A 2-day workshop on Developing and Publishing Books for Early Graders: Do’s and Don’ts
The Ghana Book Development Council, as part of its functions to develop the book industry and enhance the professional skills of the industry practitioners, organised a 2-day workshop dubbed, Developing and Publishing Books for Early Graders: Do’s and Don’ts on 19th October - 20th October 2023. The main objective of this workshop was to build the capacity of practitioner to venture into the development and publishing of supplementary readers for early graders, since it is a specialized area.
The workshop was held at the Department of Publishing Studies, KNUST, Kumasi. Participants included authors, publishers, illustrators and academics.
The first day of the workshop was facilitated by Dr. Lucy A. Ry-Kottoh, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Publishing Studies. Dr. Ry-Kottoh took participants through content creation and writing of manuscripts for early graders. Her presentation dealt with structure, plot, theme, character, settings, etc. to make the session practical and interactive, participants were divided into groups to discuss some exercises on content creation. Dr. Ry-Kottoh also touched on guidelines by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NaCCA), especially if authors or publishers want to submit their books to the institution.
The second day, which focused on Illustrations, illustration briefs, page layout, typographical, etc, was also facilitated by Mr. Isaac K. Appiah, also a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Publishing Studies. He was supported by Mr. Francis K. Nunoo, a Senior Lecturer and Mr. Medicus Appiah, a Principal Technician at the Department.
The exchange of ideas and experiences among participants emphasized the value of teamwork and synergy in producing high-quality educational materials for young learners. Participants were inspired and were reminded of the significant impact well-crafted books can have on young minds.
Given her remarks at the end of the workshop, Ms. Enersticia Lartey Asuinura, the Executive Director of the Ghana Book Development Council, emphasized the need for a transformational collective effort in creating, publishing and distributing high-quality books for children in Ghana.