At a press launch at the recent International Children’s Book Fair in Bologna it was announced that the 33^rd IBBY World Congress will be held in London from 23^rd to 26^th August 2012, the first time it will have been in the UK for 30 years. The venue is Imperial College, in London’s cultural heartland, close to major museums and the Albert Hall with Hyde Park just a short walk away.

The theme is Crossing Boundaries: Translations and Migrations, and the call for papers is now open at  www.ibbycongress2012.org    Papers may explore these topics from a variety of angles and viewpoints, including translations between languages and the migration of people and the stories they carry with them, translations and migrations across media, for example from book to film or play.  The deadline for submission is June 30^th 2011.

Speakers so far confirmed are:

• Shaun Tan, Australian illustrator of The Arrival and The Rabbits both of which deal with themes relating to migration. A recent Oscar winner for his animated film The Lost Thing, Shaun was also announced winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for 2011 at Bologna.
• Patsy Aldana, former President of IBBY and publisher of many translated and culturally diverse books at Groundwood Books in Canada.
• Emer O’Sullivan of Lüneberg University in Germany who has written and lectured extensively about children’s literature in translation, including Kinderliterarische Komparatistik.

For further information see www.ibbycongress2012.org or contact Co-Directors: Ann Lazim ann@ibbycongress2012.org or Kathy Lemaire  kathy@ibbycongress2012.org