Mission
The mission of BookBox is to create outstantding audio-visual "books" for children below 10 years of age in a variety of languages. The primary goal of BookBox is to produce extremely edutaining and culturally inclusive content from around the world that promotes a love for reading and encourages automatic reading and language learning among children.
Distribution
BookBox strives to create content for every child in every language, and make it available electronically on media such as TV, internet, DVD/VCD/VHS, and audio-CD. BookBox may also tie-up with publishers to create printed versions of its books.
What are we looking for?
We are interested in finding children’s stories from around the globe, written in English. We are not looking for the classic Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson’s tales but more in the lines of myths and folktales that are well known within a specific culture.
These folktales are steeped in the flavors of the land and project an intimate aspect of the place that cannot be experienced even by visiting it. BookBox endeavors to reinstate in the limelight the stories told to us by our grandparents, and protect them from getting lost in the modern day world of the better-known classics.
The tales of Anansi the spider, a very popular figure in the folklore of parts of West Africa or the Panchatantra and Hitopadesha stories that are so famous in India, are simple but meaningful stories, which are perfect for BookBox. We seek such simple yet delightful stories that will put a smile on the lips of children and grown-ups alike.
The term “public domain” is applicable to a range of material that is not owned or controlled by anyone. These materials therefore are “public property” and available for all, for their own creative use. Legends, myths, folktales, fairytales, all belong to the public domain. In other words, they do not belong to any specific person.
Once an author has taken up a story and taken care to copyright it, his/her version becomes “copyrighted” material. Replicating this version is punishable by law. For example, the original Peter Pan from the first edition by Barrie is copyright free; the Disney version is not.
The author can choose any public domain stories and send us his/her ‘rewritten’ version of it.
Story Size
Stories submitted to BookBox should generally not exceed 400 words. However, we do accept stories in multiple parts, with each part not exceeding 400 words.
What kinds of stories is BookBox looking for?
BookBox welcomes simple stories that would fascinate children across several cultures and languages. We prefer stories that inspire awe and wonder, rouse curiosity and sense of adventure, or are simply cute. Book Box aims to provide a wholesome cultural experience through stories coming from around the world, but would avoid stories that are too deeply rooted in a single culture and thus not translatable easily into different languages.
Since BookBox "books" are audio-visual, stories submitted should lend themselves to rich visual imagery accompanied by a fun aural experience. Simple expression that can capture children's attention will be highly valued. A heavy dose of morality and a preachy style is discouraged. However, stories that have a subtle learning message will be suitable.
Click here to download some guidelines to write a BookBox story.
Selection process
An editor at BookBox will first decide whether the story can be sent for review. If it is sent for review, a five-member editorial team at BookBox will review all stories anonymously. Subsequently, stories that show promise will be read out to children. Children's reaction to the story would be a crucial input in final selection. All authors will receive the reviewers' feedback. While ensuring an unbiased selection process, BookBox will make every attempt to communicate a decision within a month.
Selected stories
During production, BookBox reserves the right to modify a story or adapt the text slightly in an attempt to improve the overall quality of the audio-visual production. The author will have the right to accept or not accept the changes made to the text.
Payment
For every selected story, the author will receive a payment of US$ 50 per story.
Copyright
The author is required to sign over the complete copyright of a selected story to BookBox, while also certifying that the story is a rewrite of a public domain story. The author needs to make sure that the story does not infringe upon the rights of any third party; and the author has complied with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in the rewrite of the story.
Send stories to: stories@bookbox.com or Fax: 91-413-4209183 (e-mail is preferable)
Questions? E-mail editor@bookbox.com
