South Korea has long known for the production of great writing presses in history and while that might be the case, in more recent times, it is the production of great writers that is capturing the eyes of the world.  Today, with students becoming more than adept at the English language, of course this helps with the dissemination of literature across borders. Yet, it is the passion of intensely, artistic individuals that is creating the wave of literature sweeping the world off its feet!  Lilit Marcus writing for Vanity Fair enlightens the world with this awesome collection.  

This October, Korean books will be on display and of course, for sale in eight select countries, as part of an international, joint-presentation conducted by the Korean Culture Ministry - in collaboration with the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea and Korean Cultural Centers in the following eight countries: France, Mexico, Argentina, Vietnam, Egypt, Poland, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.

In each of the cultural centers - readers will be able to meet Korean authors and their translators, who will deliver seminars, discussions and specific book exhibitions from October through until December 2022.  

K-book events began in late September, initially in Warsaw, Poland at the Cultural Centre.  Authors such as Bora Chung participated in the ‘Meet an Author’ presentation, ahead of her Korean book’s Polish publication of the ‘Cursed Bunny’ – which was short-listed for the 2022 International Booker Prize.  Chung will also deliver a lecture for literature students of the SWPS University of Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw.  The University is proud to have recently launched a Korean Studies Program.
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The Cultural Centre in Cairo will deliver a similar structure of events with visiting Korean authors and their translators conducting talks and book-related presentation sessions.
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This all coincides with the UK’s ‘Korean Cultural Month’, celebrated at Foyles bookstore in Charing Cross Road in London, where Korean books will be on display and available for purchase, at the venue.  Author Fiona Bae, who recently published the book - ‘Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-Style and her book designer – Kim Young-Na will be participating in Korean Cultural discussions.

Cho Chang-In author of – ‘Gasigoki’ will visit Vietnam in October, while Sohn Won-Pyung author of ‘Almond’ will visit Argentina, in November.
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Indonesia, France and Mexico will hold related book events, at their Korean Cultural Centres - details of which will be announced in the coming weeks, on their respective official websites.

Released this month - the new LILIWIOFE' (annual) Diaries are created and designed specifically to motivate, inspire and organise individuals who might otherwise be a tad, too-timid, to realise their dreams. 

This A5 diary will kick-off the CoVid blues and get you started fresh, at the beginning of 2021.  Organise and use the daily #hashtags for a strong media presence, grow your business idea to its full potential - being motivated from day 1. 

Document your year's journey with like-minded individuals on the Instagram hashtag #liliwiofe' 

There you will be able to inspire and support others in their journey; and see what, how and who is moving forward with their dreams in 2021.  Let's come together to make the New Year - one to really remember and not - CoVid!  

Gift this treasure to a friend or family member who has been doing it tough.  Help them get back on top of things.  You are not alone; let's build a strong 2021 together.

Join us - see you on Instagram!  :)

Thank you to my wonderful friend Hassan Khan - who composed this incredibly, beautiful piece of music.  You can find more of his work on SoundCloud.:)

It seems authors are not exempt from the worrying virus of CoVid, as Stephenie Meyers has recently learned.  Stephenie doesn’t appear to be suffering extreme symptoms of the virus and is using her time well to remain isolated at home and for an author, well that can prove to be quite beneficial and not a huge inconvenience. 

However, live events - like the one for her recent book publication Midnight Sun, due to take place in Shelton, had to be rerouted to a virtual event.  This took care of the distancing protocols and kept both author and attendees safe.

​We wish Stephenie Meyer a speedy recovery and look forward to reading another one of her awesome books!

Breaking News - It is a sad day for the literary world, as American writer - Mary Higgins Clark joins the world of literary angels.  At the young age of 92 years, our dear Mary, who delighted readers across the globe with her thrilling suspense novels, passed peacefully away on Friday evening, while surrounded by family and friends.

Mary, dedicated more than 40 years of her life to writing suspense novels, completing over 50 works.  Some of her most noted works: ‘A Stranger is Watching’ and ‘Loves Music, Loves to Dance’, were both made into films. 
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God speed, Mary. 

If you’ve published digital works and need a little bit of recognition - well, here’s your opportunity and you can earn a nice sum of money, into the bargain.  The Australian Writers Centre is offering for the fourth year in a row, their Woollahra Digital Literary Prize for published works in a digital form.  Of course, it can’t be just any old thing - we are talking e pub and online articles here. 

The competition gives you three categories to enter: Non-Fiction, Fiction and Flash/Short Fiction.  The collective prize money sits at Au $7000.  Both Fiction & Non-Fiction offer $3000 each, while Flash/Short Fiction can put a nice $1,000 in your pocket. 

You will have to spin a good yarn for your winnings and be able to write up to 80,000 words for Fiction and Non-fiction and you can get away with 100~3000 words for the short fiction.
If you think this could be something that your might like to enter, get in fast as entries close March 9th, 2020.

See Woollahara Council Website to enter.  Happy writing!

National story telling week kicks off January 27th~3rd of February, 2018.  Whether you're in the UK or Australia - Grab a book and tell a story!  Read up on how things go down at the Society for Storytelling in the UK.

​Check out Sketa's top selling ELK Publishing Children's books on Amazon. There are some great little keepers for everybody's bookshelf.   

If you are wanting to order wholesale books for your bookstore or library - in whatever corner of the world, please [email protected]