Award winning children's writer Ramendra Kumar has been invited to grace the upcoming 36th International Board on Books for Young People...

Award winning children's writer Ramendra Kumar has been invited to grace the upcoming 36th International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Congress in Athens. Besides chairing an important session at the 3-day IBBY Congress beginning in Athens from August 30, Kumar said he was also slated to present a paper on 'The Brave New World of Indian Childrens Literature.' Three globally acclaimed speakers from three continents - North America, Europe and Asia - will present papers during the session to be chaired by Kumar, who is a distinguished children's writer and chief of communications in the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP).

International Board on Books for Young People

The Congress, which is expected to attract at least 450 delegates from more than 70 countries, is considered the biggest biennial global event focusing on childrens literature, a statement from RSP said. "It will be my privilege to chair a session which has three speakers who together map the globe. "And we are all meeting in a country that is a bridge between the ancient and the modern, the east and the west. Can anything be more inclusive?" added Kumar. He said "I am from the land of Jagannath Consciousness which is as relevant today as it was hundreds of years ago."

Childrens Book Trust

Kumar is an acclaimed childrens writer with 33 books to his name. His writings have been translated into 28 languages both Indian and foreign. He won 31 awards by the Childrens Book Trust (CBT), over the years. This tally is the highest by any writer, the statement said. Six of the writers books have been recommended by the CBSE as Supplementary Readers and eleven of his stories have also found place in text books.