criticswere silent about such deterioration or even advocated it,became very clear. Kim Myeong In, Kwon Seong Wu, LeeMyeong Won and other young critics attacked the close rela-tionship between publishers and critics and their striving forpower.

Notable Writers and Their Novels

Hwang Seok Yeong, who was imprisoned for 5 years becauseof his unauthorized visit to North Korea, is a breath of freshair to the Korean novel scene. In Old Garden, published in2000, he rehabilitated the ideology of utopia which had beendominant in Korea, and the “fighters” who had devoted them-selves to it. In 2001, his talent was reconfirmed through hissecond novel Guests after he got out of jail. The latter dealswith the reinterpretation of the massacre of innocent peoplein Sincheon, Hwanghae Province, North Korea, during theKorean War. While the North Korean authorities wrote in thehistory books that the massacre was committed by the Amer-ican army, the author, through his visit to the town and inter-views with witnesses and persons related with the massacre,found out that it had been committed by Christians. He wrotehis novel based on his findings. He describes “Christianity”and “Communism”, both foreign ideologies introduced tothe Korean peninsula in the 20th century, as “guests”, andfocuses on their effects on the Koreans and the problemswhich they have caused. In particular, he narrates the storythrough a shaman’s ritual for a dead person from HwanghaeProvince, North Korea, and thus attempts to expand the ex-tensive domain of the realism.

Kim Hun, who was once a literature reporter for a news-paper, got his talent as a novelist verified in his second novelSong of Sword, whose protagonist is the admiral Lee SunSin, the hero of the Korean-Japanese War from 1592 to 1598.He contrasts the cold-hearted admiral with the feeble-mind-ed king who is full of doubts, and brings their characters tolight through the former’s short and dry sentences and thelatter’s long sentences full of rhetoric and exaggerations,which he does very skillfully. In addition to the two novels,

he also released Jindo, the Intact Island, a prose collectionwith photos, which presents the nature and culture of theisland in the south of the Korean Peninsula, and also its his-tory and people.

Kim Seong Dong, the author of Mandara, also released anovel entitled Dream after a long break. In this novel, he de-picts, through the form of a very short dream, the wander-ings and searching of a young monk who tries to harmonizelove for a woman and ways of searching after truth. He alsotells us about his father, who was killed during the KoreanWar because he was allegedly a leftist, and the author’s ownexperience of excommunication because he had allegedlyattempted to harm the Buddhist order, which is quite remark-able in his novel.

Lee Dae Hwan released Slow Bullet, in which he tells usvery calmly about a Korean man who participated in the VietNam War and suffers from the aftereffects of defoliants;whose disease is inherited by his son and thus destroys hisfamily.

(translated by Moon Seung Hyun)

Song of Sword by Kim Hun

Lee Dae Hwan and his novel Slow Bullet(photos of books and authors courtesy of the author and Korean PublishersAssociation)

Choi Jae Bong

Born in 1961, Yangpyeong, Korea. After he got M.A. in English Litera-ture, Kyonghee University, Seoul, he joined Hankyoreh Shinmun, aKorean daily newspaper in 1988. Since 1992, he worked as a reporterfor its department of literature. Writings: Literary Travel to Meet Histo-ry, Press Dept., Hankyoreh Shinmun, 1997Choi Jae BongReporter, Hankyoreh Shinmun, 103-1403, Hanil Town, 881, Jowon-dong, Jangan-gu,Suwon, Rep. of Korea

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 7

Expanding Scope in New Zealand Writing

When I spoke recently to a seminar of writing students andbook lovers, a group of women asked a particular question.“We all read the same local books,” said the spokeswoman,“and there is usually some difference of opinion about howgood they are. But we want to know why the novels that winprizes are almost always ones that none of us like at all?”

Whether anyone agrees with the decisions of literaturejudges or not, the question seemed an indication to me thatNew Zealand literature has not only become more variedbut is reaching a much wider readership than ever before. Itis worth saying at this point that New Zealand has very littlepopular fiction in the sense of ‘airport’ novels. Local publish-ers favour serious literature, and this has widened out to covermany different genres: social satire, science fiction, blackcomedy.

There are many other signs that New Zealand writing isexpanding in scope. Ten years ago there were only two bookfestivals in the country, the Wellington Writers and ReadersWeek and, in alternate years, the ‘Wordstruck’ festival inDunedin. To these have been added festivals in Christchurchand Auckland, and in smaller cities like New Plymouth andTauranga. There is also a nationwide World Book DayAotearoa Festival. While writers visiting from overseas arepopular at these gatherings, local authors also draw excel-lent audiences. The New Zealand Book Council, a non-profitorganisation devoted to fostering books and readers, tourslocal writers to all parts of the country. The enthusiasm ofreaders and the increasingly good sales figures for localbooks show that New Zealanders are proud of their own lit-erature and that the ‘cultural cringe’ of yesteryear has disap-peared. Although most writers still depend on governmentgrants from Creative New Zealand and from other freelanceactivities, more than before can hope to support themselvesby their writing alone.

In a nation of just under 4 million people, over 1800 booksare published each year. In 2000, approximately 48 of thesewere novels, a rise from about 20 in 1985. Who is responsi-ble for this growing interest? It is of course a synergy be-tween local publishers, booksellers, and writers, and it isdifficult to single out specific authors to discuss. However,three novelists who came to prominence in the 1970s and

New Zealand Novels and Their Readers

Barbara Else

1980s and are publishing regularly exemplify the diversityof New Zealand writing. Maurice Gee, who has won manyprizes, and whose first novel The Big Season was publishedin 1961, reached his full powers in Plumb, 1978. His novelsabout New Zealand’s social history and complexity invari-ably sell strongly and his latest Ellie and the Shadow Man,(see p. 17), went to the top of the New Zealand bestseller list.Maori writer Patricia Grace, whose third novel Potiki (1985)won several prizes, this year published a new novel DogsideStory, to excellent reviews. Dame Fiona Kidman, with herfirst novel A Breed of Women (1979), instigated a steady flowof books by women writers about the value of the femaleexperience. Kidman is one of the most popular of contem-porary serious authors.

A brief survey of novels published over the last two yearsshows the increasing variety of New Zealand writing. I’veselected work that has received critical acclaim, and litera-ture that has sold well. Many of these writers have also beenpublished abroad. (It will please the book lovers I mention inthe opening paragraph that, occasionally, good sales andcritical praise coincide.)

Male Writers

Contemporary male writers include Lloyd Jones, whose TheBook of Fame (2000) has been short-listed for this year’sMontana Book Awards. This is a semi-fictional account ofthe tour to England of the 1905 All Blacks, a rugby team thatbecame a New Zealand legend. Nineteen Widows under Ash(2000) by Damien Wilkins, about a newly separated woman,set in the United States, indicates a trend among authors tochoose overseas locales for their fiction. Chris Else’s thirdnovel The Beetle in the Box is an exercise in narrative ten-sion where a strand of philosophical argument pulls againsta passionate love story. Mike Johnson is a novelist who com-bines elements of magic realism with science fiction. He hasjust published Counterpart (2001) in which a man returnshome one night to find his circumstances inexplicably al-tered. Last year’s winner of the Deutze Medal for Fiction wasOwen Marshall, best known as a short story writer, with hisnovel Harlequin Rex (1999), another novel with a science fic-tion element.

Mike Johnson and his novel CounterpartEllie and the Shadow Man by Maurice Gee

8 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Emma Neale and her second novel, Little Moon

Barbara Else

She is writer, editor and co-director of TFS Literacy Agency, a literaryagency and manuscript assessment service.Barbara ElsePO Box 29-023, Ngaio, Wellington, New Zealand, e-mail: barbara@elseware.co.nz,URL: http://www.elseware.co.nz

Elizabeth Knox and her novels,The Vintner’s Luck and Black Oxen(photos on pp. 7-8 courtesy of the author)

Maori Writers

Novels by Maori writers are of special interest to modernreaders. The fusion of Maori oral tradition with Europeannarrative technique in the novels of Witi Ihimaera has wonhim a solid following. His last novel, The Uncle’s Story (2000)is about a Maori soldier’s experience of Viet Nam. The Maoriwriter who has become a household name in New Zealandis Alan Duff. His first novel Once Were Warriors (1990) shothim to public attention for its uncompromising portrayal ofMaori social issues. He continues to publish similar worksdescribing the anger of the underprivileged.

Women Authors

Many women authors are publishing in the context openedup by Fiona Kidman. In 2000, one of these was Sue Reidywith Four Ways to be a Woman, about the different wayswomen react to issues of motherhood. Another was TinaShaw, whose City of Reeds is about three sisters coping witha family secret.

Other women writers who explore social issues in a moresatirical form are Shonagh Koea, whose latest novel, Timefor a Killing, (2001) is a wicked romp, and Barbara Else, ThreePretty Widows (2000).

Short-listed for this year’s book awards are two womenauthors who have written historical fiction: StephanieJohnson with Belief (2000) a novel about religious obses-sion, and Charlotte Randall with The Curative (2000), set inthe eighteenth century lunatic asylum, Bedlam. Randall’snovel sold particularly well.

Young women writers are enjoying a particular wave ofpopularity at the moment. Emily Perkins, whose first bookwas a short story collection, has just published her secondnovel The New Girl. Kapka Kassabova’s second novel Lovein the Land of Midas (2000) is a romantic drama set in Greeceand Macedonia. Emma Neale’s second novel, Little Moon,has just reached the bookstores. It concerns a girl growingup in the shadow of a family tragedy.

Undoubtedly the biggest success story among NewZealand writers in recent years is that of Elizabeth Knox. Shepublished 3 novels and two novellas to critical acclaim be-fore her breakthrough novel The Vintner’s Luck, (1988) madeher widely known not just in New Zealand but abroad. In thisnovel she moved from her previous self-reflective post-mod-ern prose to a vividly imagined story about an eighteenthcentury French winemaker and a fallen angel. She has justpublished Black Oxen, set in a chaotic imaginary world, andhas yet another novel due in a few months’ time.

In this short space I have had to leave out several impor-tant authors. Nor have I been able to mention short-storywriters, poets, the variety and quality among writers of non-fiction and work for children. But this introduction at leasttouches on the choice of locally published books now avail-able to New Zealand readers. The question asked by the bookgroup with which I opened this introduction, could be takenas proof of the increasing interest with which the local audi-ence views its own literature.

