Asian Festival of Children’s Content

✨ 📚 AFCC is back for 2026! This year’s theme, “The Worlds We Make,” invites us to investigate how stories can be powerful drivers of action, and our role as creators of children’s content in the futures we build, the communities we imagine, and the changes we hope to make. ➡️ Find out more at afcc.com.sg (link in bio) 📅 21 - 24 May 2026 📍 National Library Building 🌟 What to Expect: 📚 Over 100 programmes across 4 days ✍️ Over 100 local & international writers and speakers, including: Liu Hsu Kung (Taiwan), Klaas Verplanke (Belgium), Kim Dongsoo (South Korea), Low Ying Ping (Singapore), and Sophie Lizeray (Singapore). 🎉 Plus: Free children’s programmes, the AFCC Books Village, and more! 💌 Early bird tickets run till 6 April #AFCC2026 #NLBsg

SBC has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for the second year running! The prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was created in 2002 by the Swedish government to promote every child’s right to great stories. This global award is given annually to a person or organisation for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. SBC is honoured to receive this recognition again as we continue to commit ourselves to future-proofing our kids with children's literature, and encouraging creativity, imagination, original thought, and empathy with the literary arts in general. The laureate will be announced on 14 April 2026. #astridlindgrenmemorialaward #ALMA2026

🏆 We’re less than a week away from awarding the winners of this year’s Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award (HABA)! In this Part 2, find out more about our authors’ and illustrators’ creative processes in bringing these books from concept to print. Each book’s process is different from the next, but no doubt they all took a lot of time, care and heart to be written and published! They also share about what they hope for young readers (and the young-at-heart!) to take away from reading their books, and hope that readers will learn to approach books and the world we live in with newfound care and curiousity 🌱 See you soon at AFCC 2026! 👋 If you haven’t already gotten your tickets, there’s still time! Pay as little as $20* when you tap on Culture Pass and SkillsFuture Credits to purchase a Festival Talk and Workshop pass, for FULL access to AFCC! *final amount is dependent on your available credits 🎟 Find out more at bit.ly/AFCC2026Tickets #AFCC2026 #HABA #ChildrensBooks

Join us for a special Human Library session at @afccsg — a cosy, conversation-style hour exploring how stories shape the way children think, feel, and grow. Hear from Chloe Mohajer (lawyer turned community builder), @amandas.paint.and.pen (artist and educator bridging cultures through story) and Priyanka Shahra (founder, @dinostaury ) — three women with honest, practical things to say about raising children who are kind, curious, and resilient. How Stories Shape Big Minds of Little People 📍 CTPL Submarine Room, B1, National Library 🕛 12–1pm, Friday 22 May 🎟 Free — link in bio Because the stories we tell become the values our children carry. #AFCC2026 #HumanLibrary #SingaporeParents #SingaporeTeachers #StoriesShapeMinds AFCCSG

🧑‍🎨 Artist Cart-Out 🎨 Join us for the second edition of our artist cart-out next weekend at AFCC! The artist cart-out offers illustrators and artists a dynamic platform to showcase their work and offerings, and foster valuable connections with writers, illustrators and delegates at the festival. Visit this year’s 12 artists at the L1 Plaza this weekend. Scroll through to see who will be there, and just some of the merch that they will be selling at their booths. This is a great chance to support local artists, so see you there! 📅 23-24 May (Saturday-Sunday), 10am-6:00pm 📍 National Library Building, L1 The Plaza 🎟️ FREE admission! #afcc2026

Can I just tell you how I’m absolutely looking forward to AFCC? I’ve been attending the book fair and some fringe activities for years, and this year, I’m finally taking the dive and immersing myself fully in this 4-day festival, and you can join me too!🥳 👉🏼 Comment AFCC and I’ll send you a link to the full line up of the programmes. Many of the workshops are suitable for children too, and slots are limited. So do check those out first! I’ll also highlight via IGS over the next week, some programmes you shouldn’t miss! 📖 I hope to see you there! 👋

📆 We’re one week away from the 2026 AFCC Opening Night, which means we’re one week away from awarding the winners of this year’s Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award (HABA)! We pulled aside the authors and illustrators at last month’s Meet The HABA Shortlist night and asked them a few questions about their shortlisted titles! If you’ve been curious about the books, or maybe you’ve already read them and are curious about the inspiration behind each title, swipe through to hear from some of the authors and illustrators! Questions will be continued in Part 2 👀 The winners of HABA 2026 will be announced at the AFCC Opening Ceremony on Thursday, 21 May at 6:30pm. Come down to the National Library Building Plaza that evening to meet the authors and find out the two winners of this year’s award! #AFCC2026 #HABA #ChildrensBooks

