Wally de Doncker
Wally
de Doncker and his dog
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A SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Wally de Doncker was born on May 19 1958 in the
Flemish town of Tielt in northern Belgium. Today, he lives with his family in Hamme, another small
Flemish community where he can be reached by email wally.de.doncker@telenet.be
One of his main aims is to bring children and
literature closer together. Wally de Doncker again and again tackles themes
which are scarcely touched upon in contemporary children’s literature. His
books have received numerous nominations and selections. In addition several of
his works have been adapted as stage play and musical, film animation and dance
film. (© International Literatur Festival
Berlin 2009)
He works together with different famous Belgian
composers.
Wally de Doncker began writing full-time in 2001 and
since then, his books have been brought to readers in more than twelve
countries in Europe and beyond.
From 2003 to 2009 he was a member of the
editorial board of the critical journal of children's literature, The Lion and the
Unicorn which
is published in the United States of America.
During the 31th General Assembly of IBBY in Copenhagen (September 10, 2008) he was
elected to serve as EC-member of IBBY for the period
2008-2010.
Wally de Doncker has become a frequent
contributor to publications that deal with the international dimension of
children’s literature, and is a regular guest in libraries, schools and other
settings where children and adults come to enjoy his
readings. On these occasions, he particularly appreciates the opportunity to
experience first-hand the responses that his work generates among the young
people for whom he writes.
Wally de Doncker has served as a special teacher of
children’s literature in a Flemish
college and is the founder of Leesdraak (Reading Dragon, 1996), a pre-reading and reading method for very young
children.
A short biography of Wally
de Doncker in The
Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature
Lectures,
readings and workshops:
Wally de Doncker lectures on:
‘Contemporary Themes in My Books’
‘Touching and Talking, The Big Taboos’
‘My books with Philosophical Themes’ to students,
teachers and librarians.
He was a guest speaker at the:
University
of Roehampton (2004)
IBBY
Conference in Lingen (Germany, 2007),
International
School of Brussels (2007)
University
of Ghent (2008),
IBBY
World Congress in Copenhagen (2008),
International
Literature Festival Berlin (2009)…
Contact via fax at +32 52 474009 or via email at wally.de.doncker@telenet.be
NEWS
NEW BOOK:
FROM A TO Z
This
book is dedicated to Eleanor Roosevelt.
MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN BERLIN
FOCUSES ON HIS BOOK ‘AHUM’
Wally de Doncker guest at International
Literature Festival Berlin (Berliner Festspiele)
Belgian
Contemporary Art inspires Wally de Doncker
NEVER
(Dutch Title: Nooit, Kunstwerk(t) , Gent, 2009 )
Wally De
Doncker’s story is surprising and challenging. Karolien Vanderstappen provides
high-level illustrations.
(Artishock,
Belgian magazine of art and culture)
De Doncker wrote a
surprising and unusual story of Woman and her little dog Fala. The young
illustrator Karolien Vanderstappen provides surrealistic illustrations.
Children of all ages will be introduced in the world of Contemporary Art in a
playful way. Never is the first book of a trilogy.
BELGIAN GOVERNMENT
During a book
demonstration (July 8, 2009) the Belgian Minister of Climate Paul Magnette got
Wally de Doncker’s book 'Het begint ergens' (It starts somewhere) from The
Belgian Book Organisation (Boek.be) as his
holiday reading.
--------------------------------
Nomination
Flemish Children’s Jury Award
Praten
met je staart (Talking with your tail)
Flemish Children’s Jury
Award Nomination 2010
------------------------------
FRANCE
Nelly Chabrol-Gagne
underlines the importance of ‘Vivre sans moi, je ne peux pas’ (I Miss Myself)
in the academic book ‘Devenir adulte et rester enfant’ (Presses Univ Blaise
Pascal)
-----------------------------
It starts somewhere
(Dutch title; Het begint ergens, Davidsfonds/Infodok,
2009, Leuven (Belgium)
theme: global warming
Twice a heavy storm wind raged through Wally de Doncker’s own
garden. Spot and Mouse are close witnesses. When a storm carries on over your
head, you all of a sudden look at life in a different way. It makes you think,
consider, reflect anyway.
