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Published on March 24, 2008

On March 28, 6.30 to 8pm two talks will be given.

"How creative design will drive the economic and social wellbeing of the world" is the theme of the first, by Professor Mario Minichiello, head of BCU's Department of Visual Communication

For the second the question "What will fashion in the hi-tech world in the future be like?" will be addressed by Colin Gale, head of BCU's School of Fashion and Textiles.

For more details and to book appointments contact Birmingham City University Representative Office, c/o York Institute, 283/43, ninth floor, Home Place Building, Thonglor Soi 13.

Call (02) 712 7159, 2712 7176, 2712 7338, fax (02) 712 7339 or e-mail admin@bcu-asia.com.

The best of German literature in Bangkok

Book-lovers can browse and buy to their heart's content at the Bangkok International Book Fair, on at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from Wednesday to April 3. This year, the Fair highlights German-language books, with publishers arriving at the German Pavilion laden down with titles.

The German Pavilion is also the place to look out for appearances from three celebrated German-language authors: Germany's Julia Franck and Silke Scheuermann, and Switzerland's Zoe Jenny. All are established literary figures, particularly Franck, who received the prize for Best Novel at the 2007 German Book Awards. Popular far beyond German-speaking shores, their work has been translated into over a dozen languages.

A diverse assortment of some 1,000 German books, from 200 publishing houses from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, will be presented, including academic titles, novels, children's books and the best design manuals, as well as a wide range of books on photography, classical music and jazz.

The Textbox, a German innovation, is a Plexiglas cabin in which readers can don headphones to listen uninterrupted to authors and poets reading from their own work.

The creators of this innovative platform are two performance poets from Germany: Bas Boettcher and Timo Brunke. They will be showing off their skills in the Textbox together with Thai and German writers. Thai Translations of the texts will be displayed on an LCD screen.

Dr Ute Hansler, an expert in chemistry and education, will be describing the science experiments taken from her book, which is available in Thai translation.

Children will be entertained by stories from Joachim Friedrich's best-selling detective series "4 1/2 Friends", another title that's been published in Thai. A former professor of economics, Friedrich is now one of Germany's most successful writers for children. His books have been translated into 21 languages and have won many awards.

 "Sanook with Kasperle", in which traditional German hand-puppet theatre has been adapted to tell Thai stories, will be a highlight for all ages. The literary tradition has been revived by Damkerng Thitapiyasak and the New Theatre Society, who will interpret and perform a German drama called "Push Up".

The Nation