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Turning young readers into creators: Fonfon’s award-winning digital experience
In 2023, Canadian publisher Fonfon received the BolognaRagazzi CrossMedia Award in the Digital Reading Experience category for its innovative project, Atelier de création Fonfon. We spoke with Véronique Fontaine, General Director of Fonfon and creator of the platform, to learn how this ambitious initiative has evolved since its launch. The Fonfon Creative Workshop invites children to continue living the stories they’ve discovered in books by stepping into a creative digital space—where they can build their own narratives using characters and settings from Fonfon’s picture books.
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I am the general director of the Fonfon publishing house, and I came up with the idea for the Fonfon Creative Workshop. I was involved in all stages, from ideation and conceptualization to production. But I wasn't alone! This major project required the involvement of my entire team. Camille Savoie-Payeur, our artistic director, was very involved both artistically and in project management. Alexa Asselin, our editorial director, was in charge of writing the texts. Gabrielle Mailloux managed video production, educational resources and project commercialization. And our main partner: the company Akufen, which handled all the technological development, design, and ergonomics of the site. Not to mention SODEC for their support through their innovative initiatives funding program!
Could you tell us a little about your project?
The Fonfon Creative Workshop is a web platform providing access to visual universes from some of Fonfon's books. The goal is to offer children a space to create their own stories based on well-established worlds from our books. The platform is built on two axes: the story creation workshop and the published stories board. This way, children who wish to share their stories are able to do so, supported by short video clips from authors and illustrators explaining their own creative processes. This idea stems from apps that Fonfon produced in 2016. These apps offered a story enriched with animations, music, and narration, and then in a second phase, provided all the visuals of the work (backgrounds, characters, accessories) so that children could create their own story by selecting images, adding voice and text. The objective behind this large production was to offer a stimulating and creative way to use digital devices, because our ultimate goal is to encourage reading, and we thought about using screens rather than fighting them. This project had worked very well but was confined to Apple devices. The Fonfon Creative Workshop is therefore the deployment of this concept with more content and universal access.
Can you describe your project’s unique ingredients?
It's a free and easy-to-use web based platform that offers a fun and enriching story creation experience. The site is an invaluable tool for sparking the imagination of children aged 4 to 11, allowing them to create their own stories using settings and characters drawn from the world of a Fonfon book of their choice. The advantage of creating from well-established visuals is to circumvent the blank page syndrome. Inspiration always comes from the proposed elements. Moreover, by engaging with the world of an existing book, they develop a deeper connection to the original work. This project is thus distinguished by a unique experience that simultaneously promotes Fonfon's books. We believe it is important because we have seen children who normally don't like to read turn to books after their experience in the workshop. It's an additional way to stimulate a love of reading. It also allows them to realize that creation is within everyone's reach. Users are proud of their stories. Thus, we contribute to strengthening their self-esteem.
How do you see the future of storytelling for children and young adults?
Sustainable development is at the heart of Fonfon's practices. It is inherent to our business model, which is based on very limited (about 6 publications per year) and 100% local book production. The arrival of Artificial Intelligence and its numerous environmental impacts shakes our values. We know that we cannot avoid it forever. We therefore believe in its use for administrative tasks but are committed to protecting creation, which we believe should be entirely reserved for humans. For the future of books, I want to believe that people are attached to the book object and that reading elevates society. I think that the paper book model will continue as it is, to educate, entertain, and challenge. I dare to hope that themes making society evolve can continue to be published because the rise of censorship in certain countries clearly threatens freedom of expression, and all publishers have the responsibility to publish texts they deem important.
Why should a publisher/developer/author... participate in the BRCMA?
It's a wonderful achievement for our small team, who is having its first experience being nominated for this award! The creation of the workshop was a very long and arduous process. For 2 years, many questions ran through our minds, even if they didn't necessarily cross our lips: "What's the point of all this effort for a free platform?", "Will anyone be interested?", "Will we achieve a result we’re proud of?". The recognition from the BolognaRagazzi jury for all this work is infinitely precious to us! This honor has given the platform great visibility and adds a lot of credibility to Fonfon. Thank you again for choosing our project!
I think that the paper book model will continue as it is, to educate, entertain, and challenge.
The BolognaRagazzi CrossMedia Award is the prize of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair that celebrates publishing projects able to expand their narrative world beyond the book, through games, podcasts, web series, films, and more. It’s open to anyone who has created cross-media experiences, not just publishers: authors, production companies, IP developers, specialised studios... anyone who has brought the story to life across different platforms. For all the details and rules, check out the official award page.
