Star Children’s Writers Visiting Towns Near You!

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2006

Star Children’s Writers Visiting Towns Near You!

Writers and illustrators with finalist books in this year’s tenth annual New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults will be visiting towns and main centres through the country beginning Monday 8 May 2006, as part of a nationwide festival of children’s books, reading and literature.

Amongst this year’s twelve touring writers are some of the stars of the children’s book world. They include the marvellous Margaret Mahy who has two books amongst the finalists – Kaitangata Twitch and Maddigan’s Fantasia (the television adaptation of which is currently screening on TV3); David Hill who is well-known for his hard-hitting novels for young adult readers; and much-loved children’s picture book writer Jennifer Beck.

Also on the road will be some talented new finalist authors and illustrators, giving talks and sharing writing skills with school children, having fun with book illustrations, giving readings and signing books for some of their youngest or most ardent fans.

The full list of touring writings, illustrators and their destinations is as follows:

Northland and West Auckland: John Parker, author of Frontier of Dreams: The Story of New Zealand – The Weight of World Wars 1897 – 1949

Auckland’s North Shore, Manukau, then on to Wellington and Kapiti: Tim Tipene, author of the picture book Haere – Farewell, Jack, farewell

Auckland City, Wellington’s Hutt Valley, then the West Coast: Glenys Stace, author of Blue New Zealand: Plants, Animals, Environments – A Visual Guide

West Auckland Alan Sefton, author of Peter Blake Sailor, Adventurer: The Story of a New Zealand Hero

Manukau, Tauranga, Rotorua and the Waikato: Brian Falkner, author of the junior fiction novel, Super Freak

Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa: Jennifer Beck, author of Nobody’s Dog

Taranaki, Wanganui and the Manawatu: Brigid Lowry, author of With Lots of Love from Georgia

Porirua: Huhana Smith, illustrator of picture book, Haere – Farewell, Jack, farewell

Wellington: Jill Harris, author of Sil

Marlborough and Nelson: David Hill, author of Running Hot

Canterbury and Otago: Margaret Mahy

Gore and Southland: Ian Brodie, author of Cameras in Narnia: How the Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe came to life

As well as hosting visiting finalists, regional festival co-ordinators will be organising a spectrum of fun events for all ages from engaging readings of picture books for toddlers, writing and illustration workshops for older children, children’s theatre adaptations of some finalist books, inter-schools quiz competitions, book parades, picnics and much more.

This year we will be celebrating ten years of sponsorship from New Zealand Post. In each of the twenty four regions around the country there will be special birthday events to look forward to. Details about these birthday events, visiting finalists plus a full list of events region by region will be available online at www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz from Monday 10 April.

The festival culminates in the announcement of the winners of the New Zealand Post Book Awards at Parliament on Wednesday 17 May 2006.

New Zealand Post has been a steadfast sponsor of the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults since 1997. Their partnership has seen the awards flourish, growing from strength to strength over the last decade. New Zealand Post’s support of these awards reflects their deep commitment to promoting literacy and literature throughout the country. Working closely with Booksellers New Zealand, New Zealand Post and other dedicated segments of the community actively encourage New Zealand children to read and enjoy books. For those with limited access to new works, New Zealand Post also purchases and distributes books by the New Zealand Post Book Awards finalists by supporting the Books in Homes programme each year.

The New Zealand Post Book Awards are also supported by Creative New Zealand and Book Tokens (NZ) Ltd and are administered by Booksellers New Zealand.

END

• Full details of all events will be listed on www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz from Monday 10 April 2006

• For a full list of finalists and bio details please also visit www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz

Key Dates 2006
Tuesday 2 May Children’s Choice Award voting closes
Monday 8 May Festival week begins with finalists on tour
Wednesday 17 May Awards ceremony in Wellington – winners announced

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