Book talks by Singapore children's author, Vivian Teo, in the second quarter of 2024.
The second quarter of 2024 went by in a whirl! I had been busy writing the third book of The Mikaela Kong series, editing the first and second book of the series, and visiting lots of schools for author talks where I shared about my middle grade book series, My BFF Is an Alien.
Shout out to the following schools I had visited in April: Pioneer Primary School, St Gabriel's Primary School, Westwood Secondary School, Middleton International School (Tampines), Punggol Primary School, Invictus International School (Bukit Timah) and Admiralty Primary School.
In May, I said hello to Saint Anthony's Canossian Secondary School, Greendale Primary School, Northview Primary School and Assumption English School.
There are too many schools to go detail every visit here (but I do in my Instagram page!) but as always, every visit is special to me. I love sharing with students about my stories, the real life inspirations behind them and encouraging them to read. I try to do Q&A with every assembly talk, though sometimes there is not enough time to do so due to the school's assembly announcements. But when we do have time, I can see how excited the students are when I mingle with them and give them the chance to ask questions.
While most of my talks are in primary schools, I also visited a few secondary schools this term where I shared about how my books came about, my writing process, how the publishing industry works and of course, encouraged them to read through book recommendations.
Some highlights of the second quarter of the year was my first all-boys school visit (hello St Gabriel's!) and what a wonderful welcome I had from teachers, students and staff. Check out the effort put in by the librarian where I had my book signing! I hope I'd get to visit more all-boys schools in the future because boys do read and we definitely can get even more to do so!
It was also my first time visiting an international school (hello Middleton!) and what a joy it was to meet the students who were so attentive and inquisitive, and we had a snaking long queue for book signing thereafter.
I also did my first private book talk arranged by JLL for Govtech during the June school holiday where parents could bring their children to work. This is such a lovely idea. The setting is so cosy with a whole room of activities to entertain the children!
In May, I moderated an Asian Festival of Children's Content panel with Book Bar's Alex Chua and author, Mae Coyiuto on how they use social media for their work. I look forward to this event every year because it's a wonderful opportunity to hear insights and advice from fellow creatives, and it's always great to see and catch up with my writer friends during the event.
June also saw the first Singapore Children's Book Festival organised by the Singapore Book Publishers' Association. I had such a fun time chatting with Hwee Goh, Low Ying Ping and Hassan Ali about writing fantasy and worldbuilding in our panel discussion 😊
A festival focused on Singapore children's literature and their creators is long overdue and I say this not only as a Singaporean author, but also as a parent, who wants my children to grow up reading Singapore stories and be able to see themselves in stories. I hope the SCBF will continue and grow even stronger in the many years to come 💪🏽
Thank you Readers' House, Epigram Books and ACSD who arranged for my school visits and of course, to the schools and event organisers who invited me for talks.
The second half of the year is typically quieter for book talks as schools are usually busy with other activities and exams, but if there are any educators and event organisers here who would like me to visit their schools or events to share about my books, my work and inspire children to read and write, please feel free to get in touch with me via my contact form in my website's About page.
I share more regularly about my bookish events in my Instagram and Facebook pages. If you'd like to keep in touch, do connect with me at my socials!
©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.
Comments