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 9

The flowering of Mongolian children’s literature during the20th century emerged from the fertile soil of our oral tradi-tions. These traditions had been fostered over countless gen-erations. They led to the growth of a new profession: thechildren’s writer. During the socialist era, children’s booksbloomed in numerous colours like a thousand steppe flow-ers. However, they have all but wilted during the transitionto a market economy. Why did this happen? I would like toaddress that question here.

In my opinion, there are two reasons. The first one relatesto commerce. In the past, despite normal production costs,children’s books were sold to the public at a very low price.This aimed to make the books available to the widest possi-ble audience. Literature was seen as a vital part of educa-tion. Any financial loss was absorbed by the state. When thisbenevolent policy was discarded ten years ago, children’sbooks became much less accessible. New works were notbeing produced. Older works became more expensive. Strug-gling families spent their money on food, clothes and shel-ter instead. No business was willing to take on this marketbecause it was simply not profitable.

The other reason relates to time. In the past there was amoment when colourful books bloomed in abundance inurban and rural areas. Many of these works till stand proud-ly today as crowning achievements in the intellectual cul-ture of mankind. They still have value, they are still relevant,they are still necessary in one’s educational development.Others have withered and blown away with the winds ofchange. They have lost their value, they are no longer rele-vant. For whatever reason, they have not stood the test oftime. With the immense social changes of the last ten years,we now read books with different eyes. We are filtering thoseworks from the past. Some may last, some may not. Andbesides, perhaps the time has come to look for new creativepossibilities in children’s books.

Many works from the past century still stand as some ofthe best examples of children’s literature. They include MyTroublesome Childhood by Sh. Gaadamba, Solongo by Ch.Lodoidamba, A Foal by L. Badarch, Aly and Mongo by P.Khorloo, How I Recognised the World by L. Tudev, Jigmedand Togmid by D. Sodnomdorj, Water Whirl-pool or Trou-blesome Borzoon by P. Luvsantseren, Funny Stories by D.Garmaa, and Toodoi and Tsookhondoi by S. Nadmid.

But even the best works were affected by the ideology ofthe one-party political system. A king was always describedas tyrannical, a lama as one with poisonous thoughts, awealthy person as greedy and a poor person as honest. Sim-ilarly, positive roles were often played by Russians, for ex-ample, Seryoja in Serj and Servoj, Ivanog in The World’sBeautiful Sunderye, Sasha in My Happiness, Petrov in TheLatin Teacher and many others. Russians characters werealways drawn as good, honest people. Conversely, Chineseor Japanese people were inevitably depicted as dishonest,stupid or hostile. A rare exception to this xenophobia wasthe popular song Multicultural Children Live Forever with aCommon Thought. In any case, the classification of ethnic orsocial groups as good or bad, clever or stupid, friend or ene-my, is an outdated ideological concept. It is quite inappropri-ate during these times of globalisation.

There was also a common tendency for children’s booksto overstep their educational function. Literature often re-

Children’s Literature in Mongolia Needs Renovation

Jambyn Dashdondog

Mongolian children with books (photo courtesy of the author)

minded students to keep their hair tidy, to wear clean clothesand shoes and to maintain good grades at school. Bookscarried slogans and warnings such as “Read Books”, “Re-spect Nature”, “Let’s Build a Nest for the Birds”. This is nolonger considered a primary function of literature. However,in the last ten years, I have also noticed that children’s booksappear more uniform than before. As always, these booksshould encourage independent thought. Children should beencouraged to write their own poetry before they memorisethe poetry of another. More importantly, young readers mustbe able to freely choose whatever they want to read.

For many years we were exposed to the belief that litera-ture should be an instrument of education. However, the val-ue of the world’s greatest children’s books lies in the waythey foster intellectual and creative development. This valuecan’t be explained through theories or instructions. Thesebooks are made to be read, not dissected. In this way, chil-dren’s books are quite unlike adults’ books. They should cap-ture the imagination; they should be intensely visual. Howmany children’s books meet these requirements today? Thetime has come to produce literature that inspires children,that encourages them to think freely.

Although the number of Mongolian printing houses pro-ducing colourful, quality books has increased, there is still adearth of good children’s books for Mongolian children. To-day we need renovators of Mongolian children’s literature.As a starting point, the Mongolian Children’s Cultural Foun-dation has established a study group at the Mongolian Chil-dren’s Palace. The group will learn from international classicsin the field of children’s literature.

What should children read? This has become a dilemmain post-communist Mongolia. The challenge lies beforeMongolian writers and publishers: to turn away from the old-fashioned school of thought and to forge ahead with a newway of thinking.

Jambyn Dashdondog

He is a writer and a researcher of Mongolian children’s literature.Jambyn DashdondogDirector General, Mongolian Children’s Cultural Foundation, PO Box 2106 46/46,Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, fax: (976 ) 11 326069

10 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Bhutan

Mobile Bookshops

The Mobile Bookshop seen in Bhutan forthe first time was organised from 8December 2000 to 10 January 2001 bythe Canadian Cooperation Office inThimphu. The main objectives of thisventure were to make books accessibleto people living in small towns who didnot have access to bookstores, create anawareness of reading and provide gainfulemployment to students during theirvacation.

Two bookshops in the capital suppliedbooks that could be sold and threestudents were hired for the job.

The Mobile Bookshop covered townsand villages spanning nine districts. Themajority of the customers were students,followed by school libraries. Many of thevillagers bought prayer books and bookson religion. Judging by the enthusiasticresponse from the people, this maidenventure was a big success.

Cambodia

Early Childhood Care and Education

In accordance with the governmentcommitment of the countries across theworld at the Dakar EFA Conference 2000at which it was declared ‘We should takecare of children so that they keep in goodhealth, prevent the spread of diseasesand vitamin deficiency during earlychildhood, thus reducing the childmortality rate; and we should alsoprovide them with the opportunity tostudy without paying,’ the Ministry ofEducation, Youth and Sports (Non-Formal Education Department) invitedrepresentatives of the Ministry of SocialWork Labour Vocational Training andYouth Rehabilitation, Ministry of Health,Ministry of Women and Veteran Affairs,Ministry of Cult and Religious Affairs,monks, religious men, religious women,parents and sponsors to participate in thefollowing meetings:

In October 2000 in order to share ideaswith each other and clearly define theconcept of Early Childhood Care andEducation (ECCE); In November 2000 inorder to define the role and duty of eachconcerned institution, of local non-governmental organizations, internation-al organizations and each personregarding ECCE; In April 2001 in order todevelop the action plan for ECCE andestablish the mechanism for drawing upthe ECCE policy.

Nowadays the above mechanism hasorganized a meeting of members con-cerned and has distributed to them thepolicy draft written by the Ministry of

Education, Youth and Sports to specifythe role and duty of each institution,communities, private sectors, religioussectors, parents, NGOs, and IOs. TheECCE mechanism will organize a meetingin order to review and improve the policyaccording to the ideas provided by allmembers, so we will soon have a realpolicy for ECCE activities.

China

Fairy Tales Begins to Amuse Adults

For a long time, fairy tale readers havefallen into two age groups: five-year-oldchildren and old people. Fairy tales arethe spiritual food of children, but whenthey grew older, they lost interest inthem. Old people may pick up theabandoned fairy tales from their grand-children and amuse themselves byreading the tales. As far as their attrac-tion was concerned, they were exclusive-ly for children.

But now, changes have taken place.Since some famous foreign fairy taleswere published in China, a lot of adultshave become passionately interested inthem. These adults are of differentoccupations, different ages, and differenteducation levels. During their childhood,they indulged in the beauty of the fairyworld. After one or two decades’ “hiber-nation”, they are deeply touched byimaginative fairy tales such as LittlePrincess.

In the eyes of many college students,some fairy tales are more meaningful toadults. Xian Xu, a postgraduate fromChinese Literature Department of FudanUniversity, often talked about fairy taleswith his classmates. They bought booksand found the latest information aboutfairy tales on the Internet. In campusbook stores, “fairy tales for adults”became very fashionable after thepopularity of cartoons. Moreover, someyoung scholars are inspired in the studyof literature, anthropology and psycholo-gy by fairy tales.

Fiji

Moves to Link Publishers in the Pacific

Islands

Many organizations have supportedpublishing initiatives in the Pacific. Threemain supporters have been the SouthPacific Trade Commission established bythe South Pacific Forum (now PacificIslands Forum) and the UNESCO Officefor the Pacific States and the Secretariatof the Pacific Community through theFestival of Pacific Arts.

Publishers represented the Institute ofPacific Studies, University of the South

Pacific (USP); UPNG Press, University ofPapua New Guinea; and Au Vent des Iles,Tahiti. They, in turn, represented Black-stone Publications (Vanuatu), the Instituteof Education (USP), the Institute of PapuaNew Guinea Studies, Kristen Pres (PNG),the Melanesian Institute (PNG), theNational Research Institute (PNG), theSchool of Social and Economic Develop-ment (USP), and Vava‘u Press (Tonga).They canvassed other book associations(Australia, Hawai‘i, New Zealand),discussed formation of a South Pacificbook council, and agreed to follow it upwith their respective publishing contacts.Publishers made further moves toconsolidate a South Pacific book devel-opment group, polling visitors to bookevents then drafting guidelines andobjectives for the group.

Publishers in the Pacific Islands hopefor an annual book fair, to be held in adifferent country each year, so as tocement these contacts and generate newones. In addition to displays, sales andnetworking, they hope to establish PacificIslands prizes for publishing, writing, andillustration, and to offer workshops onsignificant topics for Pacific Islandspublishers, such as marketing, finance,and copyright. Given the difficulties ofpublishing for small and undereducatedpopulations spread over vast oceanicdistances and divided by 1,200 indige-nous and four colonial languages, PacificIslands publishers have made significantachievements. Their problems andsuccesses are unique and their bestteachers are Islands colleagues, who areoften harder to reach than professionalsin developed countries (because ofinherited colonial communication lines).Nevertheless, publishers throughout thePacific Islands region have a cooperativevision for the future, one that focuses onproviding books from local perspectivesto meet the needs of indigenous peoples.

India

Government of India Declares 2001–02 as

the Year of Books

In the age of the Internet, the book isgetting a new lease of life. The Ministryof Human Resources Development hasdeclared 2001-02 as the Year of Books,and hopes to flood the country—hospi-tals, railway stations, villages, and smalltowns—with books.

The objective behind the book promo-tion drive is to create awareness amongthe general public on book reading andpurchase, and to come up with solutionsto problems that writers, publishers,distributors and other dwellers of theliterary world, including readers, face.

Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

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Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

Also on the agenda is a plan to improveand increase the number of bookshops,libraries, and mobile libraries in thecountry. The National Book Trust hasbeen identified as the nodal agency toorganise the Year of Books.

The Committee for the Promotion ofReading Habits and Development ofBook Publishing (set up by Ministry ofHRD) has already approached theMinistry of Railways, the Airport Authori-ties of India, and the State TransportDepartments as well as the State HealthDepartments, to provide book stalls atrailway stations, airports, bus depots andhospitals.

The Committee has also requested AllIndia Radio and Doordarshan to allotprime-time programmes such as inter-views and discussions with authors andcritics, as well as Kavi Sammelans,poetry-reading sessions and even bookquizzes.

To ensure that books go beyond cityborders, large-scale plans are on tosupport rural libraries, increase thenumber of mobile libraries, promotebook clubs in schools, colleges and ruralcommunity centres as well as publicationof Braille books.

World Book Centre—Information and

Training Centre for Publishing

Technological changes taking place fastare also affecting the publishing sector,and posing a challenge to it. To cope withthis, one has to remain ever active andequip oneself with the latest informationabout technological changes and otherrelated aspects and train oneself todevelop the skill required for maintainingand improving the quality of publishing.This needs to be done in an organisedmanner. In this context, Kalyan Shah (c/oPublishers & Booksellers Guild, 3A,Bhawani Dutta Lane, Calcutta 700 073)has drawn up a proposal giving tentativestructure of an organisation under aBoard of Members comprising expertsfrom different fields with the Director asits head.

The proposed centre may have thefollowing departments to carry out itsactivities:1. Reception, Information and PublicRelations; 2. Display/Exhibition Centre; 3.Information Dissemination Centre; 4.Information Collection Centre & throughInternet/website; 5. DocumentationDepartment; 6. Archive for Micro Films/Microchips Special Room; 7. HouseJournal & Copyright Centre; 8. E-com-merce; 9. Education, Research & TrainingCentre; 10. Director’s Office, and 11.Accounts & Secretariat.

Moreover, the centre in collaborationwith the State Central Library may act asa National Bibliographic Centre to helpthe National Library through its bookrequisition department. It is hoped thatthe centre may offer a practical solutionto the harrowing problems presentlyfacing the publishing sector.

Indonesia

Winners of the Adikarya Book Awards

During a reception to commemorate the51st anniversary of the Indonesian BookPublishers Association, held in Jakartaon 17 May 2001, Adikarya Book Awardswere conferred on the winners. One ofthe old crack authors of children’s books,Mansur Samin, got the first prize for histitle Ucok dan Si Pelor, (Ucok and SiPelor) published by Gunung Jati. In thesame category, the second prize wasgiven to Suprihatin with Di Ujung TaliPancing (At the Tip of the Fishing Rod),published by Adicita Karya Nusa. In thecategory of Books for Adolescents, thewinners were respectively Darsan, S. Pd,with a book entitled Millennium Target,published by Mitra Gama Vidya, followedby Asma Nadia, writer of Rembulan diMata Ibu (The Moon in Mother’s Eye),and Dra Varuni Dian Wijayanti, with abook entitled Macan Gendaman (TheBewitched Tiger).

This year, Adikarya Awards were alsogiven to illustrators and book designers.

The number of books for children andadolescents published in 2000, andsubmitted to the Adikarya team of jurors,was 194, coming from 28 book publish-ers. According to the head of the team,Riris Sarumpaet, the quality of the bookshas been increasing compared to that ofthose submitted last year.

The Launching of “It’s not an All Night

Fair”

On 21 March 2001 there was the launch-ing of It’s not an All Night Fair, one ofPramoedya Ananta Toer’s famous books,translated into English by C. W. Watson.Actually, the English translation of BukanPasar Malam had already been appearingin the journal Indonesia, published byCornell University in the late 1970s. In2000, Equinox, a Jakarta and Singapore-based publishing company, specializing

in Indonesian books in English, tookinterest in the translated work ofPramoedya, and so It’s not an All NightFair was published. With this translation,there are now more than thirty works ofPramoedya which have been translatedinto foreign languages.

During the launching, C. W. Watson, inflawless Indonesian, expressed thefeelings he had experienced in theprocess of translating Bukan PasarMalam, and his admiration for theauthor. Pramoedya himself, lookingtough and rugged for his age, conveyedhis gratitude to those taking interest inhis works. He also complained about theprohibition of his works, which so farhave not been formally withdrawn.

Iran

The 14th Tehran International Book Fair

The 14th Tehran International Book Fairwas held from 8-18 May 2001 at TehranInternational Trade Fair Site in an area ofmore than 95,000 sq.m., in 32 halls withover 60,000 book titles, sponsored by theMinistry of Culture & Islamic Guidance.

Around 900 domestic publishers,among them 110 children’s publishersand 45 publishers who were active in thelearning-aid section, as well as nearly 500foreign publishers from over 20 coun-tries, took part. 321 Latin publishers fromEuropean countries, some Americanpublishers and 164 publishers from Arab& African countries displayed their latestpublications. There were 85 publisherswho took part in the Tehran Book Fair forthe first time; Publishers from Italy wereamong them. Also 45 publishers fromGermany participated for the secondtime in over ten years; Goethe Instituteand the Head of Frankfurt Book Fair wererepresented at the fair as well. Egypt hadan active participation, with over 20publishers displaying their latest titles.

A special ceremony was held on 16May in order to introduce and honour thecultural relations between Iran and Italy.

There was also a possibility of pur-chasing books by Internet in “Miras-e-Maktoub” Publishing House which isespecially active in ancient Persian textsand has exhibited over 100 titles relatedto this field and religion. This publisheralso introduces its e-books and e-magazines on the web.

Children enjoying a workshop at the 14th Tehran International Book Fair (Iran)

12 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

8th Press Festival

A member of the Central Council of theIslamic Coalition Society, and editor-in-chief of Resalat Daily exchanged viewson political issues with young visitors atthe 8th Press Festival on 15 May 2001.* The book Statistical Look at the Press

was published concurrently with theongoing press festival.

* The Institute for the Compilation andPublication of the Works of ImamKhomeini took part in the 8th PressFestival with two periodicals, Hozourand Matin. The institute is presentinghundreds of books about the Founderof the Islamic Revolution at the TehranInternational Book Fair.

* A round table entitled The Press andNational Sovereignty was held on thesidelines of the Press Festival. Theround table was attended by a largenumber of press experts and theDeputy Minister of Culture and IslamicGuidance for Press and Publicity Affairs.

* The Director of the Center for MediaStudies and Research expressed hisview that any measure which canstrengthen ties between the people andthe press is most welcome.

* The Managing Director of Qods Dailyalso said that the Press Festival pro-vides visitors with the opportunity tolearn about the country’s press.

Japan

Recent State of Publishers

According to the Shuppan Nenkan 2001(Publishing Year Book) published byShuppan News Co., Ltd., publishersnumbered 4,391 in 2000. The totalnumber reached over 4,000 in 1979, sincewhen it has changed little. From this,Japanese publishing can be said to bestable, but not very active.

In the 1980s, publishing has beendeveloping constantly, and numbers ofbook titles and copies, and salesamounts have been increasing. Duringthe term, the sales amount of magazinesexceeded that of general books, andthere has been a rapid increase in thenumber of new magazines. The largepublishers came to depend on the salesof magazines in the 1990s and this trendhas continued until now. Because thethemes reflecting various readers havebeen subdivided into many categoriessuch as hobbies, culture, practicalknowledge, lifestyle, etc., medium andsmall size publishers have also been ableto publish their original characteristicmagazines.

Regarding the scale, publishers with acapital exceeding 100 million yenaccount for 249, which include publishing

divisions of newspapers, broadcasting,printing companies, etc. and of whichonly 10% are estimated to be companiesspecialized only in publishing. Thecapitals of so-called major publishersincluding Kodansha Ltd., ShogakukanInc., Shueisha Inc., Iwanami ShotenPublishers, Shincho-Sha Co., Ltd., andHeibonsha Ltd., Publishers are 200 to 300million yen. Of those, the top twopublishers have about 1,000 employeesand others have 200 to 300, while 2,235publishers (51%) have fewer than 10employees. 3,434 publishers (78%) areconcentrated in Tokyo, followed by 200 inOsaka and 133 in Kyoto.

Mongolia

Special Book Merits Special Day

A Book Appreciation Day was recentlyheld, in which 108 volumes of theMongolian canon Kanjur were displayed.The multi-volume work is kept stored inthe National Library of Mongolia.

Kanjur is a respected sutra that linksMongolia’s history with the rest of Asia’spast. The canon is a full collection ofBuddhist teachings.

Currently, 1.5 million ancient woodenseals and manuscripts are being kept inthe National Library.

Myanmar

Women’s Day Annual

To observe the Myanmar Women’s Dayfor the year 2001, the National WorkingCommittee for Women’s Affairs producedan annual issue of Women’s Magazine,which is to be released on 3 July, for theWomen’s Day. Contributors to the annualissue are mostly women writers, bothveterans and the new generation ofwriters. The magazine carries poems,articles and short stories highlightingfeminine themes. The cover depicts theladies returning from the pagoda.

Literature Prizes on Anti-Drug Abuse Day

A ceremony to present prizes to winnersin the literature, music, painting andcartoon competitions to mark theInternational Day Against Drug Abuseand Illicit Trafficking, organised byCentral Committee for Drug AbuseControl, was held at the administrativeoffice of the newly opened Drug Elimina-

tion Museum attended by Secretary 1 ofthe State Peace and DevelopmentCouncil Li-Gen Khin Nyunt.

In implementing narcotic drugscontrol, Myanmar approaches theproblem in a multi-faceted manner.Educational programmes to wean thepoppy farmers away from the oldlifestyle to a new one by highlighting theadverse effects of narcotic drugs arecarried out simultaneously with thedevelopment plans. Substitute reductionprogrammes are also simultaneouslycarried out together with supply reduc-tion activities. Preventive drug abuseeducation, lectures, exhibitions andcompetitions are held to keep youthsfrom following the wrong path.

Nepal

Largest Dictionary in Nepali language

Released

Nepal’s Prime Minister G. P. Koiralareleased the publication of Nepali SabdaSagar (The Dictionary of Nepali Words)in a ceremony on 13 March 2001. Accord-ing to the compiler, Basant KumarSharma, it took 13 years of hard labour tocomplete the volume which contains acollection of 128,000 words. The Dictio-nary of Nepali Words published by RoyalNepal Academy contains a collection ofonly 57,000 words.

