Asian Publishers Fellowship Program in Seoul 2010

The Korea Publishers Society (KOPUS) is an association of young Korean publishing firms which was formed back in 1998 and now has nearly 410 publishing companies as current members. We are now evolving into the main association of the Korean publishing industry by proposing alternative policies for establishing the sociocultural status of publishing, building robust book distribution systems, nurturing publishing talents and promoting global publication exchange.

As part of our global exchange activities, KOPUS is about to hold the “Asian Publishers Fellowship Program in Seoul 2010” under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea. This event is to be held with the purpose of stimulating interchange of publication among nations and publishers in Asia by inviting publishers from major publishing companies in the region.
Below you will be able to find the program guide for the “Asian Publishers Fellowship Program in Seoul 2010”. Only with your recommendations of excellent publishers from your country will we be able to run this program. Therefore we kindly request that you recommend suitable publishers for this event for us all to increase our understanding of the Asian publishing industry and for even more opportunities to develop the publishing industry in the region.

1. Outline of event
• Number of people to be admitted : 1
• Date – 6 Sep 2010 (Monday) ~ 10 Sep 2010(Friday), 5 days / 4 nights
• Venue – Hotel Seokyo, Seoul (conference & accommodation)
• Participants – About 15 publishers from Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines
• Organization and content – Seminars & separated discussions; talks with Korean writers and publishers; visits to publishers associations, publishing companies and bookstores; opportunities to experience local Korean culture
• Host – Korea Publishers Society (KOPUS) & the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea

2. Details for recommended applicants
• Requirements
- Publisher who has over five years of work experience in the publishing industry
- Agent or Korean language translator
- (Must be able to communicate in English)
• Support
- Round-trip airfare, living expenses for duration of trip, required documents for visa application
• Documents for participation
- Please send a resume in English (in the same format as the attached file) to plus@kopus.org by 15 July 2010

For more information, please contact: Chulhee Han – The President of KOPUS

Funding available for Göteborg Bok Fair, 24 – 27 September 2009

We would like to inform you that the Göteborg Book Fair and the Swedish Arts Council have decided to provide funding for non-Nordic publishers and agents interested in attending the Göteborg Bok Fair, 24 – 27 September 2009.

To see the rules, application form and a press release, please visit: www.goteborg-bookfair.com and www.kulturradet.se

MDA to inject S$250 million into industry in 2009

News and Notes from Media Business Forum: 13 March 2009

MDA to inject S$250 million into industry in 2009
Aim is to sustain media sector, as worldwide economic slowdown continues into the year.
THE Media Development Authority (MDA) estimates that the Government will spend S$250 million this year to sustain the growth momentum of Singapore’s media sector amidst the economic downturn, it said at its annual Media Business Forum yesterday.

This spending, which includes funding from the National Research Foundation to boost research and development in interactive digital media, as well as support for public service programmes, is projected to support about 2,000 jobs when the projects come onstream in the coming year.
Through the exercise, MDA will help fund and co-develop high-value and exportable content and applications to jumpstart activities in the sector.

Key areas include the ever-widening range of digital platforms, including Internet protocol TV, mobile TV and 3D TV, which MDA believes have an excellent chance of success as content becomes increasingly digitised.

The first wave of projects was called at the event yesterday, including one called “360° TV”, where MDA requested for original TV concepts that leverage various digital media distribution avenues and partnerships.

The MDA is also calling for proposals to transform Singapore into a digital music hub, which will build the ecosystem needed to develop music services to support content productions.

More such calls for proposals can be expected this year. Said Dr Christopher Chia, MDA’s Chief Executive Officer: “Media is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, and the performance of Singapore’s media sector reflects our potential to benefit from the worldwide movement.”

Besides calls for proposals, MDA is launching a new Media Training and Attachment (META) scheme, which emphasises hands-on experience through attachments to projects or established organisations.
For details, please refer to www.smf.sg.

MDA Media Education Scheme 2009

The MDA (Media Development Authority) Media Education Scheme 2009 is open for applications as of 24 January 2009.

About the Media Education Scheme
The Media Education Scheme is an initiative to build and nurture manpower capabilities as well as the talent pool in the media industry. All Singapore citizens and permanent residents who are passionate about embarking on a long-term career in the local media industry are welcome to apply for the Scheme.

Media Education Scheme (Overseas)
The Scheme covers tuition fees of up to S$40,000 per year, or subject to a maximum of S$100,000. The scheme has a two-year service commitment to Singapore. Upon returning from their studies, recipients will have to fulfil the service commitment and are required to work in media-related companies. As international exposure and experience is desirable and encouraged, students need not start their service commitment immediately upon graduation, but can choose to do so over a five-year period.

Media Education Scheme (Local)
The Scheme covers tuition fees of up to S$10,000 per year, subject to a maximum of S$20,000. There will be no service commitment attached to the scheme.

The closing date for all applications is on Thursday, 30 April 2009.

For more information about the Media Education Scheme, please visit the MDA website.

Getting intimate with Australia – Australia-Singapore Co-Production Agreement Enters into Force

The Australia-Singapore Co-Production Agreement has entered into force on 16 October 2008! Under this Agreement, a film or television program approved as an Official Australia-Singapore Co-Production will be considered as a national production in each of the co-production countries. Producers can also apply for any benefits or programs of assistance available in their country. The Australia-Singapore Co-Production Agreement is administered by MDA’s Community & International Relations Division. Information on the application procedures to apply for Australia-Singapore Official Co-Production status will be available online soon. In the event of any enquiries, or to obtain a copy of the Australia-Singapore Co-Production Agreement to view the broad framework and participation guidelines, please contact Ms Adriana Lee.

MDA has also recently entered into an agreement with ScreenWest, Western Australia’s film funding and development agency, to launch a MDA-ScreenWest Cross-Media Development Initiative, which encourages producers in Australia and Singapore to jointly develop and exploit the potential of multi-platform intellectual properties.

The initiative invites producers in Western Australia and Singapore to submit proposals in any of the following genres: Children’s Programming, Documentary and Animation. Three selected projects will be awarded up to a total of US$90,000 in project co-development funding. The closing date for submissions is 1 December 2008. For application guidelines, please click here.

First-Time Writers & Illustrators Publishing Initiative 2009

The “First-Time Writers & Illustrators Publishing Initiative” is an initiative from the Media Development Authority (MDA) and the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) to nurture talents in the publishing industry. It is supported by the Singapore Book Publishers Association.

The “First-Time Writers & Illustrators Publishing Initiative” is targeted at assisting the publication of new works by unpublished local writers and / or illustrators. Cash incentives are provided.

The 2009 initiative will focus on Picture books for children in 2 categories: ages 2-4 & ages 5-7.

Members of SBPA who are interested to be the official publisher of the 2009 intiative are invited to contact Regina Kuan by 24 October 2008.