---------------------------------
IBBY Europe : First
European Newsletter
The 31th General Assembly of IBBY was
held in Copenhagen on 10 September 2008. The following people were elected to
serve as officers of IBBY
2008-2010: Anastasia Arkipova (Russia), Elisa Bonilla Ruis (Mexico),
Hannelore Daubert (Germany), Wally de Doncker (Belgium), Reina Duarte (Spain),
Nikki Gamble (UK), Jehan Helou (Palestine), Redza Ahmad Khairuddin (Malaysia),
James Tumusiime (Uganda), Zhang Mingzhou) and IBBY president Patsy Aldana
(Canada)
FRENCH
EXHIBITION
His book ‘Vivre sans moi, je ne peux pas’ is focus of attention at the
French exhibition Moi et les autres
(Centre Bermond- Boquié- Nantes)
‘Het verhaal van O’ (The Story of O): Korean translation.
Wally de Doncker: seminar speaker at the IBBY World Congress in
Copenhagen (September 6-10, 2008, Denmark). The title of his presentation: “Touching
and talking: The Big Taboos”. More information: IBBY2008
Wally de Doncker: guest speaker at the University
of Ghent (August 14, 2008).
Wally de Doncker and the Chinese student Lan Zhao reading aloud from the
Chinese version of ‘I Wish I were a Doll’ (University Ghent (Belgium), 14
August 2008)
Nicolas Go, Doctor of Philosophy, discussed ‘Vivre sans moi, je ne peux
pas’ at length in the French literary magazine ‘Les actes
de lecture’.
‘Vivre sans moi, je ne peux pas’ at the French exhibition “Vivant
pour de vrai” (Centre François Mitterand, Villeneuve d’Ascq, till February
2009)
Musical: IK BEN OP JOU: the first musical of
Wally de Doncker. The composer is the famous Michel Bisceglia. Hugo Segers of
the Flemish Opera is the director of the musical.
Trailer Musical : IK BEN OP JOU
(Words: Wally De Doncker, Music: Michel Bisceglia)
TV report showing rehearsal Wally De Doncker’s first musical
‘Ahum’ is a new cartoon film produced by the ‘Media and Design Academie’
(2007, Genk, Belgium) and is based on Wally de Doncker’s book ‘Ahum’. (Trailer)
Premiere in Germany October 19, 2007.
Premiere in Belgium: December 16, 2007.
Premiere in Denmark: September 9, 2008.
Tv report showing his new book ‘Talking with your tale’ (philosophising
with children)
A SHORT JOURNEY AMONGST HIS BEST KNOWN BOOKS
... and their own journeys
Wally de Doncker’s books explore a variety of genres
and storytelling techniques. They include animal stories (Chirrup, Said the Fish, 2005); realistic-contemporary stories (My Cousins are Wolves, 1998); philosophical stories (I Miss Myself,
2002), and science-fiction/fantasy (Ahum, 2000).
NEW PICTURE BOOK
THE STORY OF O
FIRST REVIEW:
Jewel of a picture book
A fascinating and stimulating book,
like good philosophy should be (Guinevere Claeys , Knack Weekend, March 7, 2007)
I MISS MYSELF
Vivre
sans moi, je ne peux pas (Ed. Etre, Paris)
Vivre sans moi, je ne peux pas (I Miss
Myself) has been chosen as one of the 80 best children’s books of France (Flash
2003, La Joie par les Livres).
The French Association ARPLE (Association
de Recherche et de Pratique sur le Livre pour Enfants) regards Vivre sans moi, je ne peux pas to be one of the six most remarkable French
children’s books of 2003!
Madeline Roth announced in the French periodical,
‘Citrouille’ (18/9/03) that Vivre
sans moi, je ne peux pas (I Miss Myself) is a jewel of Flemish children’s literature.
During the conference ‘Children’s
Literature and Philosophy’ held in Orléans in May 2003, Evelyne Beauquier
congratulated the French publisher, Christian Bruel for bringing Vivre sans moi, je ne peux pas (I miss
myself) to print in the French language.
Bernard
Epin praised I Miss Myself
(Vivre sans moi, je ne peux pas) in the French paper, l’Humanité and highlighted the ‘sense of
humour of the author which accentuates the richness of this subtle story’.
I Miss Myself was the focus of discussion during the annual month of philosophy
celebrated in the Dutch town of Groningen. (April 2004)
The
theatre play of I Miss Myself,
performed by the troupe, Le Mal du Siècle
has enjoyed a huge success and the theatre company is now planning a third
season in 2007. The play is based on the trilogy of picture books written by
Wally de Doncker. These include, Ahum, I
Miss Myself, and Clouds in the Sand. For more information, visit www.xlp.be .