Compiler Sharma said that he under-took the endeavour in order to promotethe development of Nepali language andliterature. On the same occasion, thePremier also felicitated litterateurs PunyaLaxmi Khatiwada, Sardar Yadu NathKhanal, Bajranand Bajracharya,Baikuntha Prasad Lakaul, Shyam DasVaishnav and Harischandra Neupane fortheir dedicated service to the advance-ment of Nepali literature.

Children’s Library in Kathmandu

A new children’s library has opened inKathmandu with the assistance of aJapanese organizaton. The library wasconstructed with the support of JohoRoren, one of the largest industrialunions in Japan and managed by OsakaInternational Club, Nepal Chapter.Kathmandu City Government providedland for the building.

The library offers reference books,education toys, computer facilities,

Cover page of Women’s DayAnnual (Myanmar)

The newly completed Children’s Library in Kathmandu(Nepal)

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Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

Internet and e-mail services to thechildren. The library plans to build acollection of 10,000 books classified forprimary, lower secondary and secondarychildren sections. The premise has also aseminar hall and a separate Japanesesection. The library aims at the develop-ing the reading habit among children andencouraging them in creative educationalactivities.

New Zealand

New Maori Literature Awards

A new collaborative initiative this yearbetween Maori Arts advocate Toi MaoriAotearoa and Maori publishing companyHuia (NZ) Ltd. has seen the establish-ment of the Maori Literature Awards.

The aim is to encourage new andestablished Maori writers. This steptowards achieving greater recognition forMaori writing has attracted entries fromaround the world.

The three categories are: Huia ShortStory Awards for new and establishedMaori writers; Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga(NZ Film Commission) Award for bestscript for a short film by a Maori writer;and Best Short Story in English by aMaori secondary school student. Entrantsmust be the descendants of New ZealandMaoris.

The inclusion of a short film scriptaward expands the perception of Maoriliterature and indicates future scope forincreasing the number of categories.The awards are strongly supported bysome of the most notable names inMaori literature, such as novelistsPatricia Grace and Keri Hulme. Thewinners will be announced on 29 Sep-tember 2001.

For further information, contactKatrina Smit at Huia Publishers, phone:(64) 4 473 9262, fax: (64) 4 473 9265, e-mail: katrina.s@huia.co.nz

Pakistan

Model Bookshop

The Chairman, Capital DevelopmentAuthority, while inaugurating the Nation-al Book Foundation (NBF)’s ModelBookshop on 8 May 2001, appreciatedthe role of the Foundation in providingquality books at economical rates. Theoccasion was supplemented by theannual book exhibition of NBF through-

out the country (8 May to 9 June). TheChairman assured the NBF that he wouldstand shoulder to shoulder with them topromote book culture. He said he wouldprovide space for bookshops andlibraries wherever possible. Speaking onthis occasion, the Foundation’s ManagingDirector, Ahmad Faraz, said that NBF hasintroduced book promotional projects toinculcate and develop reading habitsamong society members. However, heexpressed his concern over lack of libraryculture in Pakistan. His main endeavourto make books available to the public ataffordable prices and the chain of bookexhibitions was part of this very objec-tive.

Philippines

Towards Enhancing Filipino Readership

and Authorship

There is a need to develop Filipinoreadership and authorship not only inMetro Manila but in other key cities andother parts of the Philippine archipelago,which comprises 7,100 islands.

The National Book Development Board(Book Board) which has been tasked bythe government to promote the continu-ing development of the Philippine bookpublishing industry and, likewise,mandated to assist in generating reader-ship and the development of Filipinoauthorship, has embarked on the acquisi-tion and sharing of award-winningbooks.

The list of award-winning books hasgrown up after a considerable timethrough the yearly awards jointly givenby two private sector organizations calledthe Manila Critics Circle and the BookDevelopment Association of the Philip-pines. The bases of the award are theeditorial content, readability, artisticdesign and overall packaging.

The Book Board aims to showcasethese books in the 76 provinces and 16regions of the country where these arerarely available due to the virtual ab-sence of bookstores with adequateinventory of the latest, best-selling, andaward-winning books. Though there arelibraries in all barangays, their titles arealso wanting. This move will somehowafford rural population the opportunity toview and read good reading materialsthat shall indeed re-create enthusiasmand interest in reading and which may

hopefully lead to the development oflocal authorship.

Making these quality books availableto the authors and writers in the provinc-es and regions outside Metro Manila mayhave a positive effect towards improvingthe quality of manuscripts. Doubtless, thePhilippines is endowed with manywriters with diverse cultural backgroundsbut many of them have not viewed norappreciated the contents and design ofan award-winning book. Thus, theirwriting style is primarily individualisticthough original, but not necessarilyattractive nor competitive.

It is envisioned then that the ongoingbook-writing seminars by the Book Boardcoupled with the presence of the award-winning books for their appreciation mayhelp contribute to the development ofquality, affordable and responsive localmaterials.

Rep. of Korea

8th Annual General Meeting of APPA and

SIBF 2001

The 8th Annual General Meeting of theAsian Pacific Publishers Association washeld on 31 May 2001 at ASEM Hall inSeoul prior to the Seoul InternationalBook Fair 2001. It was the first time forthe Korean Publishers Association tohost the AGM of APPA since Choon HoNa, the President of KPA, was inaugurat-ed as the new President of APPA inAugust last year. Pere Vicens, Presidentof the International Publishers Associa-tion, and delegates from 12 out of 15member countries participated in thismeaningful event. Along with the AGM,the 9th APPA Publishers Forum under thetheme “Publishing and Copyrights in theDigital Era” was held on 31 May andacclaimed as very useful for the publish-ers and other people in the publishing-related sector. SIBF 2001 that kicked offon 1 June for six days at COEX in Seoulwas also a huge success with the numberof exhibitors rising 10% or so. 316publishers from 23 countries exhibited atSIBF 2001 and more than 270,000 peoplevisited the Fair during the six-day run.

A Preliminary Announcement about the

Bill of Copyright

The Korean Ministry of Culture andTourism unveiled a draft of a revised law

At the model bookshop (Pakistan) Annual General Meeting of APPA (Rep. of Korea)

14 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

on reproduction and transmission ofbooks and contents in an electronic formrecently. A current copyright law allowsfree reproduction and transmission ofbooks and contents in an electronic formbetween libraries, which has arouseduproar from a lot of people in thepublishing sector and related industriesand also has been considered as serious-ly flawed due to the fact that it does notsecure the copyrights. In an effort torespond to the request from publishersand to improve the copyright law, theyproposed the bill with amended provi-sion, under which transmission andreproduction of electronic files of booksonly within a library concerned will belegal. Before presenting the bill in theNational Assembly, they are currentlytrying to collect as varied opinions aspossible from various fields on this bill.

Singapore

AIBF/ILE Exhibition

A combined exhibition featuring the AsiaInternational Book Fair (AIBF) and theInternational Library Expo (ILE) was heldon 25–27 April 2001 at the SingaporeInternational Convention and ExhibitionCentre. Organised by REED ExhibitionCompany, National Book DevelopmentCouncil and supported by the NationalLibrary Board, the AIBF/ILE exhibition isthe only trade book and library fair inSingapore. It was held in conjunctionwith the two major events for profession-als from the library, publishing andarchival industry in April 2001: e-tlas(Emerging Trends in Library and ArchivalServices) and PAL (Publishing andLibrary) Asia.

The exhibition was held to serve theneeds of professionals from the region’spublishing, library and archival industry,by facilitating the buying and selling ofpublishing rights, business transaction ofbooks in all formats, as well as library-related products and services. The eventwas a platform that provided opportuni-ties for Asian book and library profes-sionals to network with business contactsat an international level, conduct rightsbusinesses, source for the latest productsand view the latest technologies all underone roof.

Opened by Yatiman Yusof, Parliamen-tary Secretary for the Ministry of Infor-

mation and the Arts, the event featuredexhibits from 360 participating compa-nies from 25 countries from Asia and thePacific, Europe, Africa and NorthAmerica. Over 2,000 professionals fromthe publishing, library and archivalsectors visited the exhibition, with a thirdof them from overseas. Participants fromASEAN countries who were in Singaporeas part of the Singapore CooperationProgramme (SCP) to attend e-tlas and aspecial library training programmeorganised by the National Library Boardin April, also visited the exhibition as partof their itinerary during their stay here.

The National Library Board (NLB) wasamong the exhibitors at the event. Itsbooth was a showcase of its expertiseand features that could advance librariesand resource centres in the informationage and promote the national goal oflifelong learning. Featured at the boothwere NLB’s suite of professional servicesin the areas of Consulting, Training andResearch, Online Multimedia Library, andthe Electronic Library ManagementSystem (EliMs).

It was good opportunities for network-ing and striking deals with fellow profes-sionals from a variety of sectors in thelibrary, publishing and archival industry.

Thailand

29th National Book Fair

The 29th National Book Fair of Thailandwas organised by the National BookDevelopment Committee, Department ofCurriculum and Instruction Development,Ministry of Education, in cooperationwith the Publishers and BooksellersAssociation of Thailand. It was held atthe Queen Sirikit National ConventionCenter and the National Library, Bangkok,from 27 March to 8 April 2001, with thetheme “Book is Life”.

This fair attracted about 500,000visitors and over 400 publishers through-out the country. There was an exhibitionwhich displayed books written by HisMajesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, HerRoyal Highness Princess Maha ChakriSirindhorn and Her Royal HighnessPrincess Galyani Vadhana, and booksawarded in the 2001 National BookContest, as well as symposiums, semi-nars, training, workshops and discus-sions.

Viet Nam

Books for Children—Worrying Issue for

Parents

According to a recent study made by agroup of Vietnamese sociologists, only10% of the total amount of families buybooks for adults, while nearly 38% of thefamilies buy books for children. And alsoin a recent study at random, 70% ofchildren like books translated fromforeign languages. Actually, the circula-tion of an illustrated foreign book couldbe 20 to 30 times higher than a Vietnam-ese one (from 30,000 to 50,000 copies,while a Vietnamese one could be only2,000 or so). In reality, there are caseswhere private publishers reprint booksand sell them in the free market, and it isvery hard to control. As for the childrenwho can’t afford to buy books in series,they go and queue up to rent books inthe street rental bookshops.

