At the 2024 Frankfurt Kids Conference. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Talita Faccini
By Talita Facchini | @talitafacchinii
Pansa: ‘It’s Important We Talk About This’
The 2024 edition of the Frankfurt Kids Conference was subtitled “Paving the Way for the Future: Responsibility in Children’s Book Publishing.”
A half-day conference set on Wednesday (October 16) at this week’s 2024 Frankfurter Buchmesse, the program took on a range of issues related to young people’s literature.
Opening the Conference, the German writer Cornelia Funke spoke virtually about her goal of seeing children “find shelter” in her words. However, the word heard most frequently from panelists seemed to be accessibility.
In a discussion of panel Books without Barriers: Accessibility in Publishing, Carolina Ballester, executive director of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), was emphatic, saying, “Books must be everywhere.”
The conversation also included Karine Pansa, president of the International Publishers Association (IPA), and Asa Bergman, head of office for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
For IPA, Pansa spoke about the work of the “association of associations” in accessibility and sustainability, and she spoke to recent threats to children’s books in such issues as attempted book bannings.
“When we think about how the IPA can support children’s books,” Pansa said, “the most important action relates to the freedom to publish, especially since many books are being banned in various countries. It’s really important that we talk about this,” she said, “because children’s books are clearly under attack, particularly in the United States, Turkey, and some other countries.”
Pansa, who is nearing the end of her two-year term as president of the association, said, “So when you think about what a children’s book does, it builds critical thinking and empowers people. But we’re seeing just the opposite happening.”
The Lindgren award’s Bergman said that the award implicitly gives children access to great stories and books. And regarding censorship, Bergman cited the example of Laurie Halls Anderson, who was awarded the prize in 2023 and whose books have been banned in more than 60 instances.
“Children’s books are always under threat,” Bergman said, “and it’s always very easy to ban them.”
Pansa on Accessibility
On accessibility, Pansa provided an example from Brazil, where, since 2023, there has been a law stating that “Every book needs to be available in an accessible format,” legislation that now is reflected in the European Accessibility Act, which takes force in June.
“If I need a backlist title,” Pansa said, “I need to ask the publishing house, and they have 30 days to ensure they have the accessible format.” She pointed out that the law was heavily debated before approval because of the high costs of producing accessible books. “It’s amazing how publishers have now adapted to this new reality,” she said.
When asked how Brazil managed to persuade people about the necessity of mandatory accessibility, Karine mentioned data. “Data was very important [in making it possible] to know how many disabled people were in our country and how they were lacking accessibility, not only in books but in places themselves.”
She emphasized that it took years of conversation, but market data and statistics helped politicians and lawmakers understand the need.
The panel discussing the responsibility of children’s books included contributions from Paolo Canton, publisher at Topipittori (Italy); Daniela Filthault, managing director at Gerstenberg Verlag (Germany); and Ivan Fedechko, rights manager from the Old Lion publishing house (Ukraine).
“I believe that what defines our choices at Topipittori,” Canton said, “and what I think should define the choices of as many publishers as possible, is an awareness that the book is in charge. The book has its own strength and power.”
Fedechko shared what his work has been like in recent years and the challenge of ensuring that Ukrainian cultural production finds readers around the world. Referencing Ballester’s keynote comments about wanting children to find shelter in her writing, Fedechko remarked that in Ukraine, children actually do need to seek shelter to hide.
“We cannot encapsulate reality.” he said. “As a result, we have several books connected to the war, and many of them have been successful abroad.”
When sharing that some authors from his catalog—Ukrainian civilians—had recently died in the war, he emphasized that his responsibility is to spread the best of his country and its literature.
At the 2024 Frankfurt Kids Conference, from left, are Carolina Ballester, executive director of IBBY; Karine Pansa, president of the International Publishers Association ; Åsa Bergman, head of office with the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award; and moderator Lawrence Schimel. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Talita Faccini
More from Publishing Perspectives on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, more on children’s books is here, and more on international book fairs and trade shows is here.
Our 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair Magazine, currently being read at Frankfurter Buchmesse by trade visitors, now is available in a digital edition here.
In the magazine, you’ll find our focused coverage of issues and events in the Guest of Honor Italy program as well as book market trends in Brazil, France, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, and Poland; an exit interview with the outgoing IPA president Karine Pansa of Brazil; an interview with Scholastic chief Peter Warwick; perspectives on audio in Italy from Mondadori’s Miriam Spinnato; and more.
Publishing Perspectives is the International Publishers Association’s world media partner.