From an author-illustrator challenge and high tea with fancy hats to a special affairs show, a mash-up with local celebrities, finalist interviews and Q&As, librarians across the country have created fun and interactive events for children, students, family and whānau to view online, even when the ‘awards season’ is over.
“LIANZA is loving working with all the 2020 NZCYA finalists, who have been enthusiastically engaging with librarians, children and students from Invercargill to Dargaville,” says LIANZA executive director Ana Pickering.
Authors are enjoying the new way of interacting as well. Multiple NZCYA finalist and author/illustrator of the 2020 shortlisted picture book How Maui Slowed the Sun, Donovan Bixley says he sees tremendous value in the events being available online, putting his books in front of a broad audience throughout the country. “It’s the best reach I have ever had through the awards,” he says. Donovan’s Books Alive event with a group of students from Blockhouse Bay Intermediate in Auckland will go live on LIANZA’s YouTube channel on 3 August. |