It would be quite nice if the importedbooks were properly chosen and translat-ed. However, the publishers have beenrunning after profit, and let the casualtranslators invent whatever languagethey want. At the same time, the childrenimitate violent activities depicted in detailin the illustrations. Some parents com-plained that they don’t deny the enter-taining characteristics of foreignillustrated books for children, but apartfrom some good ones, many of them goagainst educational aims, not to mentionthe fact that bad books will keep thechildren away from their nationaltradition and literature, and lead them tobe thrilled by violence.

There is a big debate being heldamong the Vietnamese mass media, andmany writers, journalists and translatorshave raised their voices. Although VietNam is an agricultural country with 80%of the population living in the country-side, books for children hardly describethe rural dwellers’ living conditions, andthe children’s image of real life might betwisted. At the same time, books aremainly read by young city-dwellers, andchildren in the countryside can hardlyafford to buy them.

Vietnamese writers are appealed tothink about this issue carefully, however,it can’t be solved in a short time.

29th National Book Fair (Thailand)

Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

Children at a bookstore (Viet Nam)

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 15

Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

Bhutan

A Dance in the Clouds

Written by a lecturer of a Teacher Train-ing Institute, this book is a first of its kind.It is a love story which ends tragicallywith both the lovers dying in the end.The book is unique as a lot of historicalfacts on some famous Buddhist templesin the country have been includedalthough it is fiction. Set in EasternBhutan the places and events describedare easy to relate to, giving it a touch ofreality. Many beliefs and practices ofBuddhism have also been explained.Bhutan being a Buddhist country with themajority of the people being veryreligious, such explanations are easy tounderstand as they are told along with astory.

This is the first book written by thisauthor and it has turned out to be a goodattempt. We have very few Bhutanesewho are writing, so this is indeed a goodsign.

A Dance in the Clouds by Dorji Wangchuk,Dorji Wangchuk (Nie, Paro, Bhutan), 2000,133 x 193 mm, 96 pages, approx. US$2.45,ISBN: 99936-10-06-2

China

Children’s Encyclopedia of China

The encyclopedia is divided into 4volumes: “Global Homeland” “HumanSociety” “Cultural Life” and “Scienceand Technology”, includes 400 subjectsconcerning knowledge, 2405 knowledgepoints, and the latest knowledge onseveral subjects. The book has completeframes, outstanding subjects, and iscreatively presented. The structure,pictures, and vivid expression of knowl-edge help children understand the book.

Zhong Guo Er Tong Bai Ke Quan Shupublished by Encyclopedia of China Publish-ing House (No.17, FuchengMen Bei Da Jie,Beijing, 100037), 792 pages, RMB198.00(approx. US$24.00), ISBN: 7-5000-6450-0/J.129

Fiji

My Heart Is Crying a Little

Men from the island of Niue became partof New Zealand’s contingent of soldiersto fight in World War I. Used to living ontheir plentiful island in the midst of thevast Pacific Ocean, brave Niueans wereshipped first to New Zealand, then toAfrica, then to Europe before they wereallowed to return home. This volume,written in English and translated intoNiuean tells of their preparation for war

and departure from Niue. It discussestheir training to become soldiers andtheir journey to Egypt then France andEngland before returning to Niue. Finally,the book addresses remembrance, forthe Niueans proudly celebrate ANZACday each year and maintain a ReturnedSoldiers Association. This book was soldout within a day on Niue, and met greatacclaim in New Zealand, where manyNiueans now make their home.

Tagi Tote E Loto Haaku (My Heart Is Crying aLittle) by Margaret Pointer, translated byKalaisi Folau, the government of Niue andthe Institute of Pacific Studies (University ofthe South Pacific, Suva), 2000, 147 x 210mm, 210 pages, $17.00, ISBN: 982-02-0157-8

IPS Publishing Guide

This manual is an introductory guide towriting consistently, editing, and publish-ing. The authors designed it to assist notonly those who contribute manuscriptsto the publishing programme of theInstitute of Pacific Studies at the Univer-sity of the South Pacific but also smallpublishing houses in the Pacific Islandsand even individuals who might publisha book or two. The authors seek toprovide answers to the most askedquestions: e.g. What is an ISBN andwhere do I get it?—as well as to contrib-ute to the professionalization of publica-tions workers in this developing region.The guide, written in alphabetical orderfor easy reference, covers abbreviations,cataloguing-in-publication data, editors’and proofreaders’ marks, legal matters,production phases, submitting a manu-script, words and phrases to avoid, andmany other things. It is written specifical-ly for the Pacific Islands, its examples areOceanic, and its references show theresources that the region already has.

IPS Publishing Guide by Linda Crowl andMark Garrett, the Institute of Pacific Studies(University of the South Pacific, Suva), 2001,147 x 210 mm, 100 pages, $11.00, ISBN: 982-02-0319-8

India

The Inside India

The Inside India Series adds four booksto this colourful company. Elegantlyproduced, with a good balance ofpictures and text, these small booksinitially offer the Delhi, Taj, Jaipur and

Rajasthan to the readers. Texts by well-known personalities supplement GopiGajwani’s elegant and precise photo-graphs.

For example, Gayatri Devi’s particularattention to the royal character of Jaipurcity, and her attention to the detail thatwent into its planning, is matched byDom Moraes’ more sweeping view ofRajasthan as a whole—a ‘dry’ and ‘old’country, but rich in colour and texture.

Interestingly, the balance of the booksis far more pictorial than textual. GopiGajwani’s pictures capture the detail andthe broad strokes, as well as the interiorand exterior dimensions of the places thebooks focus on. The text and the picturesfunction separately, except in a broadsense. So both can be read as indepen-dent units, as well as supplementingeach other. However, it is intriguing whythe publishers chose to keep the samephotographer for the series, whilechoosing different authors for each title.

(by Urvashi Butalia)

Inside India Series: Delhi by KhushwantSingh, Taj Mahal by Anees Jung, Jaipur byGayatri Dev and Rajasthan by Dom Moraes,Crest Publishing House (G2, 16 Ansari Road,Darna Ganji, New Delhi 110002), 2000, 115 x140 mm, 116 pages, Rs.150.00 (approx.US$3.00) each, ISBN: 81-242-0183-8, 81-242-0185-4, 81-242-0184-6, 81-242-0182-X in dueorder

Indonesia

The Dazzling Supernova

This is the first novel written by a singer,Dee or Dewi Lestari, a member of TrioSita-Rida Dewi from Bandung. Since itslaunching in mid-February 2001, 12,000copies of it were sold out within 35 days.Presently, the charming young Dee isvery busy responding to invitations totalk from various campuses or literarycommunities all over the country. As amatter of fact, her novel, praised by anumber of men of letters such as SapardiDjoko Damono, Arswendo, and PutuWijaya, has been attracting the media,printed as well as electronic. Its highestmerit is that in Indonesia, it is regardedas the first novel using various contribu-tions of male homosexuals who, influ-enced by the use of narcotics, create afiction about a broken marriage withstories concocted in conformation toscientific theories, combined with thewisdom coming from holistic spirituality.

A Dance in the Clouds (Bhutan) IPS Publishing Guide (Fiji)Taj Mahal from The InsideIndia Series (India)

16 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

People wellgrounded in sciences areusually dissatisfied with the novel, sayingthat some of the theories implied in thenovel were wrongly interpreted. Contro-versial though it may be, many readersfind Supernova really dazzling.

Supernova, Kstaria, Puteri, dan BintangJatuh, by Dee, Rrudee Books, (Jl. Patrakoma-la No. 57, Bandung 40113), 208 pages, 210 x146 mm, Rp.29,500 (approx. US$2.50)

Iran

The Mir Station

The subject of the book is the experienceof five young people from differentcountries and continents, all winners ofthe “scientific Olympics”, who are invitedto Russia. The high point of the visit is atrip into space and a stay on board theMir space station. All of them come fromfamilies which had experienced thehorrors of discrimination or war, but alllook to the future and want to “Build, notdestroy”. They are curious about eachother’s countries and cultures, tease eachother and have fun together. The authorsuccessfully blends information on spaceprogrammes and the Mir station withproblems facing the earth and the needto share ideas and work together withouthatred or revenge.

This book won UNESCO Prize forChildren’s Literature in the Service ofTolerance and was awarded at theBologna Book Fair on 6 April 2001.

Istgah Mir by Violet Razaghpanah,Nashre Ayenei Asar Publishing House(PO Box 14155-3539, Tehran), 1999, 210 x140 mm, 104 pages, ISBN: 964-90170-0-3

Japan

Listening to the Messages from the Body

Many books featuring “healing” havebeen published recently following thecurrent trend of popular books on “howto live”, on philosophy or psychology.This seems to show that people todayare exhausted both in body and mindand need relief.

This book is based on a dialogue withthe human body, with some keywordsincluding illness, food, love and words.The author says that the body has twoaspects; physical and mental. Accordingto his theory, a body should be openedoutside as well as inside, so the idealbody should be empty. He not only has

interest in, but also practices “ki”, naturespirit, besides working as an editor. It is abook analyzing the relation betweenwords, mind and body.

Karada no Messeji wo Kike by TatsurouHarayama, Shueisha Inc. (2-5-10, Hitot-subashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8050),2001, 106 x 152 mm, 263 pages, ¥495(approx. US$4.10), ISBN: 4-08-747326-0

Lao PDR

Our Forest Reserves

The collection consists of 5 short stories,written by the writers’ group of DANIDA(NGO). The content describes a fertilenatural resource such as that of forestsand animals in the National XepianeForests Reserves in the south of thecountry. The main purpose of this book isto campaign for local people and the newgeneration to preserve our naturalresources and environment.

Our Forest Reserves by DANIDA in co-operation with the Agriculture and Forestryof Champasack Province, 2001, 210 x 290mm, 22 pages, free distribution

Mongolia

The Cultural Monuments of Western

Mongolia

This work of M. Amagalan, ethnographerand stage painter, is the result of his 40years of study of specific features of allthe clothes and ornaments of theKhalkha, Torguud, Zakhchin, Uuld,Minggad, Bayad, Durvud, Khoton (ofTurkish origin), and Kazakh peoples wholive in the western peripheries of Mongo-lia. He met over 1,200 people, saw thoserare materials kept by them with his owneyes and recorded the history of thosethings by inquiring of the keepers. Thenhe reproduced them in detail. The resultof his perseverance is this album,consisting of nine chapters. When hemade this album, he endeavoured topreserve the traditional principles ofcontent and purpose, quality of materi-als, forms and sizes, and harmony ofcolours.

