Poetry and prose showcase promising writing talent

2 July 2013

Poetry and prose showcase promising writing talent

The penguin, the procrastinator, and Miss P…

A magical, tyrannical teacher, a plucky wee penguin attempting to fly and a persistent procrastinator are just a few of the characters that are set to intrigue and delight readers this year in the sixth annual Barfoot & Thompson Young Authors Challenge.

Having won over the panel of judges, a poem and five short stories have been chosen out of almost 900 entries authored by primary and intermediate children from across Auckland and Northland. The imaginative collection of poems and prose will be published by real estate company Barfoot & Thompson in an illustrated storybook, with all proceeds from the book sales going to the Starship Foundation.

Supreme winner Room 23 and Mysterious Miss P by 12-year-old Grace Michie from Pukekohe Intermediate School will feature on the cover of the book and be accompanied by six other tales, including:

• Glen Eden Intermediate School, Kate Fowler – Procrastination
• Northcross Intermediate School, Chris Jackman – The Penguin Who Learnt to Fly
• St Kentigern Boys’ School, Carter Tang – A Crab and a Turtle
• Ramarama School, Elena Wood – The Dare
• Redoubt North Primary School, Sunny Promtrai – The Thirsty Sun

Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson says the winning students can be extremely proud of their achievement.

"This year’s judging was particularly tough. We received three times as many entries than last year and the standard of writing was extremely high.

“It’s really exciting to see such great creativity coming from young authors year after year, and we were thrilled to have a variety of writing styles and formats to choose from within this year’s entries.”

Now in its sixth year, the writing challenge has enabled a large number of students the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their own literary works professionally published.

This year’s winning students’ creative writing skills will be honed and developed in a special author’s workshop, run by renowned New Zealand children’s author John Parker.

Their tales will then be brought to life in illustrations by rugby great and amateur artist Keven Mealamu before the book runs hot off the press in October.

The past five story books have helped Barfoot & Thompson raise a combined $130,000 for Starship Foundation. Through the Barfoot & Thompson Magic of Reading programme, copies of the book are also provided to Starship Children’s Hospital and Whangarei Hospital’s Children’s Ward and given to young patients who stay overnight to read and take home.

Barfoot & Thompson knows Auckland best. It is the city’s leading real estate company, selling around one in three Auckland residential homes, significantly ahead of all other competitor brands.

The Young Authors Challenge is part of the Barfoot & Thompson Magic of Reading programme, which is fully funded by the company. It sees thousands raised for the Starship Foundation and 15,000 books put in the hands of young patients each year.

Keven Mealamu is Barfoot & Thompson’s Ambassador for Starship. As well as being a talented rugby player, Keven is also a keen amateur artist.

John Parker is one of New Zealand’s best known authors, having written nearly 130 books for children ranging from picture-books to novels for teens.

For further information visit www.barfoot.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media