As part of the International Year of Comics 2020 in France, the French Institute in Russia presents a selection of the most famous French comics, recently published in Russian. The exhibition will tell readers more about the "painted literature" and help them to discover the unique world of the ninth art.

This discussion is devoted to the issues of authorship in children's popular science books. Who can tell a child about science clearly and in a fun way? Are the people who write such books scientists? Teachers? "Translators" from the language of science to "children's" language? What role does an editor, producer, illustrator play in the process of book creation? Is it possible to create such a project right away, given all key professionals are present at the meeting? These questions will be answered by specialists from Russia and all over the world. The discussion will be held in English.

Dutch and Flemish literature for children and teenagers is one of the brightest and most visible phenomena in the modern world literary space. But this phenomenon has been developing longer than you'd have thought. If we dive deeper into the history of the Dutch language and culture, it will become obvious that many of the generally accepted contemporary ideas about the specifics of books for children and childhood as such - respect for the child, gameficiation of knowledge - were already discussed back in the 17th century in the Netherlands! The most important books in the history of world children's literature appeared in the Dutch language back then. And in the middle of 20th century, after World War II, with the active help of the authorities, children's reading was recognized as extremely important and dozens of talented people were tasked with its development. So what made Dutch and Flemish literature so strong and distinctive and which authors from the Netherlands and Flemish region became world famous? You will learn that and more with the help of the researchers of the Dutch and Flemish literature in attendance!

The participants of the panel discussion - foreign and domestic publishers of comic books, graphic novels and manga, comic artists, authors and heads of leading thematic clubs and educational projects in Moscow and St. Petersburg - will discuss the main trends in graphic and text formats of modern children's and teenagers' books.

Fictional or real stories - what is more interesting for children? What are parents more willing to buy? Should children's literature be applied and how does nonfiction for children try to tell stories? Do parents want to buy stories with zero practical info and do they need to entertain their children to make them learn? How to talk to children about science without fairytales, without simplifications, but not bore them to death? Is there a universal recipe to write lightly on difficult subjects? How are these questions solved in different countries? The discussion will be in English.

"The book for children under 10 requires special ingenuity from the authors. Not many people like to read at this age. And we wanted not to pass on a chunk of knowledge, but to persuade the reader to think about important things together with us," says Ilya Kolmanovsky, a teacher, scientific journalist and children's author. He will talk about the creation of a travel book, a fascinating children's non-fiction.

Children's literature is certainly a product of its time and a tool for shaping the future. It changes in response to new social processes. The same problems are reflected in it today in a completely different way than half a century ago. The participants in the discussions on new ethics and contemporary children's literature chose two books for kids, which describe the same ethical problem in terms of cultural norms of the past and present. We offer their selection and comments.

Non-fiction books for children is one of the key ways for them to learn the world. John Farndon is one of the world's leading authors of children's scientific literature. He wrote more than a thousand such books about everything in the world - from quantum physics to the private life of octopuses. Why do some books receive awards, and many others are only suitable for fire? At the workshop, John will try to answer this question based on his experience and share practical tips and techniques for writers.