These materials are not to be found inthe national museum stock, nor in localmuseums. They are mostly kept by theirinheritors. So the first publication ofthese materials is most significant toscience.

The Cultural Monuments of WesternMongolia by M. Amgalan, Monsudar Co.,Ltd., 2000, 230 x 280 mm, 212 pages, US$33,ISBN: 99929-0-008-3

Myanmar

National Ethnic Groups of Myanmar

This is the first book of its kind to bepublished in English and distributedworld-wide. In this edition are describedfully the origins, customs and traditionsof 129 different ethnic groups (out of 135officially recognized) living in the coun-try. Some of the ethnic groups included,like the Engs, Dayes and Dayaws, havenever been fully described nor photo-graphed before and some of the photoscontained in the book are rare andoriginal photos never before published.

The book’s predecessor was a bookentitled National Races of Myanmar,written in Myanmar language andpublished in 1960 by the Ministry ofCulture, which has remained up to nowthe key reference work, both domestical-ly and internationally, on the variousethnic groups of Myanmar.

The author, U Min Naing, the respect-ed authority on the origins and customsof the Myanmar ethnic groups and alaureate of many literary awards, startedthe study of various ethnic tribes living inthe country as a hobby in 1952 andcontinued his research throughout thecourse of 34 years of government serviceat the Ministry of Culture. This interesthas led the author to discover new ethnicgroups as well as document the disap-pearance of some. But within the courseof 30 years, the author also discoverednew sub-groups of China, Palaungs,Lisus and Kayaths.

Printed on quality art paper with 58colour and 296 original black & whitephotos.

National Ethnic Groups of Myanmar by UMin Naing, Swiftwinds Services (No. Y,Thukawady, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, YankinTownship, Yangon), 245 x 190 mm, 168pages

Nepal

An Introduction to Nepal

This is the recently published Nepaliversion of the famous book Nepal: TheKingdom in the Himalayas written byrenowned Swiss geologist Tony Hagen.Just before the advent of democracy in

Our Forest Reserves (Lao PDR)Listening to the Messagesfrom the Body (Japan)

The Cultural Monuments ofWestern Mongolia (Mongolia)

Page-spread from National Ethnic Groupsof Myanmar (Myanmar)

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 17

Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

Nepal in 1950, the then Prime MinisterMohun Shumser sought the help of theSwiss Government for a geologistostensibly to help find precious mineraldeposits. Hagen came to Nepal inOctober 1950 and undertook long andhazardous treks all over the mountainousparts of the Kingdom for several years.

On completion of his assignment withthe government, and some more yearswith the United Nations in Nepal, Hagentravelled extensively to the nooks andcorners of the country. Technically, he didnot find any gold mines, but he unrav-eled the exquisite natural beauty and theprecious water resources of Nepal in theinnumerable rapids emanating from theHimalayas. His book was one of the bestrecollections of observations by a foreignexpert about the most remote andisolated parts of Nepal, the people andtheir rich and diverse culture.

The publication of the present volumein Nepali was made possible with thesupport of Tony Hagen Memorial Foun-dation. The book is the abridged versionof the original English text and is expect-ed to serve the inquisitiveness of thereaders at home and domiciled Nepaleseabroad.

Nepalko Chinari (An Introduction to Nepal)by Tony Hagen, edited by Basanta Thapa,Himal Kitab, Patan Dhoka (P.O. Box 166,Lalitpur), 108 pages, NRs. 250 (approx. US$3.20)

New Zealand

Ellie and the Shadow Man

Eminent novelist Maurice Gee haspublished his fourteenth novel in Ellieand the Shadow Man. It is the story of aspirited and forthright woman whobecomes a noted painter, but whose lifeand art are haunted by a presence shethinks of as her ‘shadow man.’ Therichly-textured novel moves between theworlds of adolescence and adulthood,between art and domesticity. Gee’swriting is deceptively simple. He has aspecial skill in evoking the atmosphere ofpast decades.

Gee has also published collections ofshort stories and novels for children. Hehas won numerous awards.

Ellie and the Shadow Man by Maurice Gee,Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd., (cnr Rosedale and

Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310),2001, 155 x 230 mm, 348 pages, approx.US$17.00, ISBN: 0-14-100417-7

Pakistan

Across the Broken Bridge

The novel is set against the backdrop ofan eastern society thus providing aninsight into the values and attitudes of adistinctive culture. The story focusesaround a girl named Shahnila whobelongs to an impoverished family livingin a slum. Her parents are barely able tosupport her and her sisters. She dreamsof a handsome stranger who will one daycome to claim her, take her away fromher drab existence and shower her withriches. Shahnila’s unparalleled beautybrings her many admirers, and unexpect-edly a wonderful opportunity is offeredto her which throws her and her familyinto a whirlwind of uncertainty. Butthings are not always what they seem,and Shahnila’s hopes for the future aretainted by silent misgivings.

Across the Broken Bridge by Nilofer Sultana,Minerva Press (London, UK), 268 pages,ISBN: 0-75411-299-3

Philippines

The Indigenous Peoples of the

Philippines

The book introduces all the indigenouspeoples of the Philippines, numberingmore than a hundred, in capsulized andcolourful settings. It contains informationabout the roots, practices, beliefs, artsand artifacts, historical sites, and folk-lores of these different cultural groups,including those from the farthest northand south of the Philippine archipelago.

This publication is a fitting tribute tothe native brothers and sisters who havestood as the bulwark of Filipino traditionsamidst the strong wave of moderniza-tion. It is also an effective means not onlyto showcase the rich and colourfulheritage of the Filipino people but also topromote greater appreciation of thePhilippine indigenous peoples’ display ofstrength and patriotism through theyears.

The Indigenous Peoples of the Philippinesedited by the National Commission onIndigenous Peoples, Rex Book Store, Inc. (84

P. Florentino St., Sta. Mesa Heights, QuezonCity), 280 x 212 mm, 2000, 86 pages, P1,700(approx. US$35), ISBN: 971-23-2985-2

Sri Lanka

The Rulers of Sri Lanka

This represents a new venture in histori-cal writing on Sri Lanka. It is an attemptto appraise the approximately 200 rulerswho presided over the destinies of theisland for almost 3000 years, an excep-tionally long life for a society. The rulersof Sri Lanka are considered undervarious categories representative of theirparticular achievements and contribu-tions. These are identified as defense andsecurity, diplomacy and statesmanship,patronage of the religion and economy,which were each vital spheres in the lifeof the civilisation. It was the role playedby the rulers in these respective sphereswhich enabled Sri Lanka to become oneof the renowned and long-standingcivilisations of its time.

The focus of this book is on theindividual personalities and achieve-ments, which at the same time served asa record of the historic process itself. Themerit and distinctive feature of this bookis that, while a few books have appearedon specific rulers, this is the first attemptat a survey of all of them.

The author is presently the DirectorGeneral of the Bandaranaike Internation-al Diplomatic Training Institute of SriLanka. He is a diplomat by profession. Hehas also received two national awards,‘Vishwa Prasadani’ in 1996 and ‘Desha-bandu’ in 1998.

The Rulers of Sri Lanka by Vernon L. Mendis,Godage Brothers (675, P. de S.KularatneMawatha, Colombo) 2000, 379 pages,SLR750.00 (US$10.00), ISBN: 955 20 4847 8

Thailand

A Tale from Bamboo Ground

This book received the Grand Prix Awardfor the most beautiful children’s book ofthe 2001 National Book Contest, writtenin simple Thai language and accompa-nied by excellent illustrations in colour.

The author uses the big clump ofbamboo to teach the youths to under-stand the spirit of harmony and peace,and gain awareness about conservingnatural resources and the environment.

Tony Hagen with his book (Nepal) Across the Broken Bridge (Pakistan) The Indigenous Peoples of thePhilippines (Philippines)

The Rulers of Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka)

18 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

A Tale from Bamboo Ground (Thailand)

The Ones You Meet Often (Viet Nam)

Asian/Pacific Publishing Scenes

(continued from p.17)

A Tale from Bamboo Ground by SirimalaSuwanphokhin (text), Preprem Phlianbham-rung (illustrations), Kurusapa BusinessOrganization, 2000, 203 x 266 mm, 23 pages,90 Baht (approx. US$2.00), ISBN: 974-00-8307-2

Viet Nam

The Ones You Meet Often

Being a famous poet since his earlychildhood, Tran Dang Khoa is now afamous writer with a unique style ofwriting. A new collection of people’sportraits has just been published, titledThe Ones You Meet Often. Among themare the ordinary people, peasants,veterans, writers, poets, journalists, andthe well-known general Vo Nguyen Giap,who once captured the former Ambassa-dor of the US in Hanoi, Pete Peterson.The book immediately attracted readers’attention as usual, and some of thestories are being considered for screen-plays.

Each portrait not only reflects the veryperson’s life or destiny, but is a reportageof the good and bad things in the society,of the daily life of Viet Nam on the moveof development.

Nguoi Thuong Gap by Tran Dang Khoa,Youth Publishing House, 130 x 190 mm, 225pages, VND21,000 (approx. US$1.50)

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20 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Asia-Pacific Co-operative Programme in Reading Promotion and Book Development

APPREB Logo and Brochure

Readers of ABD would have noticed thebeautiful leaflet promoting APPREB web-site enclosed in the previous issue of ABD.In its centre is printed an APPREB logo,newly designed by Michiyoshi DesignLaboratory, Inc., featuring books andworldwide network. ACCU welcomes or-ganisations and bodies that conduct pro-grammes that respond to the aims andgoals of APPREB to use the logo when pro-moting their activities, such as on postersand brochures. The logo is available in sev-eral sizes in both colour and black andwhite.

Also, the recently published promotion-al leaflet of the APPREB website is avail-able in two sizes for distribution on variousoccasions. We should like to have your co-operation in publicizing the site and pro-moting information sharing. Contact BookDevelopment Division at ACCU for details,on getting permission to use logos and dis-tribution of the leaflets.

Book Development Division, ACCUFax: (81) 3-3269-4510e-mail: book@accu.or.jp

A page from Event Calendar

APPREB Website—Multiple Entrancesto Reach Your Needs

The APPREB website opened in Septem-ber 2000. Following are some hints for vis-itors on how to utilize the substantialinformation contained in the site. (http://www.accu.or.jp/appreb)

Publishing Today

Publishing Today contains two sections,Event Calendar and Trends in Books andReading. The former is a list of events heldin countries in Asia and the Pacific, that arerelated to publishing, reading promotionand book development. The list is in chro-nological order and visitors can scroll downto see future activities and programmes aswell as past events in the region. Contactaddresses and links to organizers will en-able visitors to get further details. The web-master also welcomes information fromthe organizers of international activities,such as book fairs, meetings and readingcampaigns to be included in this sectionfor publicizing purposes. When sending,please include links and e-mail addressesof the organizing committee for visitors’convenience. Currently, additions to EventCalendar are made once a month, but ifmore information is received, we plan tohave more frequent updates.