🎲 Roll the dice. Climb high. Slide fast. Repeat. Get ready for a night of big moves and bigger fun — AFCC is teaming up with Wormhole for an unforgettable Games Night at NLB Plaza! 🐍📚 Step into a life-sized Worms & Ladders experience where every roll sends you on a thrilling climb or an unexpected slide. Whether you're coming with your little ones or a crew of adults, there's a session just for you! AFCC x Wormhole: Games Night! 📅 23 May 2026 (Sat) 📍L1, Plaza, NLB 🕡 Session 1 (Families) | 6:30pm – 7:30pm 🎟️ $10 per pair ticket (Parent-Child) 🕣 Session 2* (Adults Only, 18+) | 8:00pm – 9:00pm 🎟️ $10 per ticket Grab your tickets now before they're gone! Link in bio! #AFCC2026 #GamesNight #AFCC #AsianFestivalOfChildrensContent #Singapore (📸: Raedi Haizer bin Sidik @hai.anglephoto ) *Please note questions for Session 2 are the same as the most recent edition of Worms & Ladders at ACM

📣Calling all translators (practicing and aspiring), or anyone with a passion for languages! Join us for the AFCC Translation forum to: 📚 Learn more about the role of translation in widening a child’s worldview. 📖 Learn how to curate a multicultural bookshelf. ✍🏼 Try your hand at translation at our Translation Hackathon (back by popular demand!) 🖊️ Try your hand at transcreating a short excerpt from a picture book that responds to both text and image. The AFCC Translation Forum is supported by the National Translation Committee. Pay as little as $20* when you tap on Culture Pass and SkillsFuture Credits to purchase a Festival Talk and Workshop pass, for FULL access to AFCC! *final amount is dependent on your available credits 🎟 Find out more at bit.ly/AFCC2026Tickets

FREE exhibitions at AFCC! 🖼 What are picture books without illustrations? At AFCC, we celebrate and recognise excellence in illustrations across cultures and ages. Check out these four special exhibitions at AFCC 2026! All exhibitions are free to attend, so go ahead and bookmark them for your next weekend or school holiday activity! 1️⃣ Nami Concours 2026 Winning Works Exhibition (21 – 24 May 2026) L1 Plaza, National Library Building Happening together with AFCC at the L1 Plaza, we are proud to feature 18 award-winning works from the prestigious 2026 Nami Concours Illustration Competition in this special showcase. 2️⃣ Book Illustrators Gallery (21 – 24 May 2026) L1 Plaza, National Library Building The BIG showcases the best picture book illustrations by illustrators and artists from Southeast Asia, those based in Asia and in the global Asian diaspora. 3️⃣ Italian Excellence. Pinocchio’s New Clothes (21 May – 28 June 2026) B1, Central Public Library, National Library Building This travelling exhibition will feature 30 illustrations from celebrated Italian illustrators, and make its Asia premiere at AFCC. 4️⃣ Peace and Friendship: An SJ60 Picture Book Exhibition from Singapore and Japan (23 May – 20 June 2026) Japan Creative Centre Celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan, this special exhibition brings together picture book illustrations from both countries curated around the shared themes of peace and friendship. Celebrate the art of children’s picture book illustration with us at these four exhibitions from May to June! #AFCC2026 #NLBsg #picturebooks #childrenspicturebooks #bolognachildrensbookfair

Looking for a meaningful kids’ event this May? 🌏💚 At @afccsg , DinoStaury’s Story & Swap Zone looks like such a fun interactive space for little ones to play, create, and explore ideas about the world they want to grow up in ✨ There’ll be: 📚A Story Tent ♻️ A Toy, Book & Clothes Swap 🎨 A DIY Comic Story activity And I’m especially excited about the collaborative globe installation inspired by The Worlds We Make — where children can share their hopes, ideas, and little acts of change together 🌍💫 Come down to the National Library with your kids from 21–24 May — I’ll definitely be there 📚🌱 🔗 Free RSVP link in bio

✨ FREE Conference Programmes ✨ Librarians, Educators, Parents: Check out these free conference programmes at AFCC! Attend interactive panels and workshops that discuss how books can have meaninful impact on children’s lives and worldview, or spend your lunch hour with like-minded individuals with our lunchtime talks! Browse more free public programmes over the weekend at bit.ly/AFCC2026Public and plan your visit! #AFCC2026 #librarians #educators #parents