Theatre play I MISS MYSELF poster
Sister without a Sister is a short film (art
movie) produced by the dance company ‘The Cacao Bleu Collectief’ cacaobleu@hotmail.com and is based on I Miss Myself.
The same company will go on tour with the
dance workshop I Miss Myself throughout
Belgium, France and The Netherlands.
More information: cacaobleu@hotmail.com
Art movie: Sister without a sister
(Copyright Anoek Luyten)
GRUMPY GRANDPA
Grumpy Grandpa [Een Opa Met Gaatjes, 1996], which touches on the experience of Alzheimer’s
disease amongst the elderly and those who love them, has enjoyed wide success
across Europe. Wally de Doncker
has written a scenario for a film based on the book that has been nominated for the shortlist of Faits
Divers by the Flemish
Audiovisual Fund (VAF) and the Flemish Television Company (VTM).
The Flemish experts’ centres for
Alzheimer’s disease have made the book the focus of study and attention during
the 2006 Children’s Book Week.
Theatre
play: Opa met gaatjes (Grumpy Grandpa) poster
‘Opa met gaatjes’ performed by Zamzam Productions has enjoyed a
huge success and the theatre company is now planning a fifth
season in 2008.
In Denmark, Grumpy
Grandpa was included on the recommended
reading list of scientific literature on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The
Danish publisher has labelled the book one of the best Belgian children’s books
of the last few years.
CHIRRUP, SAID THE FISH
Chirrup, said the fish has been selected for
inclusion in the 2005 edition of THE WHITE RAVENS.
This highly respected list, compiled by the
International Youth Library in Munich, recognises books published
internationally that are considered to be of note and which deal in an
outstanding way with universal themes.
All titles are applauded for their exceptional and often innovative
artistic and literary style and design.
I WISH I WERE A DOLL
I wish I were a doll (Chinese)
I Wish I Were a Doll appeared in Chinese with the Taiwanese publisher
‘3&3 International’. It was the first Belgian children’s book to be
published in Chinese.
EEN TOUWTJE NAAR DE MAAN (A STRING TO THE MOON)
Poster Theatre Play: ‘A STRING TO THE MOON’
A String to the Moon (Een
touwtje naar de maan) has already been adapted for the theatre
(produced by theatre company R.A.T. ). Second season in
2008!
International Recognition
and Praise for the Author
The international anthology, Im Alphabet Durch Die
Welt edited by Lioba Betten and published by Domino Verlag (Munich),
includes Wally de Doncker and his interactive story, Wenn
du lesen kannst, kannst du auch tanzen.
Rod McGillis, Professor of English at the University of Calgary, reviews Wally de Doncker’s books in the Australian book, Youth
cultures: Texts, Images and Identities. (November 4, 2005)
In the American journal The Lion
and the Unicorn of
April 2005 Lissa Paul, Kimberley
Reynolds and Wally de Doncker discuss
CLISS (The
Children’s Literature International Summer School), held at Roehampton
University, London.
In the article, ‘Reading is Sensual’, Wally de Doncker
interviews the inspired French librarian, Marie Derrien in the Dutch magazine Leesgoed. Marie talks about her vision of
children’s literature, her work as a librarian in the Lyon Public Library, her
reading projects, radical picture books, and the sensual relationship that
exists between the reader and the book. (December 20, 2004)
Wally de Doncker has published numerous other articles about
reading and children’s literature in the Dutch magazine, Leesgoed. These include an interview with Lissa
Paul in London called, “Stories Change the Way we Think; a review of Reading
Otherways; and an interview with Kim Reynolds
titled, ‘It takes as much as a generation for the full
potential of children’s books’.
Reynolds speaks with Wally de Doncker about range of topics including
her favourite books as a child, the National Centre for Research in Children’s
Literature, Seven Stories, censorship, fundamentalist movements and Philip
Pullman, her book Modern
Children’s Literature, gender stereotypes in Disney and H.C. Andersen, childhood
death in literature for children, the commercialisation of children’s
publishing, multicultural society, one-night stands between author and editor,
and the role that children’s books play in critiquing society (November 7,
2005)
Wally de Doncker was a guest speaker at the ‘National Centre for Research in Children’s
Literature’ in Roehampton. His subject: Contemporary Themes in My Picture
Books.