Trends in Books and Reading providesreaders with news and reports on publish-ing and book development in 24 countriesin Asia and the Pacific. From the top page,visitors can choose the country of their in-terest. The contributors for these two sec-tions are the ABD correspondents,nominated by the UNESCO National Com-missions in respective countries. Becauseit is not possible to print all informationthey submit to the ABD editorial office,much is utilized in the site. Some signifi-cant news provided by these correspon-dents can be read on-line prior to thepublication of the printed version.

APPREB Activities and APPREB Libraries

APPREB Activities covers programmes thattook place under APPREB since its incep-tion in 1992, as well as activities of ACCUthat relate to APPREB, such as trainingcourses in book production. For those whoare not very familiar with the activities ofAPPREB, nor of the Book Development Di-vision of ACCU, APPREB Libraries will of-fer easy access to the archives usingkeyword and search systems.

APPREB Network of Countries

If the visitor is interested in a specific coun-try, he can make access from this entrance,and select from among the 37 UNESCOMember States in Asia and the Pacific. Notonly current news and reports, but alsobasic statistics on publishing and govern-mental policies are available for somecountries.

There are other useful resources on thissite, such as Bulletin Boards and the on-line version of ABD, which will grow fur-ther responding to the needs and interestsof the people who really care about thepresent state and the future of books andreading. We are delighted to have yourcomments and suggestions to make thesite useful. Following are some of the let-ters to APPREB and the replies.

*Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore runs apostgraduate Specialist Diploma in Pub-lishing, and I am keen to develop links withother undergraduate publishing coursesaround the world – and particularly in Asia.I would be extremely grateful for any in-formation you can provide on such pub-lishing courses in the Asia-Pacific region.(Richard Slessor, Joint Course Director, Spe-cialist Diploma in Publishing, Temasek Busi-ness School, Singapore, phone: 65-7805854)

With regard to your inquiry on the pub-lishing training institutions in Asia, wehave some information in ABD Vol. 28No. 2. It gives articles on training facili-ties in India and Japan, and a list of suchinstitutions which we gathered from ourcorrespondents in the region. Though itwas conducted in 1997, it may give yousome information as a start. (ACCU)

*We would like to take this opportunity tointroduce ourselves as a Scientific and Ed-ucational monthly Magazine based in Te-hran. Our aim is to gather information onediting and publishing books in yourcountry…We would be very grateful if youcould send us any information on the fol-lowing questions or lead us to the rightplace. (questions omitted)(Gh. R. Layeghy, Editor in Chief of Ittela,P. O. Box 16765/1141, Tehran, Iran)

A copy of “An Introduction to Publish-ing in Japan 2000-2001” published by theJapan Book Publishers Association wassent from ACCU.

*…Every year, we produce “Informationand training materials for publishing andbookselling” which lists books which areuseful for publishers and booksellers indeveloping countries. This is availableas a paper catalogue and on-line at www.bookaid.org/resources/pubcat/pubf.htm…I have one final request…We are tryingto find out how many new titles are pro-duced in every developing country. UsingUNESCO, UNDP and International Publish-ers Association data I have figures for mostof the countries but not information forBangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Iraq, Ne-pal, Pakistan and North Korea…(Preferablyfigures from a year in the last 5 years)(Book Aid International, 39-41 ColdharbourLane, Camberwell, London SE5 9NR, UK, fax:020-7978-8006)

Unfortunately, ACCU do not have anystatistics. If anyone reading can answeror suggest whom to contact, please letus know. (ACCU)

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 21

Come and See!

Come and See! is a book aimed at three- to four-year-olds who are discover-ing the joy of recognising letters from the alphabet. Fun shapes and silly be-ings made from familiar letters and suspended on bright swathes of colourshould appeal to children and encourage them to interact with the pages.

Enjoy the Wonderful World of PictureBooks at Newly Opened Noma Site!

Piet Grobler (South Africa) Encouragement Prize

The Girl of the Wish Garden

A little girl no bigger than a thumb appeared inside a bud and was named Parisa.One day, however, a frog kidnapped Parisa. Then a black beetle took her and gaveher to her baby. Next, a mouse carried her away. Finally, a swallow found her andcarried her to the wish garden. There, Parisa married the prince of the garden.

Nasrin Khosravi (Iran) Grand Prize

Caren Florance (Australia) Encouragement Prize

The Perfect Bride

The king was sad and lonely. His wise man, who could take the shape of any animal,was determined to find him the perfect bride to keep him company. Changing intoa fish, he asked the mermaid princess if she would marry the king, but she could notlive outside the sea. Changing into a bird, he asked the cloud spirit, but she couldonly live in the sky. Changing into a snake, he asked mother earth in her cave on themountaintop, but she could not face the daylight. Exhausted, he fell asleep and rolleddown the mountain into the thorn bushes. A little princess found him. She tendedhis wounds with healing herbs and then, lifting him onto her antelope, she carriedhim to the palace of the king. In this way, the king found the perfect bride.

The website of the Noma Concours for PictureBook Illustrations is now open for everyonearound the world to enjoy the wonderful worldof picture books from Asia and the Pacific, Lat-in America and Africa. Not only does it carrythe results of the latest competition, the visitorcan browse around this virtual museum con-sisting of vivid winning works and read theirexciting stories. The contents of the site willgrow to cover links with related sites, databaseof artists in the region and invitation to the nextconcours in 2002.

(URL: http://www.accu.or.jp/noma)

22 ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

ACP Picture Book “Culture of Peace”Finalized

Responding to the discussion at the ACP1999 Planning Meeting and consideringthat 2000 had been declared the Interna-tional Year for the “Culture of Peace” bythe UN, ACCU decided the theme of thenext publication should be “Culture ofPeace”. The book aims at helping childrenrealize that there are so many differentgroups of people living in the Asia-Pacificregion with different cultural backgrounds,ideas, and customs. The book will helpthem to perceive and accept those differ-ences in a positive way. It also carefullyavoids any offensive expressions or anynegative comments about certain countriesor groups of people. Based on the guide-lines of the book, 14 Member States sub-mitted manuscripts on different scenesdealing with culture, tradition, and senseof values from the beginning of each day,or on typical days in a year.

In order to finalize the editorial work,ACCU organized an Intensive EditorialWorking Session for the production of thepicture book on “Culture of Peace” from27 February to 1 March 2001 in Tokyo, in-viting 7 experts from 5 Member States,consisting of two artists, four editors andone children’s book expert. They were,Varsha Das, Joint Director and Chief Edi-tor, National Book Trust India; Don Long,Pacific Publisher, Learning Media Ltd, NewZealand; Chintana Bhaigasuyee, Director ofBook Translation Institute, Thailand; YurikoMomo, Professor of Japan Women’s Uni-versity, Japan; Yusof bin Ismail, artist, Ma-laysia; Azalan Hussain, illustrator of DewanBahasa dan Pustaka, Malaysia; Masao Ok-ita, editor of Jitsugyo-no Nihon sha, Japan,as a technical expert. The purposes of theSession were, to copy-edit all the draft textssubmitted by the 14 participating countries,to examine them and to finalize them forinclusion, and to prepare and completemain illustrations in accordance with thelayouts prepared by ACCU and its assist-ing editor. “Meet My Friends!” was finallychosen as the title of the book.

The book is intended to be utilized athome or at school with parents or teach-ers, thereby contributing to the acceptanceand understanding of others.

ACCU will publish 2,000 copies of themaster version in English, based on whicheach Member State will publish vernacu-lar language versions for wider distributionand promotion of the book through nation-al agency in each country.

Newly Published ACP VernacularVersions

During fiscal years 1999 and 2000, 11 coun-tries have published vernacular versions ofbooks under the Asian/Pacific Copublica-tion Programme (ACP).

While some countries are regular par-ticipants and have produced almost all theACP titles, this time we have welcomedsome countries which have started partic-ipating in the ACP vernacular version pro-duction scheme after a long absence;Mongolia which produced a title in Mon-golian for the first time in 10 years, andMyanmar, whose version of the ACP book“TREES” is the first ACP title published inthe country in 8 years.

The basic scheme of the ACP vernacu-lar version programme is that ACCU lend

the positive films to those countries desir-ing to borrow them, and buy up a portionof the total copies printed, in order to en-courage the publication in vernacular ver-sions by reducing the production cost. Theproduction of some versions was madepossible by the generous financial supportprovided by such agencies as KoishikawaRotary Club, Himalayan Adventure Trust inJapan (HAT-J), Japanese Trade Union Con-federation (JTUC), and UNESCO Fund-in-Trust (FIT).

We hope to see more participation frommember countries, especially those whichhave not produced any in recent years. Ifnecessary, ACCU will continue to makeevery effort to seek funds from Japaneseand other organisations for those countrieswhich need them.

Titles Country Languages Financial

support providers

Laughing Together India Hindi

Read Me a Story! Mongolia, Mongolian ACCU,Koishikawa

Thailand Thai

Stories from India English,Asia Today Gujarati

TREES Lao PDR Laotian JTUCMyanmar Myanmar ACCU

WATER India English, Tamil and JTUC (Tamil)12 other Indian languages

Philippines Tagalog ACCU,Koishikawa

THE SUN India English, Tamil, Assamese, JTUC (Tamil,and 12 other Indian languages and Assamese)

Indonesia Indonesian FITNepal Nepali JTUCPhilippines Tagalog FITRep. of Korea KoreanSri Lanka Sinhala ACCUThailand Thai FIT

THE EARTH Nepal Nepali ACCU, HAT-JViet Nam Vietnamese

Intensive Editorial Working Session at ACCU

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1 23

Publications from ACCU 1999–2000

The following is a list of selected publica-tions in English which have been releasedfrom ACCU in 1999 and 2000 fiscal year.They include reports of activities conduct-ed by ACCU, print and non-print publica-tions to enhance respective programmesand materials for use at local level. Con-tact ACCU if you need more details.

Reports:• Report of the 1999 Tokyo Training Course on

Book Production (Japan, October-November1999) “Production of Non-fiction for Young Peo-ple (aged 15 & above)”

• Report of the 2000 Tokyo Training Course onBook Production (Japan, November–December2000) “How to Produce Environmental Educa-tion Materials”

• Report: 2000 Regional Seminar for CulturalPersonnel in Asia and the Pacific : Building aNetwork for Preservation and Promotion of Tra-ditional Folk Performing Arts (Japan, February2000)

• Report: Consultative Meeting on Regional Co-operation in Cultural Heritage Protection in Asiaand the Pacific (Japan, February–March 2000)

• Report: Experts Meeting on Training Pro-grammes for Cultural Heritage Protection inAsia and the Pacific (Japan, March 2000)

• Final Report of the 1999 Planning Meeting onACCU Regional Literacy Programmes in Asiaand the Pacific (Japan, July 1999)

• Final Report of the 2000 Planning Meeting onACCU Regional Literacy Programmes in Asiaand the Pacific (Japan, July 2000)

• Final Report of the 17th Regional Workshop:Preparation of Continuing Education Materialsin Rural Areas in Asia and the Pacific (China,November 1999)

• Final Report of the 18th Regional Workshop:Preparation of Literacy and Continuing Educa-tion Materials in Rural Areas in Asia and thePacific (Bangladesh, November 1999)

• 1999 Activity Report of the Literacy ResourceCentres for Girls and Women in Asia and thePacific (LRC)

• 2000 Activity Report of the Literacy ResourceCentres for Girls and Women in Asia and thePacific (LRC)

Books/Catalogues:

• Data Bank on Traditional/Folk Performing Artsin Asia and the Pacific–a Basic Model (in print-ed form)

• Catalogue of the Winning Works of the 11thNoma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations

• Catalogue of the Prize Winners of 1999 ACCUPhoto Contest in Asia and the Pacific “Happi-ness in Old Age”

• Catalogue of the Prize Winners of 2000 ACCUPhoto Contest in Asia and the Pacific “Livingin Harmony”

Pamphlets:• AJP Prototype Material, “Micro-Credit”• “ACP Books for All Children!”, a pamphlet to

summarize ACP books and to promote their in-digenous versions

• “Literacy: ACCU Impact and Strategies for theFuture”, a pamphlet to summarize literacy ac-tivities of ACCU

Videos:• Video cassette with a guidebook, “Musical In-

struments in Asia and the Pacific Vol. 3”• PLANET 2 (Package Learning Materials on En-

vironment) “Forest Conservation”

Others

• AJP Materials Kit on “Health and Nutrition”,“Income Generation”, “Women’s Empower-ment” and “Environment”

• Literacy Clip Art• Asia-Pacific Literacy Data Base: CD-ROM EFA

2000 Version• Postcards of the selected winning works of the

11th Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustra-tions

• Postcards of the selected winning works of the2000 Photo Contest “Living in Harmony”

2001 Schedule of Meetings and Training Courses of ACCU

(C) Cultural Activities, (B) Book Development Activities, (L) Literacy Activities, (P) Personnel ExchangeActivities, (N) Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Activities (Nara office)

Date Place Programme

2001 Thailand Editorial Meeting of Handbook for Adult Learning Materials atApr. 10–12 Community Level (L)

Apr.–Feb. 2002 2001 ACCU International Exchange Programme under the UNESCO/Japan funds-in-Trust for the Promotion of International Cooperationand Mutual Understanding (P)*Programmes for Professionals in the Fields of UNESCO’s Competence*Elementary and Secondary School Teacher Exchange Programmes*University Student Exchange Programmes*Upper Secondary School Student Exchange Programmes

Apr. 27–May 4 Tokyo Exhibition of 2000 ACCU Photo contest in Asia and the Pacific“Living in Harmony” (C)

June 26–30 Tokyo ACCU-APPEAL Joint Planning Meeting on Regional NFEProgrammes in Asia and the Pacific (L)

July 8 Nara (Japan) Seminar for Cultural Heritage Protection (N)

Aug. 1–5 Mongolia Consultative Meeting for Establishment of LRC (Literacy ResourceCentre for Girls and Women) (L)

Aug. 22–27 Tokyo Exhibition of the Winning Works of the 2000 Noma Concours forPicture Book Illustrations (B)

Sep. 6–8 Tokyo Jury Meeting for 2001 Photo Contest in Asia and the Pacific “Clothes and People” (C)

Sep. 20 Tokyo Ceremony to commemorate 30th Anniversary of ACCU

Oct. Planning Meeting of the Production of Package Learning Materialson Environment 3 (PLANET 3) (L)

Oct. 16–Nov. 11 Tokyo 33th Training Course on Book Production in Asia and the Pacific “Production of Environmental Education Materials” (B)

Oct. 17–30 Nara Training of Young Leaders in Cultural Heritage Protection (N/P)

Oct. Mongolia Consultative Meeting for Establishment of LRCs (L)

Nov. Viet Nam 19th Regional Workshop on the Capacity Building of CLC Facilitatorsin Rural Areas in Asia and the Pacific (L)

Nov. 13–Dec. 11 Nara Training Course for Restoration of Cultural Heritage (N)

2002 Indonesia 2002 Capacity Building Workshop of LRCs (L/P)Jan.22–Feb. 2

Feb. Tokyo APPREB Meeting (B)

Feb. Tokyo 2002 Regional Seminar on “Proclamation of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”(C)

Mar. Nara International Symposium for Cultural Heritage Protection (N)

Mar. 5–14 India National LRC Training Workshop (L)

Travelling Exhibition of the WinningWorks of ACCU Photo Contest

ACCU annually organises travelling exhi-bitions of the panels of the winning worksof ACCU Photo Contests in Asia and thePacific.

The panels of the winning works of the1999 ACCU Photo Contest under the themeof “Our Elders—Happiness in Old Age” arenow travelling in the region. Up to now,the exhibitions were held in Thailand,China, Sri Lanka, Republic of Korea,Pakistan, Maldives and Indonesia. Fromnow, the exhibitions will be held in Kath-mandu, Nepal in October, Jaipur, India inNovember 2001, Tehran and Isfahan in Iranand Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladeshin January 2002. The exhibits will be do-nated to the last two countries, Iran andBangladesh.

The first exhibition of the panels of thewinning works of the 2000 ACCU PhotoContest under the theme of “Living in Har-mony” was held in Tokyo, Japan from 27April to 4 May 2001. Over 1,600 peoplecame to see this exhibition for 6 days andenjoyed the different culture and life in Asiaand the Pacific through the photographs.The travelling exhibitions of these workswill start in autumn this year in the region.

ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

Book Fairs in Asia and the Pacific

Tokyo International Book Fair 2002Tokyo International Book Fair Secretariat (Japan Book Publishers Association, Japan Magazine Publishers Association, etc.)contact: TIBF Executive Committee, Tokyo, Japan, phone: (81) 3 3349 8507, fax: (81) 3 3345 7929e-mail: tibf-eng@reedexpo.co.jp, URL: http://www.reedexpo.co.jp/tibf/english

2002April 18–21

21st Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair“Reading Towards Acquiring Knowledge Economy”National Book Council of Malaysia, Ministry of Education Malaysia and The Malaysian Book Industry Councilcontact: Mr. Siatan Ahmad, Secretary, The National Book Council of Malaysia, e-mail: mbkm@po.jaring.my

2002April 26–May 5

15th Tehran International Book FairMinistry of Culture & Islamic Guidance and Cultural Affairs Deputycontact: No. 1178 Enghelab Ave., Tehran, Iran, PO Box 3894-15875phone: (98) 21 6415271-2/6466082, fax: (98) 21 6415498

2002May 10–22

9th Beijing International Book FairChina National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporationcontact: Ge Ning, No. 16, Gongti East Road, Beijing, China, phone: (86) 10 65866995fax: (86) 10 65089188, e-mail: cnpecfo@cnpiec.com.cn

2002May 24–28

Seoul International Book Fair 2002Korean Publishers Association (KPA)contact: Ms. Bo Yeon Park, SIBF Manager, KPA, 105-2, Sagan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-190, Rep. of Korea, phone: (82) 2 7352702fax: (82) 2 7385414, e-mail: danapark@kpa21.or.kr, URL: http://www.sibf.co.kr

2002June 7–12

APA Australian Book Fair 2002 in SydneyExpertise Events Pty Ltd. and Australian Publishers Associationcontact: Gerry Roubis, Exhibition Manager, Expertise Events Pty Ltd., phone: (61) 2 9939 4445, fax: (61) 2 9939 4229e-mail: gerryr@expertiseevents.com.au, URL: http://www.bookfair.com.au, www.expertiseevents.com.au

2002June 19–21

New Delhi World Book Fair 2002“Globalisation of the Word—Translating Creative Diversity”National Book Trust, Indiacontact: Mr. Ravi Rajpal, Deputy Director (Exhibition), National Book Trust, India, A-5 Green Park, New Delhi 110016, fax: (91) 11 6851795

2002January 28

–February 4

Asia International Book Fair/International Library Expo 2002 (Singapore)Reed Exhibitions Pte Ltd., Singapore Trade Development Board Holdings (TDBH) and National Book Development Council of Singaporecontact: Ms. Elaine Kok, No. 1, Temasek Avenue, #17-01 Millenia Tower, Singapore 039192phone: (65) 4343651, fax: (65) 8832393, e-mail: sp@reedexpo.com.sg, URL: http://www.aibf.com.sg

2002April 24–26

National Book Fair (Thailand)“Book is Life”The Department of Curriculum and Instruction Development, Ministry of Education, the National Book Development Committee and the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand, etc.contact: Ms. Pan-ngam Yamboonrueang, Ms. Prophai Phakkrasam, Book Development Centre, Department of Curriculum and Instruction Development, Ministry of Education, phone: (66) 2 2812130, fax: (66) 2 6285336

2002March 29–April 8

Philippine Book Fair“Take Reading A Step Higher”Primetrade Asiacontact: Ms. Tinette Capistranophone: (63) 2 896 0661, fax: (63) 2 896 0695e-mail: ptrade@philonline.comURL: http://www.philippinebookfair.com

2001September

1–9Indonesia Book Fair“To Build the Reading Culture”Indonesian Book Publishers Association (IKAPI) in cooperation with P. T. Dyandra Promosindocontact: Ms Utami, Permata Plaza Fl.7, Jl. Thamrin 57, Jakarta 10350, phone: (62) 21 3903820fax: (62) 21 3903824/25, e-mail: dyandra@dyandra.comURL: http://www.dyandra.com/exhib/ibf2001

2001September

12–16